Sheet pan nachos combined with elote, fresh cilantro, seared ahi, and mole sauce is the combination of your favorite mexican flavors that you can eat for dinner. Ready in about 40 minutes. Serves 2-4.

In college my husband had the opportunity to visit Mexico on a school field trip to study Mexican architecture. One of the favorite places they visited was Oaxaca (prounounced Waa-ha-kuh) and he still talks about the mole negro he had on that trip that Oaxaca is famous for.

Luckily for my husband, he is an extremely likeable human, so when he asked a coworker how she was celebrating a holiday with her family over the weekend, he ended up with a bag of her mom’s mole sauce on Monday. It’s been in the freezer waiting for its opportunity to shine, and while I was considering ways I could mix it up, it occurred to me that mole nachos are something I’ve never seen before and when has nachos anything ever not been delicious?

Mole is typically served with chicken, which is the perfect base to allow the complex flavors of mole to take center stage. For this recipe, I opted for seared ahi which is also a more mellow protein (not fishy) that worked beautifully with the mole.

When I made this, I had to give it to my husband to eat on the road because he was leaving for a bachelor party, and he told me it felt wrong because he thinks this is the best thing I’ve ever made. Lucky for him, I had to make it again within the week because I was recipe testing.

What is mole?

Mole is a traditional chile sauce originating from Mexico. Different areas of Mexico will have different approaches to the recipes based on locally available ingredients.

In appearance, mole typically has a rich brown or almost black color due to the types of chiles used in it. It has an extremely rich and complex flavor due to all of the spices and how the flavors are used in the sauce. If you can ever try authentic mole during your travels or if you have the good fortune of having a friend who’s family has their own recipe, TRY IT.

If you don’t have the time to make mole sauce, you can also buy premade mole sauce or paste. The brands I found that were most highly recommended are Black Mole Paste by Juquilita and ¡Ya Oaxaca! Mole Negro sauce.

Before you start this recipe, here’s what you need to know.

There are a lot of ingredients, but it’s a relatively simple recipe and if your mole is already made it will be ready to eat in about an hour.
This will serve 2-4 adults as an entree style meal
See my substack post if you want help making this into a full blown dinner party. The post includes what I served for a drink, appetizer, sides, desserts, decoration resources and inspiration.
This recipe can be easily doubled! Just double the ingredients and spread across two baking sheets. You may need to increase the baking time in the oven for a few minutes depending on how powerful your oven is.

Substitutions:

Ahi can be substituted for the same amount of shredded chicken

Ingredients:

For the seared Ahi

12-16 oz fresh ahi steak
1 tbl brown sugar
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the elote sauce

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons crema or sour cream
2 tsp lime juice

For the nachos

16 oz bag of your favorite tortilla chips, my favorite are the Mission Tortilla Strips from Costco or the Truly Tortilla Chips White Corn from Trader Joe’s
1/2 cup mole sauce homemade or storebought (options below)
3/4 cup black beans washed and rinsed
1/4 large red onion (or 1/2 small) diced
8 oz shredded cheese or monterey jack cheese
3-4 oz cotija cheese
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)

Directions

Start by preheating the oven to 300ºF (150ºC) and lining a baking sheet with foil (you don’t have to completely cover the edges)

Make the ahi.

Searing ahi works best if you’ve taken the chill off, so try to let it sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Combine the smoked paprika, brown sugar, salt, chili powder, garlic powder and black pepper in a small bowl and then rub into the ahi on all sides (top, bottom and edges) and set aside.

Preheat a frying pan over medium high heat with 2 tablespoons of high heat oil such as avocado or Algae Cooking Oil (a new favorite of mine!). Once the pan is hot, carefully place the ahi in the pan and sear for 3-4 minutes, then flip over and repeat on the other side. Once both sides are browned, use tongs to carefully stand the ahi on its side to sear each edge for 1-2 minutes, turning the steak as many times as you need. If you want the ahi to be cooked more thoroughly, then cook for 5-6 minutes each side, and cover the pan with a lid for 3-4 after you sear the second side.

Let the ahi rest on a plate for 10 minutes while you assemble the nachos.

Assemble the nachos.

Pour the chips onto the prepared pan, then drizzle the mole sauce evenly over the chips followed by the shredded cheese. Finely chop the red onion and spread across the nachos along with the black beans. Crumble or shred the cotija cheese over the nachos. Place the nachos in the oven for five minutes. Once the ahi has rested for ten minutes, cut into slices about 1/2 inch or 1/4 cm thick, then place evenly across the nachos. Return to the oven for five more minutes.

While the nachos finish baking, finely chop the cilantro and make the elote sauce. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and crema or sour cream and lime juice and stir. Adding the lime isn't traditional but helps loosen it so it can drizzle more easily.

Remove the nachos from the oven, drizzle the elote sauce evenly over, and finish with a sprinkle of cilantro. Optional lime wedges for people to use (optional).

Enjoy while they are hot!

Mole Nachos with Seared Ahi