This healthy Mole Chicken Chili is a unique and healthy twist on the classic!
Hey guys! Can you tell that it's officially fall in my mind lately? As if the Pumpkin-Coconut Crème Brûlée that I posted the other day wasn't proof enough, I'd say this chili recipe oughtta do it. Makes me want to wrap myself up in a warm, fuzzy blanket, light a crackly candle* and get my hygge on. Yesssss....
I'm always trying to think of new ways to make chili. Mainly because I want to enjoy it's warm, comfort-y goodness as much as possible once the weather cools and I don't want the fam to get sick of it.
One of my little angels has a curious habit of crawling under the table when she doesn't want to eat something. I like to keep her off of the floor at dinnertime whenever I can, hence, so many chilis.
Also, I think by my very nature, the more "unique" a recipe is, the more interested I am in it. Hopefully you feel the same!
Anyway, I was thinking recently about how much I missed the mole at my favorite Mexican restaurant in the Louisville area (La Cocina de Mama) and it made me want to try and make some myself.
However, if you've ever googled "how to make mole" you'll quickly find that the real deal is really time consuming. I'm talking multiple days here, people. Since neither I nor you want to spend several days making chili, I found a great cheater's mole from Marcela Valladolid that I used as inspiration instead and it turned out great (in fact, I recently made it even easier in my Instant Pot Mole Sauce post)!
It actually tasted really similar to the mole I love so much from the restaurant. But I definitely didn't happy-dance, because that would be weird and totally overkill for chili (right?).
Ok, so let's talk about heat level a minute. This chili won't actually turn out very spicy without adding the optional ancho chile powder and cayenne. I left it this way because my kids will happily eat it like this and then I can just add the extra spices into my own bowl exactly how I like it, which I think is perfect for when you're feeding a crowd as well. It's also gluten-free and dairy-free, just fyi.
Ya know, I'm thinking this would make a really fun chili cook-off recipe if you're into that sort of thing 🙂
*I love, love, love this crackly candle from Woodwick! It makes everything feel so cozy! (⇐ affiliate link)
Don't forget to save this Mole Chicken Chili to Pinterest! ⇓
If you make this recipe be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂
📖 Recipe
21 Day Fix Mole Chicken Chili
Ingredients
Mole Sauce:
- 2 cups chopped onions (1 large onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ¾ cups chicken broth
- 5 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and broken into pieces (2 oz bag) - could also use dried ancho chiles
- 2 corn tortillas torn into pieces
- 2 Tbs mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cocoa powder
- 8 teaspoon smooth peanut butter
- 1 ½ Tbs raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chili:
- 1 cup carrots, chopped small (2-3 carrots)
- 2 cups chopped green bell peppers (2 peppers)
- 2 cups chopped red onion (1 med-large)
- ⅛ teaspoon + ¼ teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 cup + 2 Tbs chicken broth, divided
- 1 lb lean ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1 (15.5 oz) can of black beans, rinsed and drained (low-sodium if possible)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
- ancho chile powder, to taste (this is optional, to add more heat if you'd like, you could also use cayenne)
Optional toppers:
- Cilantro, Greek yogurt, avocado and/or toasted sesame seeds (you can get them already toasted in the international aisle of most grocery stores)
Instructions
Make the mole sauce:
- Spray a large heavy saucepan with olive oil cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Add the onions, saute until translucent, 5 minutes or so. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the chiles and the chicken broth and bring to a boil and cook until the onions and peppers are soft. Once they are, stir in the corn tortillas and let cook for another minute before transferring the contents to a blender. Then add the chocolate, cocoa powder, cinnamon, peanut butter, sugar, salt and oregano. Blend until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, while you make the chili.
Chili:
- Spray the same saute pan that you used for the mole again with olive oil cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers & carrots. Sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon salt and add 2 Tbs chicken broth. Cover and cook until tender.
- Once the veggies are tender, push them to one side of the pan (or you can remove them if your pan isn't large enough) and add your ground chicken. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon chile powder on top of the ground chicken and mix it in with your spatula, breaking up the ground chicken as it cooks.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked, add to the pan the beans, tomatoes, prepared mole sauce and 1 cup chicken broth. Taste the mixture to see if you want more heat, if so add some ancho chile powder and/or cayenne to your taste. Bring the chili to a bubble and serve with the optional toppings.
Notes
21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving: 1 Green, 1 Yellow, ¾ Red, 1 ½ teaspoons (plus containers of any of the optional toppings)
Weight Watchers Freestyle Points: 7 (plus points for any optional toppings)
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: about 1 ½ cupsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 309Total Fat: 4g
Rene says
Can I use something besides peanut butter? I am deathly allergic to it.
Stephanie says
If you can have sunbutter, I would use that 🙂
Stéphanie says
Hi,
I would like to know the sizes for the cans of black beans (about 14 oz?) and tomatoes (14 or 28 oz?). Also, do you happen to know the fiber content per portion?
Thanks!
Stephanie says
Hi! It's 14 oz for both, no idea how I forgot to add that! Thanks so much for letting me know, I fixed the recipe card. I'm not really sure on the amount of fiber, sorry. Hope you enjoy!