How many calories are in chicken mole?
A 1-cup serving of chicken mole weighs 244 g and carries 334 calories. Per 100 g the dish runs 137 calories, level with the creamy chicken dinners beside it in the USDA tables despite the chocolate in the sauce. The catch is not the calories at all. It's the 1,322 mg of sodium riding along with them.
You'd need to walk about 67 minutes to burn the 334 calories in a 1-cup (244 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off chicken mole?
A 1-cup (244 g) serving is 334 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 334 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 7 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 42 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 48 min |
| Jogging | 39 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 14 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (244 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Chicken mole quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a full cup
- Homestyle, frozen and canned chicken mole
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How does chicken mole compare?
- Most popular chicken mole brands
- FAQ
Chicken mole quick facts
The record behind every number on this page is FNDDS 2706439, "Chicken with mole sauce". It is the only USDA entry for the finished dish, chicken and sauce together, as it reaches the plate. The alternatives were a sauce-only record and a frozen dinner, and neither answers what someone actually eats at a table. FNDDS is the survey database built for mixed dishes, and it gives a household measure people can picture: one cup.
That cup is 244 g. If your portion is a thigh and a ladle of sauce, you are close to it. If it is a shallow spoonful over rice, you are nearer half.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (244 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 137 | 334 | — |
| Total fat | 5.58 g | 13.6 g | 17% |
| Saturated fat | 1.66 g | 4.1 g | 20% |
| Carbohydrate | 3.22 g | 7.9 g | 3% |
| Dietary fiber | 0.3 g | 0.7 g | 3% |
| Total sugars | 2.12 g | 5.2 g | — |
| Protein | 18.97 g | 46.3 g | 93% |
| Sodium | 542 mg | 1322 mg | 57% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Two rows you would see on a packaged label are missing here: added sugars and trans fat. This edition of FNDDS does not publish either for mixed dishes, so showing a figure would mean inventing one. Cholesterol and potassium do appear in the record: a cup delivers 190 mg of cholesterol, 63% of the Daily Value, and 566 mg of potassium, 12%. The FDA's Daily Value reference is what those percentages are measured against.
US servings, from one ounce to a full cup
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 38 kcal |
| 3 oz | 85 g | 116 kcal |
| 4 oz | 113 g | 155 kcal |
| Half a cup | 122 g | 167 kcal |
| One cup | 244 g | 334 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 137 kcal |
Only the 1-cup line is a USDA household measure. Every other weight in that table is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, scaled straight down, not a separate USDA serving.
The ounce lines matter more than they look. Mole is a dish people serve by the piece, and a piece is not a cup. A single chicken thigh with sauce clinging to it lands close to 4 oz, or 155 calories. Two pieces with a generous ladle push past the full cup. Weighing once, on a kitchen scale, tells you which of those two rows is yours, and after that you can eyeball it for months.
Homestyle, frozen and canned chicken mole
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homestyle chicken with mole sauce | 137 kcal | 1 cup (244 g) | 334 kcal |
| Frozen tray, 5 oz | 136 kcal | 140 g (5 oz) | 190 kcal |
| Frozen 1-cup pack | 165 kcal | 200 g (1 cup) | 330 kcal |
| Canned chicken mole | 73 kcal | 245 g (1 cup) | 179 kcal |
Here is the thing most pages miss. "A plate of chicken mole" is not one number, and the gap between store versions is 2.3 times per 100 g. The canned version from Juanita's sits at 73 calories per 100 g because it is thin and wet, with more sauce and broth per gram of bird. A frozen 1-cup pack from Marcela Valladolid runs 165, more than double, because the meat is denser and the sauce is reduced.
The frozen 5 oz tray is the sneakiest of the three. At 136 calories per 100 g it is a dead ringer for the homestyle record, but the tray only holds 140 g, so it logs at 190 calories. That is a light lunch, not a dinner, and people who eat one at 1 p.m. are usually hungry by three. Two trays is 380, which is above the homestyle cup.
If you are logging from a package, log the package. If you are logging a pot someone cooked, the 137 per 100 g line is the closer fit.
Sodium is the row to watch
A cup of chicken mole gives you 1,322 mg of sodium against 334 calories. That is 57% of the Daily Value in a portion carrying about a sixth of a day's energy, and it works out to a little over half a teaspoon of table salt. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put the ceiling at 2,300 mg a day, so one bowl and a salted side can finish the budget before dinner is over.
