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Chicken in Peanut Mole Sauce: Mexico’s Comfort in a Spoon

Chicken in Peanut Mole Sauce: Mexico’s Comfort in a Spoon

If you’ve ever sat down for a home-cooked meal in central or southern Mexico, not the tourist kind, but something slow and quiet from someone’s family kitchen, you might’ve tasted a version of mole. Maybe it was made for a celebration. Or maybe just because someone felt like cooking something worth remembering.

There are dozens of mole styles across Mexico. Some dark with chocolate, some green and sharp, some red with more smoke than spice. But one of the most quietly satisfying versions is the one that uses peanuts — roasted, ground, and blended into something smooth, savory, and gently rich.

You won’t find it everywhere. Even in Mexico, peanut mole is something that lives in home kitchens more than restaurants. And it’s rarely made with peanut butter, but once you try it this way, you’ll wonder why it ever needed to be complicated.

This isn’t a shortcut version that skips the spirit of the dish. It’s just one that you can make on a regular evening, with ingredients from your pantry and a little bit of time. It’s meant to be eaten slowly, with rice, maybe some warm tortillas, and people you want to feed well.


Chicken in Peanut Mole Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless, skin optional)
  • Salt and black pepper
  • A bit of oil for browning
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
  • 2 dried ancho or pasilla chilies (or 1 chipotle in adobo if easier)
  • 1 tomato (or ½ cup canned tomatoes)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1½ cups chicken broth (from a cube is fine)
  • A small square of dark chocolate (optional but lovely)
  • Toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro to finish
  • Steamed white rice or warm corn tortillas, for serving


Instructions

  1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of oil in a wide pan and brown the pieces until golden on both sides. Set them aside — you’ll finish cooking them later.
  2. In the same pan, add the onion and garlic. Let them soften. Toss in the chilies (remove the stems and seeds first) and stir until everything smells toasty.
  3. Add the tomato, peanut butter, cinnamon, and oregano. Stir it all up. Let it cook a couple of minutes so it thickens and pulls together.
  4. Pour in the broth. Bring it to a simmer and let it bubble gently for 5 minutes or so.
  5. Now blend it. Use an immersion blender or pour it all into a regular one. Blend until smooth. Add a bit more broth if it feels too thick.
  6. Return the sauce to the pan. Add the chicken back in. Cover and simmer gently for 20–25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
  7. Taste the sauce. Add the chocolate now if using, and stir until melted. Adjust salt, and a little more peanut butter if you want it nuttier.
  8. Serve the chicken with plenty of sauce over rice or with tortillas. Scatter sesame seeds and a bit of fresh cilantro on top.


Peanut Mole’s Home Kitchen Roots

Peanut mole doesn’t come from tourist kitchens. It comes from markets and homes — from towns in Puebla, Veracruz, and Guerrero, where peanuts grow easily and end up toasted in sauces, sprinkled on tamales, or stirred into stews.

The traditional version starts with dried chilies and roasted peanuts, sometimes with plantains, tomatoes, even crackers for body. But home cooks adapt. Some roast, some boil, some blend. The heart of the dish stays the same — thick, warm, just spicy enough, and built to coat whatever’s cooking in the pot.

Using peanut butter isn’t cheating. It’s recognizing what’s already there: ground roasted peanuts, smooth and ready. It shortens the prep but not the flavor. And with chicken, it’s a natural match. The sauce clings, the meat stays juicy, and every bite feels layered and warm.


What to Pick Up at a Mexican Market

If you find yourself wandering a mercado in Oaxaca, Puebla, or even Mexico City’s quieter corners, keep an eye out for what locals are picking up for their moles — especially the peanut kind.

Here’s what’s worth slipping into your bag (and maybe your suitcase):

  • Dried ancho or pasilla chilies — soft, deep-colored, with wrinkled skins and gentle spice
  • Fresh-ground peanut paste, sold by the scoop in plastic tubs
  • Blocks of Mexican chocolate with cinnamon and sugar (like Abuelita or Ibarra)
  • Clay cazuelas, wide and low, perfect for slow simmering sauces
  • Small round tortillas from a local tortillería — hot, wrapped in paper, ready to roll
  • Hand-carved wooden stirring spoons
  • Oregano grown in highland towns — floral and more delicate than store-bought
  • Bags of toasted sesame seeds for topping dishes or grinding into sauces

Ask a vendor about peanut mole, and you might get a full lesson. Some will tell you to toast the chilies until they puff. Others will warn you not to burn the garlic. Someone will say the sauce needs to rest overnight. They’ll all have a point.

Even if you’re not cooking that day, just walking through the stalls, hearing the clink of pots and the rustle of chili baskets — that’s mole, too.


Staying Connected While Traveling in Mexico

Whether you're navigating to a local mercado, video-calling your aunt to ask if your sauce looks right, or translating a handwritten spice label — JetSet eSIM keeps your connection strong.

With the Mexico JetSet eSIM, you can:

  • Stay online without hunting for Wi-Fi
  • Pull up recipes and spice names mid-market
  • Upload your chicken mole dinner in real time
  • Translate tips from a tortilla vendor who only speaks Spanish
  • Skip the local SIM swap and connect the second you land

No stress, no roaming surprises. Just easy access wherever mole takes you — whether that’s a small town in Puebla or your own kitchen halfway around the world.

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