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Beef Mole Rice Bowls with Avocado

Seared flank steak, fluffy rice, and pinto beans meet a savory chile mole with toasted spice and just enough chocolate to round the sauce.

Four bowls of mole-coated flank steak with rice, pinto beans, avocado, lime, pepitas, and cilantro.

These bowls pair glossy mole-coated beef with fluffy rice and gently warmed pinto beans. Avocado, lime, pepitas, and cilantro bring coolness, brightness, and crunch to the rich sauce.

Build depth with toast and chile

Ancho and pasilla chiles bring fruit and earthy warmth, while almonds, sesame, and tortilla give the sauce body. Toasting each carefully builds a savory base without letting the chile skins turn bitter.

Keep the bowl components distinct

The rice cooks separately while the mole is blended and simmered, so each component keeps its own texture. Coat the sliced steak with sauce at the end and reserve extra mole for the beef rather than the rice.

Toasted chiles soak in broth beside the browned aromatics, sesame, almonds, and tortilla for mole. — Toasted chiles soften in broth beside the browned aromatics and seeds for the mole base.

Let the mole turn glossy

A gentle simmer melds the toasted ingredients and thickens the sauce until it clings to a spoon. Mexican chocolate goes in near the end, where it rounds the chile and spice without pushing the mole toward dessert.

Slice across the grain

Resting gives the flank steak time to settle before it is cut thinly across the visible grain. A light coating of mole keeps the beef glossy and flavorful while the rice remains separate and fluffy.

Glossy mole-coated flank steak and distinct rice and beans are finished with avocado, lime, pepitas, and cilantro. — Thin mole-coated steak sits beside separate rice and beans with avocado, lime, pepitas, and cilantro.

Beef Mole Rice Bowls with Avocado

4 bowls

85 minutes total

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb flank steak
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 dried pasilla chile, stemmed and seeded
• 1/2 small yellow onion, quartered
• 1 Roma tomato
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup raw almonds
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 oz Mexican chocolate, chopped
• 15 oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 avocados
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup raw pepitas
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method

Cook the rice
Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear. Combine it with the water and 1/2 tsp salt in a saucepan; bring to a boil, cover, reduce to low, and cook for 15 minutes, then rest covered for 10 minutes.
Look for: The rice is tender, the water is absorbed, and the covered rest leaves the grains fluffy rather than wet.
Toast the pepitas
Toast the pepitas in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking often, until they smell nutty and begin to pop. Transfer them to a plate so the hot pan does not scorch them.
Look for: The pepitas are lightly golden in spots and fragrant, with no dark or bitter patches.
Toast and soften the chiles
Toast the ancho and pasilla chiles in the dry skillet for about 20 seconds per side, pressing them flat until fragrant but not smoking. Cover them with 1 cup hot chicken broth and soak until pliable.
Look for: The chiles smell fruity and toasted, stay pliable, and show no blackened edges.
Toast the mole base
Toast the almonds, sesame seeds, and tortilla pieces in the skillet, stirring until golden and aromatic; transfer them out. Add 1 tbsp oil, then cook the onion, tomato, and garlic until softened and charred in spots.
Look for: The seeds and tortilla are golden rather than dark, and the onion and tomato have softened with a few browned edges.
Blend the mole
Blend the softened chiles with their soaking broth, the remaining chicken broth, toasted almonds, sesame, tortilla, onion, tomato, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves until completely smooth. Work in batches if needed and vent hot liquid safely.
Look for: The sauce is smooth and thick enough to cling lightly to a spoon, with no visible chile skin or seed fragments.
Simmer and finish the mole
Pour the blended mole into a saucepan and simmer gently, stirring often, for 12 minutes. Stir in the Mexican chocolate and 1/2 tsp salt until melted; keep the sauce savory, with chocolate rounding the chile rather than making it sweet.
Look for: The mole darkens slightly, coats the back of a spoon, and tastes toasted and savory with a restrained chocolate note.
Sear and rest the steak
Pat the flank steak dry and season both sides with the remaining salt and the black pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high; sear the steak until browned and it reaches 145 F at the thickest point, then rest on a board for 10 minutes.
Look for: The steak has a deeply browned crust and reaches 145 F at the center; resting keeps the board from filling with juices.
Warm the beans
While the steak rests, warm the rinsed pinto beans in a small saucepan over low heat with 1/4 cup mole, stirring until hot throughout. Keep the beans moist but not soupy so they sit neatly beside the rice.
Look for: The beans are steaming and lightly coated, with no pool of liquid at the bottom of the pan.
Slice and coat the beef
Find the direction of the flank steak's grain and slice thinly across it. Toss the slices with just enough warm mole to coat the meat without dripping sauce onto the rice.
Look for: The slices show short muscle fibers and a thin, glossy coating of mole rather than a heavy puddle.
Assemble the bowls
Divide the rice and beans among four bowls and add the mole-coated beef. Top with sliced avocados, a squeeze of lime, toasted pepitas, and cilantro; serve extra mole over the beef so the rice stays fluffy.
Look for: Each bowl has separate fluffy rice, warmly spiced beans, glossy beef, fresh avocado, and a crisp seed finish.