Guatemala's ancient national dish — a rich, complex mole-like sauce of toasted seeds, dried chillies, and spices served over chicken or turkey.
Pepián is Guatemala's national dish and one of the oldest continuously prepared dishes in the Americas, with roots in pre-Columbian Maya cuisine. It is a thick, complex sauce made by toasting and grinding pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sesame seeds, dried chillies, tomatoes, tomatillos, cinnamon, and other spices, then cooking the paste with chicken or turkey in a rich, earthy sauce. It shares ancestry with Mexican mole but predates it — Maya texts reference pepián-like preparations centuries before mole was codified. The flavour is deep, complex, slightly smoky, and unlike anything else: nutty from the seeds, fruity from the chillies, warm from the spices. Pepián negro (dark) and pepián rojo (red) are the two main varieties, differing in chilli selection and degree of toasting.
Serves 4
In a dry pan, toast pumpkin seeds over medium heat until they pop and turn golden, 4–5 minutes. Set aside. Toast sesame seeds until golden, 2–3 minutes. Toast cinnamon stick, cloves, and peppercorns briefly until fragrant. All separately.
Toast dried chillies briefly in the dry pan (30 seconds per side), then soak in hot water 15 minutes until pliable. Char the tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, and unpeeled garlic directly in the pan or under a grill until dark in spots.
Charring the vegetables is what gives pepián its depth and smokiness — don't shy away from the dark spots.
Drain chillies. Peel garlic. Blend all toasted seeds and spices with the soaked chillies, charred tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, and garlic with a little stock until completely smooth. This may need to be done in batches.
Heat oil in a deep pot until very hot. Pour in the blended sauce — it will sizzle dramatically. Fry, stirring constantly, for 5–8 minutes until the sauce darkens and thickens. Add remaining stock and bring to a simmer.
Season chicken with salt. Add to the sauce. Simmer covered for 30–35 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened. Adjust seasoning.
Serve over or alongside white rice, with warm corn tortillas and pickled vegetables.
Frying the blended sauce in hot oil is the key step — this 'sets' the flavour and removes the raw taste.
Don't rush the toasting — each element should be properly golden and fragrant.
The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon heavily.
Use turkey for a more traditional version.
Add chayote squash and green beans to the sauce for extra vegetables.
Make a vegetarian version with roasted pumpkin and mushrooms instead of chicken.
Sauce keeps refrigerated for 4 days. Freezes excellently for up to 3 months. Great for batch cooking.
Pepián's origins predate the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Archaeological and textual evidence suggests that Maya communities in the Guatemalan highlands prepared seed-and-chilli-based sauces centuries before European contact. After the conquest, ingredients like chicken replaced turkey and new spices were added, creating the dish as known today. UNESCO has recognised pepián as part of Guatemala's Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Both are complex chilli-and-seed sauces, but pepián is older and uses more pumpkin seeds as its primary thickener, while mole often relies more on dried chillies, chocolate, and a wider variety of ingredients. Pepián tends to be less sweet.
Guajillo and ancho chillies are widely available at Mexican grocery stores and online. They are the best substitutes for the Guatemalan dried chillies used in pepián.
Per serving · 4 servings total
Ask our AI cooking assistant anything about this recipe — substitutions, techniques, scaling.
Chat with AI Chef →Join the conversation
Sign in to leave a comment and save your favourite recipes