I was rummaging through my pantry a couple weeks back and found an unfinished but open bag of cacao nibs. Sadly they had over-fermented and had the distinct aftertaste of sourdough starter. I do not like to throw things out unless they are actually “off” so I left them on the counter to remind me to think on it. And so I did… and eventually came to the idea of a marriage between mole sauce and my favorites: tahini and kefir. So I chucked the remaining nibs (about a cup) into a cup of slightly watered down coconut kefir I had made and let it sit out for a couple days to further culture. I blended it with an array of chilis and chili powder and left it again.

Fermenting sauces that contain added and natural sugars is a way of keto “hacking”. The sugars are consumed by the natural bacteria after a few days. It is a condiment though so I would not recommend eating it with a spoon if you want to stay under your carb count.

Authentic mole contains bread, tortilla chips (both which I cannot currently eat) as well as chicken broth, which I decided to avoid for this recipe and go the way of the French: “let the vegetables speak for themselves.” I hope you enjoy it. It’s a surprisingly versatile sauce. It goes well with eggs, cheese, in wraps and will perform as well as standard mole in the classic chicken enchiladas or even cauliflower and tempeh enchiladas for a vegetarian or vegan option. Give it a shot and tell me what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cacao nibs or 100g bar of 100% baking chocolate, chopped (1/2 cup cacao powder will work here as well but you may need to add liquid)
• 1 cup coconut kefir
• 1 jalapeno, roasted
• 2 roma tomatoes, roasted
• 1 head garlic, roasted
• 1 ample cup fermented onions with brine + 1/4 cup additional brine
• 1 Large slice of Cultured Sourdough Keto Bread, toasted
• 1/2 cup stirred tahini
• 2 tsp hot smoked paprika
• 1 tsp hungarian paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• handful unsulphered raisins

Method:

You can do this one of two ways. Put all the ingredients in a jar and let them ferment for a few days and then blend, or blend together in a high powered blender and then put in a jar to ferment. I recommend the latter.

1. Sanitize a couple of wide mouth pint jars or a 1 liter glass mason in the oven at 180°F for a few minutes.
2. Place all ingredients in a high powered blender and puree until smooth.
3. Transfer to your sanitized glass jar and leave for 1-5 days for it to ferment. You will see little bubbles when it is fermenting. It is ready to eat or you can leave it until the bubbles stop.
4. Refrigerate after the ferment is finished.

Cultured Vegan Mole Sauce

Brenna May

Fermenting sauces that contain added and natural sugars is a way of keto “hacking”. The sugars are consumed by the natural bacteria after a few days. It is a condiment though so I would not recommend eating it with a spoon if you want to stay under your carb count. Authentic mole contains bread, tortilla chips (both which I cannot currently eat) as well as chicken broth, which I decided to avoid for this recipe and go the way of the French: “let the vegetables speak for themselves.” I hope you enjoy it. It’s a surprisingly versatile sauce. It goes well with eggs, cheese, in wraps and will perform as well as standard mole in the classic chicken enchiladas or even cauliflower and tempeh enchiladas for a vegetarian or vegan option. Give it a shot and tell me what you think!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican, Vegan

Servings 4 cups

Equipment

• Cast Iron Pan
• Food Processor

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup cacao nibs or 100g unsweetened cacao baking bar
• 1 cup coconut kefir
• 1 jalapeno roasted
• 2 roma tomatoes roasted
• 1 head garlic roasted
• 1 ample cup fermented onions with brine + 1/4 cup additional brine
• 1 Large slice of Cultured Sourdough Keto Bread toasted
• 1/2 cup stirred tahini
• 2 tsp hot smoked paprika
• 1 tsp hungarian paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• handful unsulphered raisins

Instructions

 

• You can do this one of two ways. Put all the ingredients in a jar and let them ferment for a few days and then blend, or blend together in a high powered blender and then put in a jar to ferment. I recommend the latter.
• Sanitize a couple of wide mouth pint jars or a 1 liter glass mason in the oven at 180°F for a few minutes.
• Place all ingredients in a high powered blender and puree until smooth.
• Transfer to your sanitized glass jar and leave for 1-5 days for it to ferment. You will see little bubbles when it is fermenting. It is ready to eat or you can leave it until the bubbles stop.
• Refrigerate after the ferment is finished.

Keyword keto, mexican, molé, paleo, vegan

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!