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This easy to make masa for tamales recipe is the starting point to making the best homemade tamales ever! They’re made from masa harina, oil instead of lard or shortening, baking powder, salt and broth. Just 5 ingredients is all you need to make light, tender and flavorful tamale dough!
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Typically made in large batches for holidays, special occasions and celebrations, Mexican tamales are pockets of corn masa dough that are wrapped around a filling (typically pork, chicken or cheese) and steamed in a corn husk.
Even though I grew up helping my family make tamales 2 to 3 times a year, I was never the one who actually seasoned and prepared the ingredients. Instead, I was typically put on assembly duty and either helped spread out the masa onto the corn husks or filled and rolled them up with my mom’s filling.
As I’ve gotten older (and my parents have as well), I realized that I should learn and document the family recipe for tamales. So I spent a day with my Mom and wrote down everything she did. I went home, recreated the recipe the next day and guess what? It worked!
My family’s recipe is too good and too easy not to share, so here it is! Just in time for tamale season.
Ingredients in Tamale Dough
The first step to making the best tamales is making a flavorful masa! Here’s what you need:
- masa harina
- salt
- baking powder
- canola oil
- chicken or vegetable broth
The masa harina my family always uses is good old fashioned Maseca and that’s what I recommend. You can find it in most grocery stores and I’ve even seen it at big retailers like Target. If you can’t find it near you, here’s where you can order it online.
While shopping, you may see that there’s another version of Maseca that is specifically made for tamales (it’s usually in a brown bag). Don’t grab that one – grab the original Maseca in a white bag like the one pictured above.
While many recipes online use lard or shortening, this recipe calls for canola oil. You could also use a different vegetable oil like corn oil or even avocado oil – anything with a neutral taste. However I don’t recommend using olive oil because that will change the flavor drastically.
My parents have used oil instead of lard for as long as I can remember, and the flavor is amazing! The dough is soft and tender without being too greasy.
How to Make Masa for Tamales
Step 1: Combine the masa harina, salt and baking powder in a large bowl until everything is distributed evenly. I like using my hands for this whole process, so don’t be afraid to get dirty! You could also use a large stand mixer if you have one.
Step 2: Add the oil and mix together with your hands until the masa harina has absorbed all the oil and the mixture feels a little like wet sand. The dough should stick together and lightly hold it’s shape like in the photo below.
Step 3: Add the broth and mix everything together with your hands for about 3 to 5 minutes until the dough is soft and well saturated, almost like a thick hummus.
If the masa corn dough feels too dry once you’ve mixed everything together, add in a little more broth. If the dough feels too wet, add in a bit more masa harina.
Step 4: Spread onto corn husks, fill with your chosen fillings and make the best tamales ever!
How Much Masa Do I Need for 100 Tamales?
To make 100 tamales, you’ll need 16 1/2 cups of masa harina (or a 4.4 pound bag of Maseca). I’ve included the ingredient amounts to make 100 tamales in the notes of the recipe card below.
Can I Make Masa for Tamales Ahead of Time?
Yes! This dough can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. I recommend covering the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and storing in the refrigerator.
What are Some Good Tamale Fillings?
- Green Chicken Tamales
- Red Pork Tamales
- Tamales de Rajas (Vegetarian Tamales)
- Sweet Tamales
- Bean and Cheese Tamales
- Authentic Chile Colorado (Red Chile Beef)
- Chile Verde (Green Chile Pork)
- Barbacoa
Masa for Tamales
Ingredients
- 8 ¼ cups masa harina (half of a 4.4 lb bag Maseca)
- 1 ¾ tablespoons fine salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ¾ cups canola or avocado oil (see Notes for making masa with lard)
- 7 cups broth (chicken, beef or vegetable), plus more as needed
Instructions
- In a very large mixing bowl or pot, add the masa harina, salt, and baking powder. Stir together to combine.
- Add the oil and mix it together using your hands. Work the dough through your fingers until everything is well combined and incorporated. The dough should feel a little crumbly, almost like wet sand, and should lightly hold its shape when pressed together.
