Savory Mole Black Beans baked in our quick and easy Mole Sauce topped with queso fresco cheese (optional)- serve this as a delicious side dish for your Mexican Fiesta or as a flavorful base for healthy bowls, tacos and burritos. Video!
You can’t wait for that healing to feel wholeness. You have to feel wholeness for that healing to occur. — Joe Dispenza.
Here’s a delicious way to doctor up black beans- bake them in a flavorful Mole Sauce! Serve them up as a tasty side dish at your next Mexican Fiesta, or turn them into a meal by creating healthy Mexican bowls, topped with Cilantro Lime Rice, Mexican Slaw and Avocado. Either way, we think you’ll love them!
Quick & Easy Mole Sauce
Ingredients in Mole Black Beans
- Cooked black Beans (3 x 14-ounce cans)
- Queso fresco cheese (optional)
- Cilantro for garnish
Quick Mole Sauce:
- Veggie broth, chicken stock or water. More for thinning.
- Tomato sauce (or sub-pureed tomatoes, or diced tomatoes and juices)
- olive oil
- Garlic and onion
- Soy sauce (or sub-GF Liquid Aminos)
- Chipotle chili and adobo sauce
- Salt, pepper, and spices: chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon
- Tahini paste– or peanut butter or almond butter
- Dark chocolate squares
- agave or maple to taste (optional, it just depends on the chocolate)
How to make Black Beans with Mole Sauce
Step 1: Make the Quick Mole Sauce- you’ll need about 1 1/4 cups for this recipe. It takes about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Place the cooked black beans (drained, rinsed, strained) in a greased ovenproof skillet or baking dish.
Step 3. Stir in the warm mole sauce. Season with salt (make sure to taste!) and loosen the beans with 1/2 cup water or broth. When you shake the pan, they should level out easily, if they are thick and still mounding, add a bit more water.
Step 4: Sprinkle with queso fresco if you like, cover tightly with foil.
Step 5: Bake in a 350F oven until the cheese is melty, the edges are bubbling, and it’s heated all the way through, about 25-30 minutes.
After the Mole Black beans are baked, garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve as a side dish or as a base for a healthy bowl.
Serve as a bowl, topped with:
- Mexican Slaw
- Avocado or Guacamole
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Fermented Hot sauce, Pico de gallo or Chipotle Mayo
More recipes you may enjoy:
- Baked Enchilada Beans
- Italian Baked Beans and Greens
- Cuban Black Beans
- Mexican Pinto Beans
- How to make Refried Beans!
- Southwest Black Bean Quinoa Salad
- Amazing Black Bean Burgers (in under 30 mins!)
Mole Black Beans
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Savory Black Beans baked in a quick and easy Mexican Mole Sauce topped with queso fresco cheese (optional)- serve this as a delicious side dish for your Mexican Fiesta or as a flavorful base for healthy bowls.
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 –5 cups cooked black Beans (3 x 14-ounce cans, rinsed and drained)
- 1/2 cup water or broth
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese (optional)
- Cilantro for garnish
Quick Mole Sauce:
- 1/4 cup veggie broth, chicken stock or water. More for thinning.
- 3/4 cup tomato sauce (pureed tomatoes or diced tomatoes and juices)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup onion- rough diced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or sub GF Liquid Aminos)
- 1 chipotle chili ( canned in adobo sauce) plus 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon oregano- optional
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch cloves (optional)
- 1/4 tsp salt and pepper, more to taste
- 2 tablespoons sesame tahini paste, peanut butter or almond butter
- 1 ounce dark chocolate (squares or chips)
- agave or maple to taste (optional, it just depends on the chocolate)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Make the Quick Mole Sauce- place broth, tomato sauce, olive oil, garlic, onion, soy sauce, chipotle, spices and salt in a blender and blend until smooth– if need be, add a little more water or broth to get the blender going. Pour into a small pot, bring to a simmer, cover ( it will splatter!) and simmer gently on low heat for 10 minutes to “cook” the onion and garlic. Stir in the tahini paste and chocolate until smooth and combined. If it seems thick add a splash of water. Taste, adjust salt, heat and sweetness to your liking using agave if you want it sweeter.
