Review: Mole Enchiladas from Taco Palenque

Bottom Line: Taco Palenque is making some excellent mole enchiladas, and you can kick up the heat with their Red Hot Sauce.

When going to a fast food taco joint, you expect to find tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, and even enchiladas—but mole sauce is not something you commonly stumble upon at a place like this. That’s a traditional Mexican sauce made with chocolate, chili peppers, spices, cinnamon, and any number of other ingredients, and it brings complex flavors that you don’t usually associate with a fast food establishment. But Texas-based chain Taco Palenque does have mole enchiladas, and they’re doing a pretty darn good job with the dish.

The combo plate comes with three corn tortillas stuffed with roasted chicken, generously covered with mole sauce, and topped with sesame seeds. It also comes with refried beans and rice on the side. I didn’t see it on the menu at the store (it’s part of the online menu referred to as “Enmoladas”), but I asked, and they confirmed they had it.

When I received the plate, it was certainly a generous portion that I probably could have split into two meals—but I was rather hungry and ended up devouring the whole thing! The mole sauce has an immediate sweetness, with notes of chocolate and cinnamon definitely present. But it’s not a sweet sauce, offering the good savory balance and complexity you look for in a mole. The shredded chicken inside is tender and flavorful, providing a nice, mild protein to pair with the bold sauce. The tortillas are soft, but not to the point of falling apart. The sesame seeds give a good little crunch, though some cotija cheese would have been a nice addition (just a nitpick).

The heat is Mild on my scale, but it’s a creeping, sneaky heat that builds the more you eat. And if you add just a little bit of their Red Hot Sauce, it doesn’t take away from the wonderful flavor of the mole, and it kicks things up quite nicely, moving it beyond Medium and heading toward Hot!

The calorie count for the full plate comes to 830, and then there’s that salsa bar that also includes free chips. So my original plan to split this into two meals was definitely the right one—but instead, I ended up scheduling extra time on the treadmill the next several days! At twelve bucks for the combo (no drink included), that’s a bit high for fast food, but I’m not complaining at all considering the quality of the meal. Even the beans and rice stand out at this place, and I completely cleaned my plate!

Taco Palenque has quite a large selection of Mexican favorites, and they’re best known for their Piratas, which include flour tortillas stuffed with fajitas, refried beans, and Cheddar cheese. They lean more toward authentic Mexican than Taco Cabana—and certainly more than Taco Bell—and they’re definitely worth seeking out. You can check for a location near you at their website.

Nutrition Info:

Calories: 830
Fat: 39g (9g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 36g
Carbs: 80g
Sodium: 1690mg