I’ve been wanting to make a green chile veggie tamale for a long time now, and this month’s Daring Cook Challenge inspired me to get it done! Rachael of pizzarossa was the August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal. Since I already use cornmeal quite a bit, I decided to work with a cornmeal product that I haven’t used much – masa or ground hominy. Masa harina is used for tamales and tortillas so I decided to finally make those green chile vegetable tamales.
Bobby and I both love tamales but I always feel guilty about eating them because I know that traditional tamales use quite a bit of lard. I decided to try to make a relatively low fat tamale using canola oil and then veggies rather than pork, hopefully cutting down on the total prep and cook time. A couple of years ago I made my first tamales that were pork and red chile. They were delicious but between cooking down the pork, making the red chile sauce, assembling the tamales and steaming them, it took the two of us all day!
These corn, mushroom and green chile tamales use canola oil, vegetable broth and a few sauteed vegetables. The total time – about 2.5 hours – is a lot shorter than traditional tamales, but quite a bit longer than most of the recipes on this site. You’ll get about 18 tamales, but if you want more, just increase the recipe. I made two different batches, using two different steaming methods, so be sure to read the Kitchen Notes.
Corn, Mushroom and Green Chile Tamales Recipe
Yields: 16 – 18 tamales
Prep and assemble time: 1 hour
Cook time: 1.5 hours
Ingredients
Large pot of boiling water for soaking the corn husks.
2 dozen corn husks
Vegetables
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ tsp. ground cumin
1 cup corn (frozen or fresh)
2 cups diced fresh button mushrooms (2 – 4 large mushrooms)
½ cup chopped roasted, peeled green and/or red chile
½ tsp. oregano
Masa
2 cup masa harina
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup canola oil
2 cup vegetable broth, chicken broth or water
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the corn husks. Cover and let re-hydrate until ready to use.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and cumin and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the corn and mushrooms. Sauté for another 2 minutes (or until the mushrooms start to release their water).
- Add the green chile and oregano. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine the masa and salt. Stir to combine.
- To the masa, add the canola oil and broth. Using a rubber spatula, mix to combine ingredients.
- Add the vegetables and stir until vegetables are incorporated into the masa batter. The batter should be the thickness of a thick quick bread batter. Add a little water if you think it’s too thick.
- Transfer a few of the husks from the water to a plate or bowl. Take one of the smaller, thinner husks and pull lengthwise into long thin strips that will be used for tying up the tamale ends.
- Spread about ½ cup masa/veggie mix down the middle of a corn husk, wrap the husk around the batter, and tie each end with one of the corn husk strips (picture right) OR spread about ½ cup masa/veggie mix down the top, middle half of a corn husk, wrap the husk around the batter, fold one end up, and tie around the middle of the tamales with one of the corn husk strips (see pictures below).
- Continue to assemble the tamales until all of the masa/veggie batter mixture has been used.
- Place the tamales in a steamer and steam, covered, on the stovetop or grill for an hour. (See Kitchen Notes) Remove cover and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove one and test for doneness. If the tamale pulls away from the husk, it’s done. If not, steam for another 15 minutes and let rest again.
- Leave wrapped until ready to eat.
Kitchen Notes
Prepping the corn husks – Instead of putting husks in a pot of boiled water, you could lay the husks in a large casserole dish and pour boiling water over them. With this method, you’ll need to weigh them down with a heavy plate or lid.
Batch 1 – For the first batch I used a Cameron Smoker as a steamer which was placed on the grill. I tied both ends of the husks (see picture above), laid them flat on the smoker’s rack, poured about 2 cups of water in the bottom of the pan, covered, and set the grill for about 350° F to 400° F. It worked fine, but it took forever! I ended up steaming them for over 1.5 hours with 15 minute rest. They turned out great, but took longer than anticipated.
Batch 2 – I’ll call batch 2 my Christmas tamales since I used both red and green roasted New Mexico chile that I had in the freezer. I rolled the tamales the traditional way: open at one end, folded at the other, and tied in the middle. I steamed them on the stovetop rather than the grill. This worked better and only took an hour to steam, then the rest time. One thing that helped, that I don’t show in the picture, is to divide the tamales into rows by inserting extra corn husks. This helps the tamales stand up straighter in the pot and adds gaps between tamales for better streaming results.
