Instant Pot Chicken Mole Tacos
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Mole chicken is a classic Mexican dish that usually takes hours to cook. Now you can make this recipe in under an hour for an easy weeknight dinner!
Instant Pot chicken tacos are a great option for when you want a delicious meal without a ton of work. Using a pressure cooker creates tender, juicy meat thatās infused with flavor. And thereās no constant checking to make sure itās cooked all the way through.
This meal comes together with a delicious mole sauce thatās a mix of savory, sweet, and spicy.
What is Chicken mole?
A mole is a Mexican sauce thatās made with toasted nuts, dried fruit, chiles, chocolate, and various other flavoring ingredients.
Itās typically simmered for six hours, but sometimes you just donāt have time for that!
Making it in the Instant Pot allows the flavors to meld together in a fraction of the time. Plus, the chicken itself gets infused with all that flavor as well.
- 3 dried ancho chiles
- 28Ā ozĀ whole roasted tomatoes
- 1Ā medium onionĀ roughly chopped
- 1/2Ā cupĀ sliced almondsĀ toasted
- 1Ā tbspĀ sesame seedsĀ toasted
- 1/2Ā cupĀ dark baking chocolate
- 1/4Ā cupĀ raisins
- 1 1/2Ā cupsĀ chicken stock
- 2Ā chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 1Ā tbspĀ ground cumin
- 1Ā tspĀ cinnamon
- 1Ā tspĀ Mexican oregano
- 3Ā garlic cloves
- 2Ā lbsĀ chicken thighsĀ bone-in, skinned (See Note 1)
- 1/2Ā tspĀ salt
- 16Ā 6-in. corn tortillas
- 1/4Ā cupĀ Cotija cheeseĀ crumbled
- 1/4Ā cupĀ cilantro leavesĀ chopped
- 2Ā limesĀ cut into wedges
- In a bowl cover ancho chiles with boiling water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain and discard stems and seeds.
- In a small sautƩ pan toast the almonds and sesame seeds for 3 minutes. Set aside.
- In a blender or food processor add seeded chiles, tomatoes, onion, almonds, sesame seeds, chocolate, raisins, chicken stock, chipotles and adobo sauce, cumin, cinnamon, Mexican oregano and garlic in a food processor until smooth.
- Season chicken with salt and place inside Instant Pot. Pour in mole sauce mixture. Cover, seal vent and hit Manual setting, High Pressure, 25 minutes.
- Open vent and allow steam to release. Remove chicken and place on a cutting board to remove bones. If sauce is thin, cook on SautƩ to reduce and thicken while you shred chicken.
- Shred chicken into large pieces then return to Instant Pot and mole sauce. Reserve 2 cups of the mole sauce for another use.
- Toast and slightly char corn tortillas on both sides over medium-high directly on burner or toast on both sides in a small skillet over medium heat.
- Top tortillas with chicken mole sauce, cheese, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Making chicken mole tacos
Now itās time to assemble these Instant Pot chicken tacos! Youāll need:
- Corn tortillas
- Cotija cheese
- Cilantro
- Limes
First, toast the tortillas on both sides. You can do this directly over the burner for a more charred flavor, or toss them in a skillet just to give them some texture.
Then, add some chicken and sauce to the tortillas. Sprinkle some cheese and cilantro over the top and serve with lime wedges.
RECIPE NOTES
- If you canāt find chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, you can make your own version at home. Here are my recipes for dried chipotle peppers and homemade adobo sauce.
- Flour or gluten-free tortillas can be used in place of the corn, depending on your preferences or dietary needs.
- Reserve leftover mole sauce to use in enchiladas, drizzled over eggs, or added to soups and chilis.
MORE RECIPES TO TRY:
- Roasted Chicken with Almond Banana Mole
- Pork Mole Negro Enchiladas
- Slow Cooker Flank Steak Tacos
- Mojo Carne Asada Tacos
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Instant Pot Chicken Mole Tacos
Ingredients
- 3 dried ancho chiles
- 28 oz whole roasted tomatoes
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds toasted
- 1/2 cup dark baking chocolate
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 lbs chicken thighs bone-in, skinned (See Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 16 6-in. corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup Cotija cheese crumbled
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 2 limes cut into wedges
Instructions
- In a bowl cover ancho chiles with boiling water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain and discard stems and seeds.
- In a small sautƩ pan toast the almonds and sesame seeds for 3 minutes. Set aside.
- In a blender or food processor add seeded chiles, tomatoes, onion, almonds, sesame seeds, chocolate, raisins, chicken stock, chipotles and adobo sauce, cumin, cinnamon, Mexican oregano and garlic in a food processor until smooth.
- Season chicken with salt and place inside Instant Pot. Pour in mole sauce mixture. Cover, seal vent and hit Manual setting, High Pressure, 25 minutes.
- Open vent and allow steam to release. Remove chicken and place on a cutting board to remove bones. If sauce is thin, cook on SautƩ to reduce and thicken while you shred chicken.
- Shred chicken into large pieces then return to Instant Pot and mole sauce. Reserve 2 cups of the mole sauce for another use.
- Toast and slightly char corn tortillas on both sides over medium-high directly on burner or toast on both sides in a small skillet over medium heat.Ā
- Top tortillas with chicken mole sauce, cheese, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistās advice.
I am looking forward to making this!! Thanks for what looks like a great recipe and easy!
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Such a good recipe. I used this to make Tamales myself and have SO MUCH sauce left over. I did get the burn notice at the start but a good stir (after getting burnt by molten lava Mole sauce bubbling everywhere) while scrapping the bottom hard fixed that up, might have been the chocolate in the recipe that ended up on the bottom.
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed this one Stephen. Love that tamale idea!
I was so looking forward to our Taco Tuesday Chicken Mole and now after 45 minutes of trying to get the Instant pot to stop giving me the BURN message (and yes by the 4th time, the sauce was burning) I finally browned the chicken in a Dutch oven pot and now have it simmering in the sauce. So what was supposed to be a quick meal has taken me 1.5 hours and numerous dirty dishes. That being said the sauce appears to taste delicious but I will never make it in the instant pot again. I will probably try it in the crock pot next time.
Not sure what happened with yours, it’s the first time I have received a comment about the burn notice. There is 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock along with the 28 oz of tomatoes which should be plenty of liquid. Sorry that happened to yours.
There were several comments (on page 1) about getting the BURN notice. Unfortunately I had not read the reviews that far back. The sauce is probably just too thick and I like it that way so I really would not want to thin it out any more. Either way It was delicious and I will definitely use the recipe again just not in the Instant Pot. It took about 30 minutes on the stove top so just about the same time cooking. I would give it 5 Stars for flavor and 3 Stars over all because of the frustration. I will check out some of your other recipes. Thanks!!
I made this a few times and it burned every time. Great flavors, but this sauce is too thick for some Instant Pots.
Now I know what I will make for dinner tonight! Looks amazingly delicious!
Yay! Let me know how you enjoy it!
I love that this is an authentic dish that can be made quickly at home. I can’t wait to give this a try in my Instant Pot!
Thank you Jacque!
This looks awesome, I’m making your Al Pastor tacos tomorrow and will give this one a try next week.
Thank you Steve!
Such a good looking meal and just in time for Taco Tuesday! Looking forward to dinner tonight, indeed!
Thank you! Great for Taco Tuesday for sure!