Mole verde
Photo: Vegan Feast Catering · CC BY 2.0

History

Mole verde is the fresh-herb mole, the lightest and quickest of the seven, with no chocolate and no dried chiles. Tomatillos, hierba santa, epazote, parsley and toasted pumpkin seeds make the base; masa thickens it. The dish anchors Sunday family lunches across Oaxaca and is the brightest mole on the menu at Las Quince Letras, Los Pacos and Restaurante Catedral.

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Common allergens: Wheat (tortilla)

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 1 hr 15 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg tomatillos
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 40g pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • 3 sprigs cilantro
  • 2 sprigs parsley
  • 3 leaves hierba santa
  • 1 sprig epazote
  • 800ml chicken stock
  • 30g masa harina dissolved in 100ml water
  • 500g pork or chicken, cooked
  • Salt

Method

  1. Boil tomatillos, jalapenos, onion and garlic 8 minutes; drain.
  2. Blend with pumpkin seeds, cilantro, parsley and one hierba santa leaf into a smooth paste.
  3. Fry the paste in 40ml lard 6 minutes.
  4. Add stock and the masa slurry; simmer 15 minutes.
  5. Add cooked meat and remaining torn hierba santa and epazote; simmer 10 minutes.

Tip from the editors. Blend the herbs cold and add late: too much heat turns the green into army-brown.

Where to eat mole verde

Mole verde in Oaxaca

Las Quince Letras ★ 4.4

$$$$ Tasting $700 to $1,100MexicanCentro HistoricoChef Celia Florian

Las Quince Letras is Celia Florian's women-owned mole room since 1992 near Santo Domingo, where the mole negro runs more than thirty ingredients.

Book1 week ahead

TipOrder the duo-de-moles or trio-de-moles to see the kitchen's range across three sauces in one sitting.

Directions Book

Los Pacos ★ 4.2

$$$$ Tasting $600 to $900MexicanCentro HistoricoChef Pablo Manzano

Los Pacos on Abasolo with a rooftop terrace runs seven moles on one tasting board for the canonical mole-flight of the city across two sittings daily.

Book1 week ahead

TipSkip mains and order the moles-de-Oaxaca tasting plate; bring an appetite and a friend to share the seven.

Directions Book

Restaurante Catedral ★ 4.2

$$$$ Tasting $650 to $950MexicanCentro HistoricoChef Catedral kitchen team

Restaurante Catedral one block from the cathedral runs a generous courtyard with live music and a seven-moles menu (negro, chichilo, amarillo, verde).

Book1 week ahead

TipTuesdays closed; the moles oaxaquenos platter for two is the standard ask. Live music after 8pm most nights.

Directions

Ancestral Cocina Tradicional ★ 4.5

$$ MexicanXochimilco

Ancestral in Xochimilco is the thatched-roof grove on Lopez Alavez, well away from Centro tourist flow, with the seven-moles tasting platter as the headline.

Why locals goIn Barrio de Xochimilco, the weaving quarter most tourists never reach; thatched-roof grove.

TipTake a taxi (the Lopez Alavez block is a steep climb); book the moles tasting for two.

Directions

Tierra del Sol ★ 4.8

$$$$ Tasting $1,200 to $1,500MexicanCentro HistoricoChef Olga Cabrera Oropeza

Tierra del Sol on Reforma is Olga Cabrera's three-floor Oaxaca room, named Mexico's Restaurant of the Year for 2026, with a rooftop comal of tetelas.

Book2 weeks ahead

TipSkip the prix fixe and graze through the rooftop comal section; the chichilo and mole amarillo are the headlines.

Directions

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