- Add the broth and mix for about 3-5 minutes until the dough is fairly wet and well-saturated. The dough should be soft and spreadable like thick hummus. If the dough is too dry, add more broth. If it’s too wet, add more masa harina.
- Use the dough immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Yields: The recipe makes 45-50 tamales and fits in a 16-quart steamer pot or larger. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but they fit.
- To make the masa using lard: You’ll need 2 cups lard, 8 ¾ cups masa harina, 1 ¾ tablespoons fine salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 8 cups of broth. In a large bowl, beat the lard for 1 minute using an electric handheld mixer or a stand mixer until whipped and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine the masa harina, salt, and baking powder. Add it to the bowl with the lard and mix together to combine. While mixing, slowly add in the broth. Continue to mix until the dough is smooth, fluffy, and has the texture of thick hummus.
- Cooking time for tamales made with lard: 90 minutes.
- Make ahead: The masa can be made up to 3 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
- Filling ideas: Red chile pork, rajas (roasted poblanos and cheese), green chicken, chile verde pork, birria, chicken tinga, mole.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Making a Large Batch of Masa
Tamales are typically made in large batches for celebrations, holidays and special occasions in Mexican culture. When my family and I make tamales, we usually double the above recipe. Here are those ingredient amounts for your convenience:
Amount for double the recipe – about 100 tamales
- 16 1/2 cups masa harina (a whole 4.4 lb bag Maseca)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons table salt
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 1/2 cups canola oil
- 13 cups broth
After you make the mass an speed it on the corn husk an roll them up how do you cook yours. Do you steam them an for how long. I’m new to this but I love your recipe. I want to make them good for my family
Hello Richard! There are actually recipes for different kinds of tamales that use this masa as a base on our website. In those recipes it will go into more detail about how to cook them. Hope this helps!
Isabel, thank you for sharing your family’s masa recipe! They were easy to make and delicious! I made some for my family, grocery workers, friends of my family and everyone absolutely loved them!!!! I will use this recipe for the rest of the my life! I do have to say, that we had a difficult time spreading the masa with a silverware spoon, like I am used to and ended up using silicon spoon and silicon spatula instead and it was a piece of cake! I ended up with 60 tamales. I made green chili and pork, Red chili beef and vegetarian (sweet potatoes, onions, black beans, chipotle chilies in adobe sauce.). Thank you again for sharing your recipe!
I used your recipe for my first try at making tamales and they came out perfectly! I added just a little garlic powder and chili powder and they were so tasty. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Like you I always helped but never made it on my own. Today, I did. And it was very close to my mother’s masa. Your recipe now mine. Thank you!!
I love, love, love your masa recipe. I’ve made tamales before but have always purchased the premade masa from the Mexican grocery store. I am not sure why I’ve not made it from scratch before, perhaps I was scared. In any case, this was the year I was going to make my own masa. Thankfully, my wife found your blog. I followed your directions and was so grateful for your descriptors of how the dough should feel. That was incredibly helpful. The masa was soft and pliable which made spreading it on the corn husks easy. In the end, my tamales were delicious, and I feel like I gained a superpower.
Thank you for sharing your family’s recipe.
Hi Isabel!! I went for it today made it with schreded chicken and jalapeños,hopefully is tasty like yours,it’s very easy thanks for sharing and Happy New Year 🤗
Can I freeze the masa?
Hi Sandra! We’re not sure about freezing the masa, but it can be made up to three days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
I love this recipe. I used to buy prepared masa at the local Mexican market, but now I live in a place where there are NO markets that sell masa. All I could get was the dry Masa. This recipe is very good. Your descriptions like “wet sand” and “thick hummus” made it very easy to follow and the masa was the right consistency. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I prefer the canola oil to melted lard. Very good!
hi! can i sub lard for canola oil? would it be an equal amount of lard as canola oil? thank you!
Hi Jem! Yes, you can use lard and can be substituted in equal amounts.
Can’t wait to try this! Once you make all the tamales and wrap them, do you steam them immediately?
Hi Kelly. Yes, you do!
Hi Isabel, Happy New Year, I am going to try your recipe and make the masa for the first time in 57 years! Sounds like it’s going to be great! I will keep you posted! Thank you for sharing!