On a road trip from North Dakota to California, one dinner in Salt Lake City rekindled my love for mole. After asking for recommendations on Instagram, we stopped at the Red Iguana for dinner. Their moles came highly recommended—“a must”—and I was eager to try them.
That night they were offering an unusual special: strawberry mole, served over chicken crema enchiladas. The sauce was sweet at first taste, but balanced by a warm spice and layers of toasted nuts and caramelized onion that cut the sweetness. The experience convinced me to explore fruit-based moles, and peaches—ripe and fragrant this time of year—seemed like the perfect place to start.
I’ve long been curious about the yellow mole in Pati Jinich’s cookbook and wanted to combine that approach with a peach mole to preserve bright color and fresh fruit flavor. I spent time studying other mole recipes from chefs like Enrique Olvera and Margarita Carrillo Arronte to understand technique and timing. (Fun fact that surprised me: Olvera’s famous mole at Pujol ages for a very long time—some recipes and methods benefit from resting.)
For this version I avoided tomatoes and dark dried chiles so the peach color would stay vibrant. Instead I searched out yellow chiles: White (or Yellow) Jalapeños, Hungarian Wax, Manzano, and other pale peppers that keep the sauce golden while offering varying heat levels. If you can’t find those, fresh banana peppers or yellow bell peppers will work—the bell peppers will add sweetness but not much heat.
Grilled peaches bring a caramelized note to the sauce, tomatillos add bright acidity, sesame seeds lend body, and warm spices such as cinnamon and clove give depth. Cilantro adds a fresh lift, while onion and garlic form the savory backbone. Together these elements create a balanced peach mole that pairs beautifully with grilled chicken.
You can use a mix of any yellow chiles you find. Hungarian Wax and fresh banana peppers tend to be mild, while Manzano peppers can take you by surprise with their heat. Adjust the pepper mix to your taste and tolerance for spice.
Grilled fruit is essential here: it develops sweetness and a slight smokiness that rounds the sauce. For a summer meal, I like to serve the peach mole with something grilled—chicken and chayotes make a simple, satisfying combination. If you haven’t cooked chayote before, think of it as a cross between zucchini and potato: mild, slightly sweet, and excellent when grilled.
When grilling chayotes, peel them if the skin feels tough, toss with a little oil, salt, and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat until tender and nicely charred. Serve with plenty of warm peach mole, alongside grilled chicken for contrast in texture and flavor.
Peach Mole with Grilled Chicken and Chayotes
4 cups mole sauce, about 6-8 servings
30 minutes
1 hour
1 hour 30 minutes
Ripe summer peaches transform into a golden, slightly spicy mole that pairs beautifully with grilled chicken and chayote. This peach mole gains flavor after resting and stores well in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for several months.
Ingredients
For the Mole:
- 4 large ripe peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut in half and pitted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
- 8 ounces fresh yellow chiles, such as Hungarian, Manzanita, or Aji
- 1 small onion, peeled and halved
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 1/2 cups broth, your choice
- 2-3 large tomatillos (about 4 ounces), husks removed, washed, and quartered
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 whole clove
For the Chicken and Chayotes:
- 3 pounds chicken pieces, breast, legs, or thighs or 1 whole chicken cut into pieces
- 3 chayotes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
Instructions
- Heat grill or grill pan to high.
- Brush peach halves, chiles, onion, and garlic with a little oil to prevent sticking. Place on the grill (you may have to do this in batches) and cook until charred, about 5 minutes. Flip and continue grilling until starting to soften, about 5 minutes more.
- Char the garlic in a dry skillet if you are using an outdoor grill to prevent it falling through the grates. Remove ingredients as they cook, for example the garlic will brown much quicker than the onion. Set ingredients aside until cool enough to handle. Once cool, remove stem, seeds, and tough skin from the chiles.
- If you are using a charcoal grill, cover grill after you char the veggies to keep the coals hot for grilling the chicken and chayotes.
- Now its time to blend. You want to blend all the ingredients until very smooth so the best way to do this is in small batches. Add the charred fruits and vegetables a little at a time with the remaining mole ingredients adding just enough broth with each batch to get the blender moving. Never fill the blender more than half full for each batch. Pour mole into a bowl after each batch and continue until all ingredients have been used.
- Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Once oil is shimmering add mole (careful it will spatter) and stir to “fry” the sauce in the oil. Bring mole to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer and season with salt. Start with a generous teaspoon of kosher salt and add a little more as needed.
- Cook until mole starts to thicken about 15 minutes. If serving mole right away, cover and simmer over very low heat until ready to serve. If you are making it ahead, let cool completely then transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to a week.
To make the chicken and chayote:
- Check to make sure grill is still at medium-high heat; adding more charcoal to the grill if necessary.
- Coat chicken pieces in a little oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Place chicken on the grill and cover. Grill over medium to medium-high heat, skin-side down for at least 15 minutes without touching (keep the grill covered).
- Turn and continue cooking chicken until cooked through, about 15 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, coat chayote slices in oil and season with salt and pepper. Add chayote slices to the grill about halfway through the chicken cooking time. Grill on one side until grill marks form. Flip and cook on the other side until tender (about 15 minutes total).
- Remove chicken and chayote from the grill and serve with mole sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 0Total Fat: 0g
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