Experts Explain What Makes Mole Different From Other Enchilada Sauces

Mole and enchilada sauce are popular dishes throughout Mexico, loaded with smoky, spicy, complex flavors. It's no surprise they are often confused or sometimes considered stand-ins for each other. Mole and enchilada sauce are both made using rehydrated chili peppers and have a pourable consistency — the name mole comes from the Aztec word for sauce. Despite the similarities, mole and enchilada sauce are very different in terms of preparation, added ingredients, and uses within South American cuisine.

Both sauces have a lot of history and culinary tradition associated with them, so to get a better understanding we spoke with to two experts. Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack is the author of the food blog, Muy Bueno, which specializes in Mexican recipes, while Paula Muñoz is the Executive Chef at the Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen in Mexico. They provided us with some expert tips on what separates mole and from other traditional enchilada sauces.

Mole is one of the most iconic recipes in Mexico and originated in Puebla, located in Mexico's southeast region. The traditional recipe blends elements of authentic Aztec cuisine — such as serving mole with turkey and adding chocolate — with European colonial influences, like certain imported spices. Although mole can be served with enchiladas, this dish is usually specifically called mole enchiladas and uses mole instead of enchilada sauce. 

Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack states that authentic mole should have balanced, complex flavors that combine sweet, sour, and spicy elements. She explains that "generally speaking, moles are made of at least two types of Mexican chilis, some kind of tangy ingredient (e.g., tomatillos), sweet (e.g., sugar, fruit, or chocolate), nuts and thickeners (e.g., peanut butter, bread, tortillas), and spices." The sheer number of potential ingredients is one of the key differences between mole and enchilada sauce. 

Enchilada sauces also tend to have a looser, runnier consistency than mole, which should be thick, smooth, and more paste-like. This is due to the large number of ingredients — sometimes as many as 40 – that are blended or crushed into mole to make the paste. Similar to what makes pico de gallo different from salsa, mole and enchilada sauce have more-or-less the same ingredient base but one has more texture than the other.

While mole recipes don't require any particularly fancy cooking skills, making mole from scratch involves building upon different flavors to get the taste just right. A common technique is to make a stock from the meat you plan to serve so you can use this as the wet base for your sauce. You can then use some stock to rehydrate your dried chilis before toasting them and blending them into the sauce.

Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack suggests gathering all your other ingredients, such as nuts, whole spices, tomatoes, dried fruits, and starches, before you start. The ingredients are then individually "toasted to enhance the flavor intensity, then blended into a thick sauce." Once the ingredients have blended, you can add chocolate and cook the mixture for 2 to 3 hours on the stovetop to intensify the flavors.

While most modern recipes suggest using your blender or food processor to make mole, traditional tools include a metate block and metlapil — a sloped stone slab and a rolling pestle that were used in Aztec culture to grind softened ingredients into a mole paste. However, this process can be extremely time-consuming and requires a fair amount of effort to get a smooth consistency. If you don't have a powerful blender and want to lightly muddle your ingredients before mixing them, this is one of the more unexpected ways you could use your potato masher to mulch down the sauce.

Unless you are cooking mole enchiladas, making enchilada sauce is a very different experience from making mole. As Chef Paula Muñoz puts it, "mole is the heavyweight champ, [made] with chili, spices, and chocolate, enchilada sauce is its simpler, quicker cousin — less drama but still packs a punch."

To make a classic enchilada sauce, you need stock or water, flour, chilis (either rehydrated and blended or chili powder), and any other seasonings, such as salt, pepper, or garlic. You can also add tomato sauce, tomato paste, or any other preferred substitute for marinara sauce you might know. While mole is thickened by adding mulched bread, nuts, and seeds, enchilada sauce starts with a flour and oil roux, giving the sauce some body but still keeping the consistency fluid.

You can make this roux by heating oil in a pan and quickly whisking in flour and powdered or blended seasonings until the sauce is smooth. Then, pour in your broth and allow your sauce to simmer for 10-15 minutes. You may want to strain the mixture if you've used whole chilis. Drizzle enchilada sauce over your rolled tortilla wraps and bake them in the oven, or dip tortillas into the pan of sauce before serving.

According to Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, a good mole should be "rich, complex, thick, and bursting with flavors [that] can be sweet, nutty, or spicy [depending] on the type of mole you're using." Although it always contains chili, mole is not always a heavily spicy sauce, and the heat should be balanced along with sweet notes from the dried fruits, sugar, and chocolate and the smoky, rich flavors from the nuts and seeds.

In comparison, enchilada sauce has a slightly lighter, zippier flavor, with tangy and spicy notes from the chili. You can still add smoky or sour hints to your enchilada sauce, however, by incorporating paprika, blending in rehydrated ancho chilis — which have a famously smoky taste – or adding tomatoes. When making mole or enchilada sauce at home, you can adjust the heat levels by using milder chilis, removing the seeds, or reducing the overall amount of chili you put in.

Mole is used traditionally in a variety of ways in Mexican cuisine. One of the most common ways to serve mole is with roast poultry. Mole is often served like this at celebrations, with guests given a plate of white and dark meat slathered in sauce. Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack explains that mole is an extremely versatile dish. As well as being "drizzled over roasted chicken or turkey, it can be used to create chicken mole enchiladas, chicken mole tamales, chicken mole nachos, and chicken mole sopes — [it is also] a perfect dipping sauce with tortilla chips [or] chilaquiles rojos."

