How to make chicken tamales

masa harina

🥗Healthier: whole wheat flour

💰Cheaper: all-purpose flour

Whole wheat flour adds fiber, while all-purpose flour is more accessible.

chicken

🥗Healthier: turkey

💰Cheaper: shredded rotisserie chicken

Turkey is leaner, and rotisserie chicken saves time.

red chili sauce

🥗Healthier: homemade salsa

💰Cheaper: canned tomato sauce with spices

Homemade salsa is fresher, while canned sauce is budget-friendly.

cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: processed cheese

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free, while processed cheese is often cheaper.

Boil 2 whole chicken breasts without seasoning and shred them.

Boil about 20 California chili pods for 10 minutes until they change color.

Soak corn husks in water to soften them for easier spreading of masa.

Blend half of the boiled chilies in a NutriBullet, adding more as needed.

Add a saltine cracker to the chili mixture to thicken it.

Taste the chili mixture and adjust seasoning with salt or water as needed.

Heat a pan and add some oil to fry the chili mixture.

Spread masa on a soaked corn husk, leaving space at the edges for folding.

Add a spoonful of shredded chicken filling to the masa on the husk.

Fold the sides of the husk over the filling and then fold up the bottom.

Repeat the process until all tamales are assembled, aiming for about 50-60 tamales.

Place tamales in a special pan with water at the bottom for steaming.

Cover the tamales with wet corn husks to help with steaming.

Steam the tamales for about 2-3 hours.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens