Mole de Olla Recipe: Mexico’s Rustic Beef & Vegetable Stew That Warms the Soul
Mole de Olla is a traditional Mexican beef and vegetable stew filled with bone-in beef shank, corn, squash, carrots, and cabbage simmered in a rich guajillo-pasilla chile broth. It’s rustic, comforting, and loaded with homestyle flavor — a countryside classic that warms you from the inside out.
Ingredients
- Beef & Broth
- 2 lbs beef shank with bone or beef chuck
- 8 cups water
- 1 white onion halved
- 4 garlic cloves
- Salt to taste
- Chile Base
- 3 guajillo chiles seeded
- 2 pasilla chiles seeded
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ onion
- Vegetables
- 2 ears corn cut into rounds
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1 chayote cubed
- 1 zucchini sliced thick
- 1 small cabbage wedge optional but traditional
- 1 sprig epazote or cilantro if unavailable
- To Serve
- Lime wedges
- Warm corn tortillas
- Cilantro & onion optional
- Avocado slices optional
Instructions
- Mole de Olla: Step-by-Step
- Build the Broth
- Place beef, onion, garlic, salt, and water in a large pot.
- Simmer 1 hour, skimming foam for clarity and flavor.
- Make the Chile Sauce
- Toast guajillo and pasilla chiles lightly — never burn them.
- Boil chiles with tomatoes 5 minutes.
- Blend with onion and garlic.
- Strain for a smooth broth.
- Add Vegetables in Stages
- Add corn and carrots — simmer 10 minutes.
- Add chayote — simmer 10 minutes.
- Add zucchini and cabbage — simmer 10 more minutes.
- Bring It Together
- Stir in strained chile sauce.
- Add epazote.
- Simmer 15 minutes more.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve Hot
- Ladle into clay bowls if you have them.
- Serve with warm tortillas, lime wedges, and avocado.
- Slow food. Deep comfort. Worth every minute.