Trader Joe’s Chicken Mole
Trader Joe’s, which is a cousin to Aldi, has an interesting selection of Mexican-inspired foods. Some favorites include their elote corn chip dippers, quesadillas, guacamole, and empanadas.
Recently, I spotted a popular dish in the grocer’s freezer aisle and had to try it: chicken mole. The package says this features “dark meat chicken in a smoky and savory chile blend sauce.”
Trader Joe’s Chicken Mole cost $6.99 for a 16-ounce package at our local TJ’s during the summer of 2025. That comes out to about 44 cents per ounce. The package has about three servings, so it costs around $2.33 per serving. We bought this for review using our own funds.
The package states:
Mole, meaning “sauce” or “mixture,” is a traditional sauce found in Mexican cuisine. Contrary to waht many believe, most moles do not contain chocolate. Our version is a “mole rojo” made with guajillo and pasilla peppers along with various other spices in a tomato-based sauce. It was inspired by recipes found in Central Mexico. Serve with chicken mole as a tasty taco or enchilada filling, over a bed of rice, or just on its own with a few slices of avocado!
Ingredients include boneless skinless chicken leg meat, water, onion, sugar, pasilla chile pepper, diced tomatoes in juice (tomatoes, tomato juice, calcium chloride, citric acid [acidifier], and 2% or less of safflower oil, chile pepper blend (chili pepper, guajillo chile peppers), garlic, cornstarch, sea salt, black pepper, onion powder, coriander and ground cinnamon.
One serving has 190 calories, 7 grams of total fat (9% DV), 1 gram of saturated fat (5% DV), 530 mg of sodium (23% DV), 12 grams of total carbohydrates (4% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 6 grams of total sugars, 6 grams of added sugars (12% DV), and 20 grams of protein.
This is fully cooked, and the package has directions for heating this from frozen in a microwave or on the stovetop.
To microwave, remove the tray from the cardboard sleeve and pierce the film 2-3 times with a fork. Heat on high for 2 minutes. Carefully remove the film and stir. Heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 1 minute before serving.
To heat on the stove, remove chicken mole from all packaging and place in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cover with a lid and heat for 3 minutes. Carefully stir or flip pieces of mole over and re-cover with the lid. Heat for an additional 2-4 minutes or until heated through, occasionally breaking up the chicken pieces. Let stand for 1 minute before serving.
I decided to heat this on my stovetop. I thawed it overnight in my refrigerator so it was easier and faster to heat in a skillet. I served it as a taco filling with flour tortillas and corn tortillas, sour cream, cotija cheese, diced tomatoes, and a Trader Joe’s southwestern riced cauliflower mix.
Some family members thought this was okay. I, on the other hand, really liked this and would buy it again. It’s savory, lightly sweet, and not too cinnamon-y. It’s on the upper end of mild or the lower end of medium in terms of spiciness. It paired well with all the taco fillings, but it would also be good served as part of a rice bowl with avocado and other toppings.
Also, despite the package’s smaller size, this had a good amount of meat packed into it. We got about six soft tacos out of it, which was more than I might have expected.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Chicken Mole features shredded dark chicken meat in a savory, mildly spicy chile sauce with hints of sweetness. We loved this as a taco filling, but you can also serve it as an enchilada or burrito filling, or as a bowl with various accompaniments.