Marquez-Sharpnack also recommends using mole to enhance heuvos rancheros, a Mexican breakfast dish of refried beans, cotija cheese, pico de gallo, and fried eggs served over corn tortillas. In Mexican cuisine, mole is also commonly served alongside pork

When it comes to enchilada sauce, one of its most common uses is — unsurprisingly — to dress a pan of enchiladas. Traditionally, enchiladas are made using corn tortillas, although it's common to make them with flour wraps. You can stuff enchiladas with a meat filling or simply serve them with refried beans, sour cream, and cheese. If you're feeling hungry, you can use enchilada sauce to make a wet burrito. What makes an enchilada different from a wet burrito is the abundant fillings, including rice, meat, and vegetables, and flour tortillas.

Mole has a huge variety of recipes, and it is common for people to have their own unique, homemade take on the sauce. As Chef Paula Muñoz puts it, "There are more moles than gossip in a small town! From mole poblano with chocolate to mole negro and mole verde, each region has its own delicious version."

Mole poblano is one of the most famous mole recipes and is known as Mexico's national dish. This type of mole has a rusty, reddish color and is made using a mixture of red chilis, including ancho, guajillo, and pasilla. This mole is usually served with roasted poultry but can be incorporated into other Mexican dishes. If you're wondering about sauces and sides to serve with chilaquiles, mole poblano is one excellent option.

Different types of mole also have different flavors, depending on the main ingredient used. Mole poblano generally has a rich, nutty flavor and a lower spice level. In contrast, mole negro has an intense, spicy palette and a darker color from the charred chilis that are included. Mole verde — or green mole — is usually made with jalapeno peppers, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and tomatillos and has a bright flavor.

Mole chichilo is a rare mole type from southwest Mexico. It is made using beef stock and contains avocado leaf. You can also find mole manchamantel, which is made with chorizo oil and pineapple for a spicy, fruity flavor.

Making mole from scratch takes a long time and might be out of your comfort zone if you're new to cooking Mexican cuisine at home. If this is the case, you can find packaged mole at some stores, including specialty Mexican retailers and in outlets like Costco. You can also purchase pre-made mole online from Amazon.

Store-bought mole is usually packaged in jars, sachets, or tubs and has a paste-like texture. Ingredients in well-known brands, like  Doña Maria, include sugar, soybean oil, wheat crackers, chili peppers, nuts and seeds, and caramel color. You can also find a variety of different pre-made moles, such as mole negro and mole verde.

While pre-packaged moles are a perfectly acceptable substitute if you haven't got time on your hands to cook, Chef Paula Muñoz recommends making your own mole wherever possible. "Making mole from scratch is a labor of love, but it's worth every minute [and] you'll savor every bite."

If you want ways to make your mole recipe less time-intensive, use store-bought stock – bouillon cubes are made of the dehydrated ingredients used in real bone broth — or use chili powder instead of dried chilis. You can also buy canned enchilada sauce from stores like Costco and Walmart.

Discussing the nutritional content of mole, Chef Paula Muñoz observes that "in moderation [mole] is fantastic and delicious — packed with protein and antioxidants." Common mole ingredients, like pumpkin seeds, almonds, and peanuts, are great protein sources and are crammed with healthy fats and nutrients like magnesium, vitamin E, and zinc. Pumpkin seeds are also high in phenolic acids, which are antioxidants and are believed to reduce inflammation and lower your risk of some cancers. Other mole ingredients, such as dark chocolate, garlic, dried fruits, chilis, and bone broth, have a dense vitamin and nutrient content and contain antioxidants.

However, despite the high concentration of healthy ingredients, Muñoz cautions that mole is quite a calorific food and can be high in fat. Nuts and seeds are high in calories, and the addition of wheat products also raises the calorie count and makes many mole variants unsuitable for people with gluten intolerance. Mole also sometimes contains lard or oil, which is pure fat, although this is usually just a small amount to help bind the paste or to fry the ingredients before blending.

Enchilada sauce also contains some vitamins and antioxidants from the chilis and tomatoes. However, enchilada sauce is not a good source of healthy fats or protein as its main fat source is refined oils or lard.

According to Chef Paula Muñoz, "If you have leftovers [which is] rare, [mole] tastes even better the next day." The combination of fats in mole generally means that the dish is kept in the fridge for a while. Once your mole has cooled, you can put it in an airtight container and refrigerate it for about a week. You can also freeze mole and eat it within 4 months.

If you buy pre-made mole, most brands keep unopened at room temperature for several months. Once opened and cooked, however, you should consume the mole within 6 days.

Homemade enchilada sauce should also be stored in the fridge and will generally stay fresh for 3-5 days if kept in a sealed bag or jar. Store-bought, unopened enchilada sauce will last longer than this — until its best-before date. Once the can is opened, you should eat the sauce within 7-10 days. If you notice that your mole or enchilada sauce undergoes any change in color, taste, or smell, you should discard it immediately.