Assembly – By mixing the vegetables in with the masa, it saved A LOT of time and the assembly was much easier than laying down the masa then scooping the vegetables on top. I will definitely continue to use this method for these tamales!
About halfway through assembling the tamales, the batter started getting a little dry; therefore, I mixed in a little more water, making the batter easier to spread.
The chile – I used New Mexico roasted green and red chiles (surprise, surprise 
); however, poblano, serrano, jalapeno, or even sweet peppers for a milder tamale would work fine. The amount of chile can vary according to how hot you do or do not want your tamales. The chiles I had were really hot, but, once added to the other vegetables and the masa, the outcome was relatively mild. Next time I’ll probably add more chile.
The broth – You can use water, chicken broth or vegetable broth. The night before I made batch 2 I had boiled some green beans and potatoes and had saved the cooking water. I used this broth for batch 2. For batch 1, I used water. As far as the difference in taste between the two batches, didn’t really notice any difference to be honest.
Recommended serving ideas:
- Smother with red chile sauce or green chile sauce.
- Top with black olives, fresh diced onions and tomatoes, then a little grated cheese. Pop in the microwave for 2 minutes and enjoy! We LOVED them this way! My Cantaloupe and Walnut salad made a great side dish!
- As an appetizer – Cut them into bite size pieces and serve with a dip such as a pepper sauce, chile sauce, or harissa.
- These tamales freeze very nicely. When ready to use, just thaw and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes and they are ready to go!
Thank you Rachael for inspiring me to finally make these tamales!!!!
Other recipes that use cornmeal:
This recipe has been shared with the following blog hops. Be sure to click on the links for more inspiring recipes.
Bizzy’s Recipe Box, Whole Foods Wednesday, Gallery of Favorites, Weekend Potluck, Gluten-Free Fridays , My Meatless Monday, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Creative Thursday , Hearth and Soul, Fat Tuesday, Made From Scratch Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday?, Mom’s Test Kitchen Monday
You need to check out Emily’s Tamale Fiesta over at the Pursuit of Healthfulness. She made some gorgeous tamales using this recipe!
This recipe was featured by Zesty South Indian Kitchen’s Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.
wow homemade tamales! Labour of love…I wish I could try one now.
I just love tamales and I love this combination of flavors!
This is amazing! I have always wanted to make tamales but have been a little scared … I will have to try at some point!! Great directions!
Well, it sounds like you did it again! We love tamales, but despite the abundance of available tamale options, we haven’t found any that knock our socks off. One of the problems with most tamales is that there is sooo much masa to get through before you get to the goodie. This way you get a mouthful of goodie with every bite. I love it! It opens up a whole realm of possibilities for ingredients too. The other problem this solves is the intensive labor associated with tamale making. This sounds easy enough even for me. (An aside: One of the markets here was running a big feature ad that they had “Hatch chilis” and all kinds of products made from “Hatch chilis.” I love it!)
Thanks Nads! These are A LOT easier than traditional tamales and we did like having the veggies incorporated into the masa. That’s SO COOL that you’re starting to see Hatch chile! It’s picking time! I bought my first fresh chiles the other day (the one’s in the pictures
).
MJ, I am learning a lot from you…..this is totally new to me…
Thanks Nisa!!!! Being a teacher, that’s always nice to hear.
There’s a great book called Fat by Jennifer McLagan that changed the way i think of lard!
Michelle, believe me – I’m not against lard. I’ll cook in bacon drippings in a second. It’s the amount of lard. I’ll check out the book. It will be interesting to see what see has to say. Thanks for the recommendation.
OMG, this is the best looking homemade tamales I’ve seen! I bet they are so delicious!!!
I’ve seen tamales being prepared on TV, but never tried it and I’m so intrigued
.Yours looks like a great version with canola oil and veggies.I really need a bite of this 
I have never seen tamales before but they look incredibly delicious
Wow!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
It’s a pity I have only tasted a few authentic Mexican dishes so far. I am very intrigued by the way it’s cooked (in leaves). We have some dishes that we prepare in a similar way in Sri Lanka. It looks and sounds sinfully delicious, I hope to taste this some day.
Hi Rathai! Are you from Sri Lanka…. me too.
Thanks Rathai! One of the dishes on my list to cook is to cook something in banana leaf. I love the way food tastes when it cooks in a wrapping! I hope you do get a chance to try these some day.
