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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
Hi! I just want to make the masa not a full tamale. I love the filling. How would I just heat that? no meat or putting into a corn husk?
Hello! If you are wanting just cooked masa, yes we would suggest putting it into the corn husk and cooking like a tamale, just using no filling. Thank you!
Since corn on the cob is in season,can I use discarded husks? Would they require soaking?
Hi Barbara! That’s a great question and would be a great way to utilize them! We haven’t tried that so we aren’t sure. The soaking would soften them for sure. You might try it with a couple and let us know how they turn out!
Can I use promasa cornmeal?
Hi Hugh! We’ve never worked with promasa so I’m not really sure. If you try it let us know how it goes!
Tamales are one of my favorite things to make, and fun too. Thank you for this recipe.
I made this masa recipe and had everything else ready when my family arrived for a birthday dinner- pork in red chile sauce, tomatillo sauce, roasted peppers, sliced cheeses, corn husks soaked in hot water. The 8 of us had a blast and made more than 100 tamales- most pork but a lot of “vegetarian “. Because i had already prepared 60, and had them in the oven we were able to have a dinner pf tamales, queso, red and green sauces, salad and birthday desserts while the ones we had just made steamed away in the kitchen. Everyone happily carted home containers of all this good stuff. I really recommend this recipe- it is so easy and delicious!!
How do you make tamales in the oven??
Hello Helen! We aren’t really sure about cooking tamales in the oven. I’m afraid it might dry them out or cook them unevenly. Tamales are cooked slowly and in a steam pot so that they cook evenly and to ensure the masa stays fluffy and the flavor of the filling cooks well with the masa. I hope this helps!
When I lived in California I always bought the premade masa…your recipe looks easy and I can’t find premade in illinois so I made my pork verde and we will see how it goes…I’ll really try to remember to let you know how I did…thank you for posting…
How long do you steam tamales
Hi! It depends on the recipe (how many you’re steaming and what the filling is), but anywhere from 1 – 3 hours. Here is a link to Isabel’s recipe for red pork tamales (https://www.isabeleats.com/pork-tamales).
Made tamales for my family and they loved the texture and most importantly taste of the masa. Thank you!
I’ve used this recipe twice now. Family loves it! Thank you for sharing!
You don’t explain how to soften the corn husks by steaming or boiling them. You might add that information to your recipe. I had to learn the hard way that you have to select the right type of husks and then how to prepare them for use.
Hello. We apologize for the confusion. Thank you for the feedback!