- Place the black beans (drained, rinsed, strained) in a greased ovenproof skillet or baking dish. Stir in the warm mole sauce. Season with salt (make sure to taste!) and loosen the beans with 1/2 cup water or broth. When you shake the pan, they should level out easily, if they are thick and still mounding, add a bit more water.
- Sprinkle with queso fresco cheese if you like, cover tightly with foil, and bake in a 350F oven until heated all the way through, cheese is melty, and it’s bubbling at the edges- about 25-30 minutes. Uncover for a few minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro.
Serve as a side dish with your Mexican Fiesta or use them as a base for a hearty Mexican bowl.
Notes
To Create a Bowl:Scoop warm Mole Black beans into a bowl. Top with any of the following: Mexican Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice, Mexican Slaw, Pico de Gallo, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Avocados or Guacamole, radishes, microgreens, cilantro etc.
For added protein: Chipotle Chicken, Mexican Braised Shortribs, Oaxacan Lamb Barbacoa, Crispy Tofu or Birria, or Tofu Bacon!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¾ cup
- Calories: 292
- Sugar: 4.3 g
- Sodium: 1169.1 mg
- Fat: 9.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.4 g
- Fiber: 14.6 g
- Protein: 14.9 g
- Cholesterol: 7.3 mg
This is an amazing recipe — richly flavorful and easy! It’s now a total fam fav!
Glad to hear this Susan!
This is a fabulous dish! We made it with cilantro lime rice and served with a salad for an excellent vegetarian meal.
Glad you enjoyed!
Can leftovers be frozen? Thanks
Yes!
Oh my goodness…so yummy. Made your pico de gallo and lime cilantro rice, stuffed it all in a tortilla wrap with some feta cheese and sour cream…. deeee licious! Only sub was for the dark chocolate as I didn’t have any, just used 3 tbs of cocoa powder with about two tsp butter and about 2 tbs of maple syrup and that did the trick. Thanks for all your awesome recipes.
Sounds so perfect! The improvising sounds just right.
Sylvia,
I’d give this 10 stars if I could. It’s a great dish and very clever, just like all of your yummy recipes. Thanks for all the effort you put into getting your recipes perfect for all of us to make. I made double the quantity of mole sauce so will have to hand in the fridge. I added coriander and lime juice and jest to finish the bean dish.
Thanks a mil !
We really appreciate this, so happy you are enjoying!
Really love this recipe! So easy and delicious! The whole family enjoyed it. I make it almost weekly now for taco nights!
So happy you enjoyed this Kristin!
i made it today. very easy and seriously delicious. thank you very much!
So happy you liked this!
So easy and delicious! Great with cilantro lime rice and avocado for a quick meal. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed Amanda!
Hi, I noticed the recipe doesn’t mention the garlic or onion in the steps? Where/when should they be added?
Sorry about that Laura- you add them to the blender- I updated the recipe. 🙂 Thanks for pointing it out!
Just superb, made exactly according to the recipe, w the peanut butter option. My two adult kids and four of their friends ate nearly all of the 10-cup version we made, nearly two pounds of dried beans. 😳 Paired w the lime / cilantro rice and the Mexican slaw as suggested… YUMMMMM. The only thing I’ll do differently for this meal is find the largest limes I can – zesting and juicing small limes is not for me! 😁
Great to hear Barbara!Sounds tasty!
Oh, these are fantastic! Thank you for what you do!
thanks Barbara!
Served this dish and coconut rice with the roasted veggies at a block party. People loved it! Some of the best mole sauce I’ve had. Love this recipe.
Thanks so much- really appreciate this, and happy you enjoyed it!
Fabulous beans…We had them tonight with your Mexican rice and roasted vegetables with your pickled onions on top. Such great flavor. Used mozzarella cheese on top.
Excellent! So glad you enjoyed.
Hi,
Thank you for another great recipe! I’m planning on making this tonight. Do you cook the onions and garlic first before you add them to the blender?
Thanks
So in this Quick Mole, you add them raw, but then you cook the sauce.