I have never had tamales in my life, not to mention ground hominy (I think I have read about it in a Southern cookery book…). Are tamales always wrapped in corn husks? I love the way they look! They sound delicious too.
Thanks Sissi! Yes, tamales are always wrapped in corn husks and steamed. I’ve never seen them cooked any other way. If you’ve never heard of tamales, I’m sure you’ve never heard of grits. That’s another ground hominy product (coarser grind) that I eat ALL of the time and is definitely a southern thing. I add green chile to it for that southwestern twist.
Thanks a lot, MJ. I have heard about grits (read about them in the same Southern cookery book), but of course have never had them.
Some cultures wrap them in banana leaves. That’s how I grew up making and eating them for special occasions. The taste is very different as well.
Thanks for sharing – I will definitely be playing around with your recipe with different fillers!
Wonderful and healthy looking tamales. I agree… eating very rich food makes me feel really guilty and I would much rather eat your version so I can have MORE.
Hope you’re having a great week! ~ Ramona
I can’t believe you made tamales! Your lighter version sounds delicious and thanks for taking the time to list so many notes & tips. Should I ever make tamales at home, this will be the place I come to for help.
Thanks John! I do hope you get a chance to make them some day. They are worth it!
Oh wow, do I love homemade tamales! They are so worth the effort. My mom and I try to get together at least once a year for “tamale day” but I always want to just have a bunch of girlfriends over and make a party out of it. I love the veg you picked to fill these with, yum.
Thanks Jody! A friend of mine had a girlfriend tamales day a few years ago. It was fun!
I haven’t had a homemade tamale in years! These look terrific.
Wow! I have eaten tamales a looong time ago in Guatemala and I have always wondered how they were made! I think they look so cute all wrapped up in corn husks! They sound and look delicious! Great job MJ!
I only tried tamales once when I was in Vegas and it was not a good experience and never liked it, I must be the restaurant that served it.
This recipe of yours looks like it would free me from that trauma
and I will give it a shot.
Thanks Raymund! I’m sorry your only experience will tamales was not a good one. I bet they were dry. That’s usually the problem I run into with bad tamales. I hope you get a chance to make these and like them! Please let me know if you do.
lovely tamales!
I have never made tamales but I love this veggie take. The Hubs loves green chilies and I love mushrooms so this might be my first attempt. Just an update on your cantaloupe salad—-we have taken it for lunch with a bit of turkey this week. Delicious!
Thanks Debra! I’m so glad you liked my cantaloupe salad! Thanks for letting me know!
This is a keeper. My whole family will love this recipe.
These tamales look delicious. I have never made them before and so I am super impressed xx
Those tamales are gorgeous and look so delicious!
After a few days in NM, there would be no reason to use any other chile than what you used here–wish I had some right now. I have never attempted tamales, mainly because no one else in the fam likes them, so I am left to buy them from the car parked along the road when I have to have them–nothing in the stores compares. You have inspired me to give it a try though. Even if I’m the only one that eat them, I know they freeze well, so I’d have them for a while.
Thanks Judy! Yep – it’s hard to beat NM chile!
These are gorgeous, MJ … I’ve never made tamales before because it looks so intimidating
I’ve never had a tamale in my life! (how is that possible?) Love all the ingredients and you set the method out perfectly. The husk seems like a bit of work
but the result is beautiful and seems well worth the effort! Great recipe MJ.
HI MJ!!
Wow, what a delicious combination of flavors for these tamales!
your tamales turned out looking perfect!
wow, these look very good, and I am truly impressed. What exacly is masa like, i also saw it in another recipe, and I don’t think it is easy to get here (Germany), I at least never heard of it, and already had to search for normal corn flour
Thanks Esther! Masa is actually a very fine cornmeal or even a corn flour made from dried ground hominy. If you can find corn flour, that should work fine for tamales.
I absolutely LOVE tamales! Fabulous job on these, they look great!
P.S. I nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award =] http://www.freespiriteater.com/2012/08/very-inspiring-blogger-award.html
Thanks SO much FSE!!!! I’ll got check it out!
