Enmoladas

These chicken enmoladas also known as chicken mole enchiladas are made with lightly fried corn tortillas, filled with delicious shredded chicken, crumbled queso fresco and coated with a savory flavorful store-bought mole sauce. This sauce does not need the added Mexican chocolate tablet - it really is a preference. I grew up with my mom making mole without the chocolate, so that's how I prefer to eat mole.

The steps are very similar to these salsa verde entomatadas, but made with store-bought mole sauce. This recipe is really easy to make, so delicious and can be enjoyed any day of the week.

Why you will love this enmolada recipe

They are so flavorful with store bought mole sauce, leftover chicken, store-bought rotisserie chicken or you can make your own chicken at home like this Instant Pot Shredded chicken. They are easy to put together and so comforting to eat.

Enmoladas vs Echiladas

Enmoladas are similar to enchiladas, but instead of the sauce being a chili base, they are made with a rich savory mole sauce. You can make the mole sauce from scratch, but here we are cutting prep time in half and using store bought Doña María mole paste which takes a couple steps to prepare with store bought chicken broth.

Just like enchiladas they are filled with cheese, shredded chicken or any filling of choice. My favorite filling is with crumbled queso fresco, chopped onion and shredded chicken.

Ingredients you’ll need

• Corn tortillas work best here instead of flour tortillas
• Shredded chicken- you can make shredded chicken from scratch, or use left over chicken or store bought rotisserie chicken. You need about three to four cups of shredded chicken.
• Crumbled queso fresco (Mexican cheese)- if you can't find queso fresco in local store substitute with cotija cheese, or crumbled feta cheese
• Doña María mole paste - 8.25 oz jar. Any prepared mole sauce works here if you can't find Doña María, but if you can try to get Doña María as it taste the most authentic and delicious
• Chicken broth - I like using no salt added or low sodium chicken broth, but vegetable broth works here too.
• Onion - chopped onions for filling and sliced onion for topping
• Sesame seeds - toasted sesame seeds for topping
• Kosher salt - for extra seasoning if needed you can also use ¼ teaspoon of adobo seasoning if using no sodium added chicken broth
• Oil - vegetable oil is good neutral oil and also good for frying, but you can use any oil of choice

Step by step instructions

Step 1: Prep the mole sauce

Prepare Doña María mole sauce (if you buy a prepared mole sauce you can skip this step and go straight to toasting the sesame seeds.

In a saucepan add the mole paste and 3 cups of chicken broth. Stir frequently to help dissolve the paste. Bring to a light boil and simmer for five minutes. You can add more salt to taste or you can add ¼ teaspoon of adobo seasoning if using no salt chicken broth or low sodium chicken broth. It adds additional flavoring to the sauce. Then set aside.

You will notice here that I do not add any Mexican chocolate to the sauce and that is my personal preference. You can go ahead and add about a quarter tablet and melt in the sauce, but It really is not needed.

In a small frying pan toast about 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds for a couple minutes and set aside.

Step 2 Prep the corn tortillas

In a frying pan add about 2 tablespoons (and more as needed to coat all the tortillas) of vegetable oil or cooking oil of choice and heat on medium high heat. Add the corn tortillas for a few seconds on each side, flipping them carefully with tongs to prevent from tearing. Then set aside on top of napkins or paper towels to remove any excess oil.

If mole sauce has been sitting at room temperature for too long it will thicken up, you can stir in more chicken broth to thin the sauce a bit about a ¼ cup or more if needed. Transfer about one cup of the mole sauce to a deep bowl, big enough to dip the corn tortillas. You will be working in batches so add more sauce as needed to the bowl. Dip your corn tortillas in the mole sauce bowl. Flip both sides to coat them with the sauce and transfer to a plate.

Step 3 Assemble the enmoladas

Heat your shredded chicken in the microwave for about 60-90 seconds to warm up.

Add in your filling: shredded chicken, onion and crumbled cheese and roll the tortilla or you can fold in half. This process is done fairly quickly to prevent them from getting cold. Place your rolled enmoladas in a serving platter or serving plate. If the enmoladas get to cold before serving just heat up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Step 4 Add the toppings

Finish the mole enchiladas with the toppings. Top with sliced onions, crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese and toasted sesame seeds. This enmolada recipe makes about 16-18 enmoladas. If you have leftover sauce you can pour more sauce over the enmoladas after they have been rolled.

How to enjoy these chicken enmoladas?

You can serve with a side of Mexican red rice and beans, or salad. Or you can just enjoy alone topped with all the toppings (this is how I normally eat them)

Substitutions and Variations

• Chicken - Left over chicken works great for this recipe. You can use store bought rotisserie chicken or make your own. I like using this quick instant pot shredded chicken recipe if i'm not pressed in time.
• Cheese - If you can't find Mexican queso fresco you can use cotija cheese instead or feta cheese
• Instead of adding chicken you can definitely just do cheese filling, and you can even do shredded beef, but mole enchiladas are commonly eaten with chicken and cheese.
• Don't want to fry your corn tortillas in oil? You can just warm up your tortillas in the microwave in batches for 30-60 seconds and then coat with the mole sauce.

Storing tips

Enmoladas can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. You can definitely freeze leftovers for up to 3 month, but these are best served fresh. You can re-heat in the microwave and enjoy for up to four days.

Other Similar recipes you might enjoy:

Salsa Verde Entomatadas
Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos