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Vegan Slow Cooker Mole with Potatoes and Beans

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This Vegan Slow Cooker Mole with Potatoes and Beans is as easy to make as it is impressive. Make the sauce the night before and throw it together in the morning. 

Vegan Slow Cooker Potato and Bean Mole

But Isn’t Mole Hard to Make?

If you haven’t made vegan slow cooler mole before, you might be a little intimidated, but it’s so much easier than you think it is. All you need is some dried chili peppers.

Then you toast the dried chilies, remove the stem and seeds, and reconstitute them in water. For this recipe we’re going to puree them and use it as the sauce. There are other types of moles, like my Slow Cooker Mushroom Mole Tacos.

Where Can I Buy Dried Chilies?

Many regular grocery stores will have packages of them in their international section. In fact, I just got some from my local Aldi’s. Of course, you can also get them online or at a Latin grocery.

We’re going to be using guajillo and ancho chilies. 

Welcome to another sponsored post for the Idaho Potato Commission. I love working with them because they are great people, and I get to cook with potatoes. That’s a win-win every time! 

Vegan Slow Cooker Idaho® Potato and Bean Mole

How Do I Make Vegan Slow Cooker Mole?

Once you have those chilies in your hands, you need to open them up and take out the seeds and stems. You can also do this after toasting if you want.

The chilies we are using here aren’t very hot, but you can always wear gloves to make sure you don’t transfer the chili oils anywhere unpleasant. I always seem to want to touch my eye.

Toast them in a dry skillet until they become fragrant. Then you’ll put them in a pan of water and reconstitute them.

Vegan Slow Cooker Idaho® Potato and Bean Mole

After cooking, they will puree easily and smoothly with the other mole ingredients in your blender.See how easy that is? And it’s the hard part. I love this recipe!

Then all you have to do is mix the sauce with the cut potatoes and cooked beans and cook on low 7 to 9 hours in your crockpot. When you come home, you can either steam some rice or break out the tortillas.

Vegan Slow Cooker Idaho® Potato and Bean Mole

How Do I Serve Vegan Slow Cooker Mole with Potatoes and Beans?

I like to have a variety of toppings out on the table. You could do a few or all of these: spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, salsa, guacamole, and a variety of salsas.

You can serve with large flour tortillas This is a hearty dinner that’s perfect for a winter night.

Vegan Slow Cooker Mole with Potatoes and Beans in a Burrito

Vegan Slow Cooker Potato and Bean Mole

Vegan Slow Cooker Idaho® Potato and Bean Mole

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Course: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Author: Kathy Hester

Ingredients

chili puree ingredients:

  • 2 dried ancho chili peppers
  • 2 dried guajillo chili peppers
  • 1/2 dried chipotle or mora chile pepper optional to make it hotter
  • water to cover chili peppers

sauce ingredients:

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil or dry saute to make oil-free
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup chili cooking water see instructions
  • 1 bouillon cube
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/3 cup tablespoons blanched almonds
  • 1 ounce unsweetened dark chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar or maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • salt to taste

for the slow cooker:

  • 4 cups Idaho® potatoes peeled and chopped
  • 1 can kidney beans rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 cups homemade)
  • 1 can pinto or black beans rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 cups homemade)

Instructions

Prepare the chilies:

  • Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat. You don't want to overcook or burn them, just to dry them out a bit and cook until they become fragrant.
  • Let cool, then remove the seeds, stem and ribs and discard. Place the flesh of the pepper in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes to reconstitute. Then take the pan off the burner and set aside for later.
  • Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Once hot add the onions and saute until translucent. Stir in the garlic, cumin, allspice and cinnamon and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, until the spices become fragrant.
  • Use tongs or a slotted spoon to carefully remove the reconstituted peppers and put them in your blender with all of the sauce ingredients EXCEPT for the salt. Blend until smooth, taste, add salt and taste again.
  • Add the Idaho® potatoes, beans and the sauce ingredients to your 3 to 4-quart slow cooker. Cook on low 7 to 9 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
  • Note: If you may be home late add an extra 1/4 cup water to make sure the filling doesn't burn.
  • Serve over rice, in tacos or burritos.
Tried this recipe?Post a pic of yours and tag @geekpoet

While you’re trying new things take a look at Doras’ Spicy Peanut Sauce Enchiladas.

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Comments

  5. I can’t put into words how amazing this looks! Love that it’s made int the slow cooker….need it ASAP, can’t wait! 🙂

    Reply

  8. Kathy,
    This sounds yummy. Your sauce is so smooth and on point. I was always under the impression that mole is going to be a messy, difficult thing. So I just used to leave it for the professional. This recipe looks extremely inviting. Just a question, I do not own a slow cooker. How can I adapt this recipe for stove top / oven?
    Thank you, Cheers!

    Reply

    • You would add the sauce, beans and potatoes to a covered saucepan and simmer until the potatoes are tender. You will probably need to add extra water since you’ll probably get more evaporation.

      Reply

  9. I see that you add cinnamon to this recipe, but I don’t see how much. Can you let me know … this looks dee-lish and we’re collecting the ingredients so we can try it out. 🙂

    Reply

      • We made it last night and it was perfect … rich, complex and delicious! And, you were right … the chiles were the hardest part, and not all that hard at all. We included toasted pepitas in our “toppings” and served it with a tortilla. Thank you for sharing such wonderful and nutritious vegan options with us … I used to tuck my crock pot in the closet between uses, now it stays out on the kitchen counter awaiting your next recipe!

        Reply

  11. Potatoes and beans pretty much rock my world. Of course, I’m trying to figure out how to do this in the pressure cooker! 🙂

    Reply

    • They would not be good to use in this. You really need the mild chilies called for to make the base. You could add a little Szechuan dried chili to make the mixture hotter though. If you just used them though it would be too hot for 98% of people to eat.

      Reply

  14. How do I alter this to be UWL compliant? Can I use white beans or a roasted onion in place of the blanched almonds & how many dates can be used as a substitute for the maple syrup? Thank You!

    Reply

    • You could use rolled oats for the almonds and I’m not sure how many dates you’d need. I would start with one, taste, and add more if needed.

      Reply

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