Your tamales look great! I will have to try them sometime soon. I have wanted to make tamales for so long, I have a few girlfriends here that host Tamaladas (the tamale making parties) around the holidays but I am never able to make it. Darn my schedule! However I do believe I could do them on my own. I must give the vegi ones a try! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Kim! I did these two batches on my own. Honestly, the total prep time from starting to boil the water for the husks, to placing the tamales in the steamer was only an hour! I had to do a little multitasking, but who of us doesn’t multitask in the kitchen?
These sound delicious and a perfect way for me to use up my 5 pound bag of corn flour! Great photos too!
That’s fancy! And, I have both corn plus mushroom at home.
MJ, I’m totally grateful for this recipe! All too often tamale recipes have pork, which I don’t eat very often. Love this version.
These look terrific! I’ve had corn and green chile tamales before, but they were always kinda sweet and usually baked blind (no corn husks). These look much, much better – and mushrooms make everything better! Extremely nice recipe – thank you.
Yum! Your tamales look fantastic! I love the corn and chiles together.
I adore tamales! I’ve never tried making them before… Yours looks so delicious!
MJ, your tamales look amazing!!! I’m going to have to check out the specialty store here for the masa and give these a try
Thanks Rachael! I appreciate your helping to motivate me to make these! Loved your challenge!
I feel awkward after reading so many comments appreciating Tamales…and I am hearing this name and about the recipe first time
Thanks MJ for bringing some of the wonderful authentic recipes to lime light…now back to reading the recipe…feels good 
Sanjeeta, I am thrilled to introduce you to a new food! You do the same for me ALL of the time! I have to look up a lot of your ingredients!
Tamales are extremely versatile and we just love them!
What beautiful Pictures! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m excited to check yours out!
Your tamales look amazing!!! I love that you added the veg to the masa, great idea for saving time. And adding chicken broth to the masa I bet adds a ton of flavor! Thanks for all the tips!!
vianney
Thanks Vianney! Such a comment coming from the queen of masa, I’m flattered!
This is something I have yet to try my hand at. I can’t believe I’ve never made tamales!
I’ve never made tamales, but when I do, this veggie packed recipe will be the one I try! Just beautifully done!
Oh my goodness, your tamale look so perfect. I bought some corn husk but I have not get to make this yet. I am so glad I found your recipe. Thanks so much.
What lovely no guilt tamales! The vegetables must have added a lot of moisture and taste. I’m glad there’s no lard.
wow! I am so amazed with how perfectly made your tamales look, MJ! My family loves tamales but I haven’t tried making them myself. I’m saving this for future reference!
Your tamali looks perfect MJ!
I am in love with the vegetable mix, I am sure these tasted out of this world
When the daring cooks made tamali I had a very hard time finding corn husks and wound up using vine leaves and fresh corn husks
I need to find some dry ones and then I can give your recipe a try
Thanks Sawson! I didn’t realize that DCC had a tamale challenge. I obviously missed it, but then I only joined a couple of months ago. How creative to use vine leaves and fresh husks! There’s no reason those shouldn’t work. I’ll have to go check out your challenge.
I have never made tamales and did not realize they were so time consuming. I like this quicker and lightened up version.
Beautiful MJ – I still haven’t made tamales – it’s hard to get a hold of those corn husks here… could I just make them myself by pulling off the husks and… I don’t know, drying them out? They look delicious!
Thanks Charles! I really don’t see why you couldn’t use fresh corn husks. I rehydrate the dry ones anyway. I just checked out Swanson’s tamales @Chef in disguise and she successfully used fresh husks as well as vine leaves. It worked great!
Tamales are so intimidating to many. It’s not hard it’s just very time consuming. I’m loving your vegetarian version, they look mouthwatering. Also what a great idea to cut down on the fat. Thanks-I’ll have to try that next time.
What a great idea blending the masa with the filling. Big time saver and why not, it’s all in one bite. Darn clever.
Thanks Su Anne! Always looking for that shortcut!
In addition to being a time saver, it’s easier to spread as well!
Wow! Great recipe. I have never made (or eaten) homemeade tamales — these look wonderful!
I never had a tamale in my life, but you always intrigue me with these new recipe! Great work, my friend!
MJ….visiting you is such a culinary journey! These are absolutely amazing! I have to tell you, I have never had a tamale before. But these look so beautiful and I love all of your ingredients! Kind of a weird question, but can these be cooked in a crock pot? You did a great job with your challenge MJ! (I didn’t know you were a daring cook!)