The fix is not skipping mole. It is the broth. Chiles, seeds, tomato and a square of chocolate contribute almost nothing salty on their own; the salt in this dish arrives through bouillon, canned stock and the seasoning of the braise. Cut the bouillon and the number moves a long way.
Now the number worth celebrating. That same cup carries 46.3 g of protein, 93% of the Daily Value, which is a huge return for 334 calories. MyPlate's protein guidance treats a 3 oz cooked portion of poultry as one serving; a cup of mole is closer to two. Saturated fat stays modest at 4.1 g, 20% of a day, because the thickening comes from seeds rather than cream.
How does chicken mole compare?
All four dishes below are measured at 4 oz (113 g), so the sauces are the only thing changing. Chicken mole's own 4 oz figure is our arithmetic from its 100 g value.
| Dish | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories | Protein per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken with mole sauce | 137 kcal | 4 oz (113 g) | 155 kcal | 18.97 g |
| Chicken with mushroom sauce | 136 kcal | 4 oz (113 g) | 154 kcal | 19.29 g |
| Chicken divan | 140 kcal | 4 oz (113 g) | 158 kcal | 15.51 g |
| Chicken and noodles, tomato sauce | 137 kcal | 4 oz (113 g) | 155 kcal | 7.12 g |
Our take: on calories these four are indistinguishable, spread across just 4 calories per 100 g, so choosing mole over divan to "save calories" is a wash. The protein column is where the choice actually lives. Mole and mushroom sauce sit near 19 g per 100 g; divan drops to 15.51 g because cheese and cream displace meat, and the noodle dish falls to 7.12 g because pasta takes up the room. For a filling plate at a fixed calorie count, mole or the mushroom version wins. For weight loss, take mole at 4 oz and spend the rest of the plate on vegetables rather than rice.
Most popular chicken mole brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Marcela Valladolid Chicken Mole (5 oz tray) | 136 cal |
| Marcela Valladolid Chicken Mole (1 cup) | 165 cal |
| Juanita's Chicken Mole (canned) | 73 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken mole FAQs
How many calories are in chicken mole?
Chicken mole runs 137 calories per 100 g, so a standard 1-cup serving of 244 g comes to 334 calories. That number covers the chicken and the sauce together, as it is served. Restaurant plates that add rice and a tortilla will land well above it.
How many calories in 1 cup of chicken mole?
334 calories in one cup, 244 g on the USDA household measure. Half a cup is 167 calories by our own arithmetic from the 100 g figure. The cup also brings 46.3 g of protein and 1,322 mg of sodium, which is 57% of a day's limit.
How much protein is in chicken mole?
A 1-cup serving delivers 46.3 g of protein, 93% of the Daily Value, from 18.97 g per 100 g. That is one of the highest protein returns you will find in a saucy chicken dish, because mole is thickened with chiles, seeds and a little chocolate rather than cream.
How many carbs are in chicken mole?
7.9 g of carbohydrate in a 1-cup serving, only 3% of the Daily Value, and 3.22 g per 100 g. Fiber is minimal at 0.7 g and total sugars come to 5.2 g. The carbs arrive when rice, beans or tortillas share the plate, not from the mole itself.
Is chicken mole high in sodium?
Yes, one cup carries 1,322 mg of sodium, 57% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, a little over half a teaspoon of table salt. That is the single biggest number on the label. Home cooks who salt the broth lightly and skip added bouillon can cut it noticeably.
Is chicken mole healthy for weight loss?
At 137 calories per 100 g with 18.97 g of protein, chicken mole is one of the easier saucy dishes to fit into a calorie target. A 4 oz portion is 155 calories. If you are watching sodium, keep the serving to 4 oz and build the plate with vegetables.
How many calories in canned chicken mole?
Juanita's canned chicken mole is 73 calories per 100 g, so the 245 g cup on the label is 179 calories. The can is thinner and wetter than a homestyle pot, which is why it lands at roughly half the calories of the 137 per 100 g homestyle figure.
Does mole sauce add a lot of calories to the chicken?
Less than people expect: chicken with mole sauce is 137 calories per 100 g, against 136 for chicken in mushroom sauce and 140 for chicken divan. The chocolate and seeds sound rich, but the sauce is mostly chile, tomato and broth, so the spread across all three is 4 calories.
Similar foods
- Lasagna — 286 cal per piece
- Chicken Chow Mein — 288 cal per cup
- Half And Half — 20 cal per tbsp
- Toor Dal — 348 cal per cup
- Snow Cone — 256 cal per snow cone
- Shrimp Pad Thai — 294 cal per cup
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the chicken and the sauce for you, ladle and all.
