If you’ve never made homemade mole sauce at home, it’s time to give it a try. This traditional Mexican sauce is jam-packed with flavor and can be used in many ways.

About The Recipe: Turkey Mole Bowls

Awhile back, I found a recipe for mole sauce on Carpé Season.

If you’ve never had mole (mo-lay) sauce, you should give it a go. It’s a traditional Mexican sauce that contains all sorts of seemingly random ingredients: Tomatoes, peppers, raisins, nuts, spices, and even chocolate. But trust me, it all comes together in the end.

It’s a little bit spicy, a little bit smoky, a little bit nutty, and a little bit sweet. It goes great with chicken or turkey, smothered on burritos or enchiladas, or on top of Mexican rice with a side of refried beans.

Looking at the long list of ingredients, you may be reluctant to call this a cheap recipe. But hear me out. It makes a really big batch and it freezes well.

I have made many meals out of one batch of mole sauce. I’ve made several mole “bowls”, with a random combination of leftover food items. This particular bowl featured leftover turkey, pinto and black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and scallions.

Want More Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes?

• Lots of Thanksgiving leftover ideas all in one post
• Leftover turkey chili
• Fried Thanksgiving croquettes
• Turkey-cranberry wontons
• Turkey lettuce wraps with peanut sauce
• Turkey and cranberry sauce nachos
• Thanksgiving leftover burritos
• Turkey empanadas (pictured below)

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Turkey Mole Bowls

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

First time trying mole sauce? Use it much like you would use enchilada sauce. Or get creative and use it in lieu of tomato sauce on Mexican-inspired pizza.

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Ingredients

For mole sauce

• 1 can (28 ounce) whole tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 dried ancho chile peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 2 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To assemble bowls

• Rice
• Black beans
• Leftover turkey
• Avocado

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth.
2. Transfer sauce to a large saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes. Choose your mole bowl ingredients and top with about 1/3 cup of sauce. Freeze any leftover sauce in an airtight container up to four months.

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