Thanks Anne! It’s interesting to read how many people have never had tamales!
Unfortunately, tamales are not something that can be made in a crockpot. Now there is something called a tamale pie,that might work, but I’m not sure. I don’t have a crockpot so I can’t test it out. Yes – I joined DCC a couple of months ago. It’s been fun!
These look SO good MJ! Love tamales.
I have never made tamales so it’s great to see the method. Love the veggie filling!
I saw these earlier from my pad but could not comment from there…I so want one, or two of these right now! It is hard to find good vegetarian tamales unless they are just cheese. I really love this!
The presentation is just gorgeous… I’ve seen these made on TV shows, and I’m so glad you’ve sharing the recipe with us.
Oh this is awesome! When I lived in Tucson, I loved winter season…..that meant it was time for green corn tamales!!!! Yum!!!! I have never made them, I have always heard how involved they are to make:-) Love reading that it took only 2.5 hrs to make them, and Oh My they look and sound delicious:-) Hugs, Terra
This is fantastic, MJ! I just had tamales for the first time at MN Midtown Global Market and was pleasantly surprised to find the familiarity of its flavors to Malaysia foods. I told Mark that I’d love to try out tamales at home and here you are sharing a brilliant recipe just perfect for me to experiment! Thank you!
I grew up in Texas and tamales were definitely a part of my favorite foods there. Love your wonderful recipe. Good luck with your kitchen remodel.
I love tamales and your Corn, Mushroom and Green Chile Tamales look amazing!
Really beautiful accompanying photographs! Thank you for sharing these! Allen.
Your tamales look amazing! I haven’t tried tamales, I think I’ll have to try some next time I visit NM, then attempt to make them myself….
I love tamales, and I love that this recipe is lower in fat. They are absolutely beautiful!
I made these tonight for a small crowd. I was a little nervous because I didn’t have a real backup plan, but they turned out wonderfully! Thanks for sharing the recipe… I’m linking back to it on my blog.
Emily – Thanks for letting me know! It’s always a thrill when someone makes your recipe and likes it!
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays recipe party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest!
YAY! Thanks for helping us build a wonderful Gluten Free Community! Its great to connect! See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Thanks so much Cindy! I’m glad you liked this recipe!
Can you believe it – I have never actually eaten tamales! I’ve just never had the opportunity. They always look so good though, and yours look fantastic MJ. I like how you have made them a bit healthier, and your tutorial is wonderful!
Thanks April! It only took me 25 years of living in the southwest to finally make them so don’t feel so bad! Hope you get to try them soon!
MJ,
Have a wonderful week.
Thank you so much for linking up your wonderful looking tamales to Creative Thursday last week. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I wouldn’t be able to do these wonderful parties without your participation
Michelle
Thanks Michelle! What a nice comment! I do hope you get to try the tamales!
MJ, these look fantastic. We have wanted to make tamales for sometime. These are definitely going on our “to make” list. Thanks.
And when you do make them – let me know how they turned out! Thanks for stopping by and hope you two are doing great!
Hey, MJ. I came for the soba noodle spring rolls (from Nami’s blog) and stayed for the tamales. They’re on my cooking life list of things to make, at least once, before I get too senile to be trusted in the kitchen. Which may be soon.
I had looked forward to my first tamales, many years ago, based on descriptions I had read, and was greatly disappointed. Since then, I keep trying them in restaurants I go to, hoping to find something that compares to my vision. I’m not fussy about the fillings, as long as the tamale itself is tasty. Easier said than done it seems.
So far, the best tamale I’ve ever had was an unfilled sweet version in a local El Salvadoran place. I took pictures.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/105660.html
The thing I like most about the ones you’ve made above is the way that the flavourful veggies have been incorporated into the tamale mixture. I hope to be able to incorporate some of these ideas in the tamales I make … one day.
Hope to be back soon.
Thank you so much for your comments! It did turn out to be a really good idea to incorporate the veggies into the masa. Now you get a little veggies in every bite! I hope you do get a chance to make these!
Very impressive to see someone make homemade tamales! My husband loves them & I love that these are vegetarian!! Thanks so much for sharing this at Mom’s Test Meal Mondays!
Thank you Jaime! These are easier to make than traditional tamales, so you should give them a try especially since you both love them.