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Homemade tamales are a labor of love, and the first time I pulled a steamer full of them open on a cozy weekend, I was hooked. Tender spiced chicken and melty cheese wrapped in soft masa, steamed in corn husks, and topped with a from-scratch red sauce. If you love Mexican comfort food like our shredded chicken tacos, these are worth every minute.
With a flavorful poached chicken filling, soft masa, and an easy homemade sauce, these tamales bring real Mexican flavor to your kitchen.
Tamales Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 1 hour
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 3 hours
- ⏳ Total Time: 4 hours
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 220kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Savory, smoky, and comforting with tender chicken and soft masa (mild)
- ✋ Difficulty: Worth the effort, on par with our slow cooker chicken tinga
Quick Answer
Simmer a whole chicken with tomatoes, aromatics, and spices, then shred the meat and mix it with cheese and seasoning. Spread soft masa on soaked corn husks, add the filling, wrap, and steam upright for about an hour. Serve the tamales with a homemade red sauce made from the reduced cooking liquid.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Poaching the chicken builds flavor twice. The chicken cooks in a spiced aromatic broth that flavors the meat and becomes the base for the masa and sauce.
- Using the reserved stock in the masa. Mixing the masa with the flavorful cooking liquid makes the dough taste rich instead of bland.
- Cheese keeps the filling moist. Shredded Colby jack melts into the chicken so the filling stays juicy after steaming.
- Soaking the husks makes them pliable. An hour in warm water keeps the husks from cracking when you fold the tamales.
- Steaming upright cooks them evenly. Standing the tamales in the steamer lets the masa set into a soft, fluffy texture all the way through.
- A reduced sauce ties it together. Boiling down the reserved liquid concentrates all that spiced flavor into a glossy red sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are real from-scratch tamales with deeply flavorful spiced chicken filling.
- A big batch freezes perfectly, so you can enjoy homemade tamales any time.
- They are a fun project to make with family and pair beautifully with our white chicken chili for a Mexican feast.
Key Ingredients
These tamales come together from a handful of humble ingredients and a flavorful poaching broth. Here is what each one does.
- Whole Chicken: Poached in spiced broth, it becomes the tender, flavorful shredded filling.
- Masa Harina: The corn flour dough that wraps the filling and steams into a soft, fluffy shell.
- Corn Husks: Soaked until pliable, they hold each tamale together while it steams.
- Colby Jack Cheese: Melts into the chicken to keep the filling moist and rich.
- Paprika and Cumin: The warm, smoky spices that flavor the chicken, masa, and sauce.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Tamales are endlessly adaptable to your taste.
- Use shredded pork or beef in place of the chicken for a different filling.
- Make them vegetarian with seasoned beans, cheese, and roasted peppers.
- Add diced green chiles or a spoonful of salsa verde to the filling for extra heat.
- Swap the Colby jack for pepper jack to give the filling a spicy kick.
- Use store-bought red or green enchilada sauce if you are short on time.
How to Make Tamales
- Simmer the whole chicken with the tomatoes, celery, carrots, limes, cilantro, peppercorns, tomato sauce, bay leaves, onion, paprika, and cumin for about 2 hours.
- Remove the chicken to cool, then strain the broth, keeping the tomatoes and all the cooking liquid.
- Shred the chicken and mix it with paprika, cumin, shredded cheese, 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid, and salt and pepper.
- Mix the masa dough per the package directions, using the reserved liquid in place of water.
- Soak the corn husks in warm water for about an hour until pliable.
- Spread masa on each husk, add filling, wrap so the masa covers the filling, and repeat.
- Steam the tamales upright for 1 hour, then remove carefully with tongs.
- Reduce the reserved liquid with the tomatoes, blend smooth, season, thicken with cornstarch, and serve over the tamales.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Soak the husks well for at least an hour so they fold without cracking.
- Keep the masa soft. It should spread easily; add more reserved stock if it feels dry.
- Spread a thin, even layer of masa so the tamales cook through and stay wrapped.
- Do not overfill. One to two tablespoons of filling per tamale keeps them from bursting.
- Steam them upright so the masa sets evenly without the filling sinking.
- Make a double batch and freeze half; tamales reheat beautifully from frozen.
- Save the broth for both the masa and the sauce; it is full of flavor.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve these tamales hot with the homemade red sauce spooned generously over the top. They are a complete meal on their own, but a little extra cheese, a squeeze of lime, or a dollop of sour cream never hurts.
