MolesHardFree

Turkey Mole Poblano with Rice

Name: Turkey Mole Poblano with Rice
Prep time: 120 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 300 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 tbsp Lard; 200 g White rice; 2000 g Turkey (guajolote), bone-in pieces; 50 g Pumpkin seeds; 1 White onion; 6 cloves Garlic cloves; 1 tbsp Salt; 4 Dried ancho chillies; 50 g Blanched almonds; 1 tsp Sugar; 4 Dried mulato chillies; 3 Tomatoes; 3 tbsp Sesame seeds; 50 g Mexican chocolate; 5 Allspice berries; 3 Dried pasilla chillies; 2 Dried chipotle chillies; 4 Whole cloves; 200 g Tomatillo (green tomato); 1 raja Mexican cinnamon stick

300 min (120 prep + 180 cook) Hard 10 servings Puebla

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 27 Mar 2026 · Updated: 30 Mar 2026

Turkey in mole poblano with 30+ ingredients, served with rice — Mexico's most emblematic dish.

About this recipe

Turkey mole poblano with rice is the most emblematic dish of Poblano cuisine and of Mexican gastronomy as a whole. The turkey - guajolote - is cooked in mole poblano, that complex sauce of more than 30 ingredients including chillies, spices, nuts, chocolate and tortilla that requires hours of preparation and concentrates centuries of culinary history. Served with white or red rice and freshly made tortillas.

History & Origin

Mole poblano is considered Mexico's national dish, and its history is one of the most fascinating in world gastronomy. The most famous legend places its creation at the Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in Puebla during the seventeenth century, where the nuns allegedly created a hasty sauce to honour the viceroy, mixing the ingredients they had to hand: chillies, spices, chocolate and turkey. Though the reality is more complex - mole has clear pre-Hispanic roots in the chilli and cacao sauces prepared by the Aztecs - the convent version enriched the recipe with European ingredients such as almonds, raisins, cinnamon and bread. The guajolote, the native turkey of Mesoamerica, has been the meat of choice for mole poblano since pre-Hispanic times. The Aztecs already prepared it in cacao and chilli sauces, and sixteenth-century Spanish friars documented this dish with astonishment. Today, turkey mole is the obligatory centrepiece of great feasts: weddings, christenings, Day of the Dead and Independence celebrations. In Puebla, every family has their own mole recipe, guarded like a treasure, with small variations that make it unique.

Estimated cost

£30.00

Total cost

£3.00

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

580

Calories

42g

Protein

38g

Carbohydrates

28g

Fat

Fibre

720mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
The day before: deseed and lightly toast the mulato, ancho, pasilla and chipotle chillies on a dry griddle. Soak in hot water for 30 minutes. Reserve the soaking water.
💡 Toast each chilli separately as they each require different toasting times.
2
Toast on the dry griddle: almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and anise. Set aside separately. Briefly fry the stale tortilla or bread in lard until golden.
3
Char on the griddle: tomatoes, tomatillos, onion and garlic until well blackened. Blend the soaked chillies with their soaking water in batches. Blend the toasted ingredients separately with the charred tomatoes. Combine everything in a large blender with the chocolate and chipotle.
4
In a large pot or clay casserole, heat the lard over high heat. When smoking, pour in the mole sauce all at once (careful, it spatters). Fry the mole over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens and thickens.
💡 This step of 'frying the mole' is the most important - do not skip it.
5
Meanwhile, cook the turkey pieces in stock with onion, garlic, herbs and salt for 45 minutes until tender but not falling apart.
6
Add the turkey cooking stock to the mole little by little, stirring constantly, until you reach the desired consistency: neither too thick nor too thin. Adjust salt and sugar if needed. Add the cooked turkey pieces. Simmer over low heat for a further 20 minutes.
7
Serve over white or red rice. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Accompany with freshly made tortillas.
💡 Mole improves over days - store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.