Round out a Mexican feast by serving them with rice, beans, and a fresh salad. They are wonderful next to our chipotle pulled chicken tacos or a big bowl of white chicken chili for a crowd.
Leftover tamales make a fantastic next-day lunch. Reheat them in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes, still in their husks, until hot and steamy throughout.
Tamales FAQs
The keys are well-soaked corn husks, a soft spreadable masa, and not overfilling. Spread a thin, even layer of masa so it fully wraps the filling, fold the husks snugly, and steam the tamales upright so the masa sets evenly. Letting them rest a few minutes after steaming also helps them firm up before unwrapping.
Yes, tamales freeze beautifully, which is part of why people make big batches. Cool them completely, then freeze in a single layer before transferring to freezer bags for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen by steaming until hot, or bake in a 350F oven in their husks for about 30 minutes.
Use masa harina, a special corn flour made for tamales and tortillas, and prepare it according to the package directions. For the most flavorful tamales, mix the masa with the reserved chicken cooking liquid instead of water. The dough should be soft and spreadable, not dry or runny.
Steam tamales upright for about 1 hour. They are done when the masa pulls away cleanly from the husk and is firm and fluffy rather than wet or mushy. If they still stick, steam them another 10 to 15 minutes and check again, adding more water to the steamer as needed.
Absolutely. You can make the filling and the sauce a day or two ahead and refrigerate them. You can also assemble the tamales completely and refrigerate them uncooked for a day before steaming, or freeze them assembled and steam straight from frozen, adding extra time.
Tamales pair perfectly with Mexican rice, refried or black beans, a crisp salad, and plenty of the homemade red sauce. Lime wedges, sour cream, guacamole, and a little extra cheese make great toppings. They also round out a fiesta spread alongside tacos, chili, or enchiladas.
If you take on these homemade tamales, I would love to hear how they turned out. They are a project, but pulling open that first steamy, savory tamale makes every minute worth it.
Homemade Chicken Tamales
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 tomatoes quartered
- 2 stalks celery cut in large chunks
- 2 carrots cut in large chunks
- 2 limes skin removed, halved
- 1/2 bunch cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 small can tomato sauce
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1/2 onion large chopped
- 3 tablespoons paprika divided
- 3 tablespoons ground cumin divided
- 8 ounces Colby jack cheese shredded
- masa harina prepared per package directions
- corn husks soaked
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch for the sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the whole chicken in a large pot with the tomatoes, celery, carrots, limes, cilantro, peppercorns, tomato sauce, bay leaves, onion, 2 tablespoons paprika, and 2 tablespoons cumin. Cover with water and simmer about 2 hours.
- Remove the chicken and set it aside to cool. Strain the remaining ingredients, keeping the tomatoes and saving all of the cooking liquid to cool.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred all of the meat. Mix it with 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, the shredded Colby jack cheese, 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix the masa dough according to the package directions, using the reserved cooking liquid in place of water or stock. Add a little extra masa harina if needed so it is soft but not runny.
- Soak the corn husks in warm water for about an hour until pliable.
- Spread a 1/4 inch thick layer of masa on each husk, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling, and wrap so the masa fully covers the filling. Repeat until everything is used up.
- Place the wrapped tamales upright in a steamer and steam for 1 hour. Remove them carefully with tongs, as they will be very hot.
- Boil the remaining reserved liquid with the saved tomatoes until reduced by about two-thirds. Blend smooth with an immersion blender, season with extra paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper, and thicken with a cornstarch slurry.
- Unwrap the tamales and serve them hot with the red sauce spooned over the top.
Notes
- Soak the corn husks in warm water for at least an hour so they are pliable and easy to fold.
- The masa should be soft and spreadable; if it seems dry, add a little more of the reserved chicken stock.
- Spread the masa in a thin, even layer so the filling stays wrapped and the tamales cook through evenly.
- Tamales freeze beautifully. Reheat from frozen in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes, or re-steam until hot.
- Use the reserved cooking liquid for both the masa and the sauce; it is packed with flavor.
Nutrition
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I found this post while looking to see what purpose the whole “float trst” serves because I think it’s rather silly and not traditional, even though it’s what my Mexican family gas done for at least a couple of generations. My two tamales experiments without the whipping and floating turned out as wonderful as another good tamales. I’m gratified to see that yours did, too! Thanks for confirming my experience (and suspicion).
Props to you for making your own tamales. They’re delicious but require so much work! It’s truly a labor of love but your pictures show that it was definitely worth it. They look SUPER tasty! Now I want tamales… at 2:00am haha