Easy Jackfruit Tamales Recipe (made with Mushroom)
You’re going to be blown away by this meaty jackfruit tamales verdes recipe. These are vegan tamales and I swear they’re so close to the chicken tamales verdes version – except these are made with vegan tamales masa, homemade salsa verde and filled with jackfruit and mushrooms. So delicious!
What Are Tamales Verdes
What are traditional tamales verdes filled with? Shredded chicken that’s mixed with salsa verde.
The masa for tamales verdes is the white masa dough, as opposed to the red chile masa used in tamales rojos.
Tamales verdes are one of the most common or popular tamales. So you definitely have to make them – specially for the holidays.
Don’t worry instead of chicken tamales, my recipe is 100% plant-based and it’s incredibly delicious that even meat-eaters will enjoy them.
You will find a different version of vegan tamales verdes in my Mexican Tamales Made Meatless cookbook. Check it out here.
Jackfruit Tamales Verdes
As I just mentioned, my tamales verdes recipe is vegan and made without chicken.
Instead of chicken we’re using a combination of jackfruit and oyster mushrooms. The texture is so much like the traditional ones that it’s going to blow your mind.For these tamales we’re going to be using canned young green jackfruit, not fresh jackfruit. Canned jackfruit is tender and has virtually no taste, which actually works perfectly for cooking vegan recipes.
Canned young green jackfruit is a very popular ingredient in vegan cooking. The reason is because you can cook it and shred it to resemble meat.
Another reason is because, just like tofu, jackfruit absorbs all the spices and flavors added to it quite nicely.
Oyster mushrooms, you all know I’m a big fan of, because they too make a fantastic vegan meat and when pulled apart they too mimic the texture of meat quite well.
Both oyster mushrooms and jackfruit are perfect for making vegan tamales, pozole, carnitas, and fillings for tacos, quesadillas, gorditas, birria pozole, pulled pork and much more.
Ingredients Needed
These tamales are not difficult to make. You can purchase both jackfruit and oyster mushrooms at most grocery stores these days. Jackfruit is also sold on Amazon.
Masa for Tamales: I used my vegan masa recipe that is both here on the blog and in the cookbook. You can make it with masa harina or fresh masa corn dough from the tortilleria.
Roasted Salsa Verde: We’re going to make a roasted green salsa with tomatillos, green chiles, onion, garlic cloves, and fresh cilantro.
Oyster Mushrooms: Pulled apart to resemble shredded chicken. If you can’t get them swap with button mushrooms or with just jackfruit.
Jackfruit: Use the canned young green jackfruit and preferably the one in water for a better taste than the brine one.
Corn Husks: These tamales taste best on corn husks instead of banana leaves.
If you can only get jackfruit in brine you may want to check out my recipe on how to prepare jackfruit to make it taste better.
Jackfruit Tamales Rojos Variation
If you prefer red tamales then you’ll need to make red chile sauce to make red chile jackfruit tamales.
Please see the recipe card for the full ingredients list and instructions or you can also refer to my vegan tamales rojos recipe and just swap out the mushrooms for only jackfruit.
How to Make Vegan Jackfruit Tamales Verdes
Like I always tell you amigos, making tamales isn’t difficult at all, it just takes a bit of time. Please read through the recipe first and also check out all the countless tamale making tips right here on the blog and in my cookbook.
- Soak the corn husks after sorting them. Get more tips about that here.
- Roast the salsa verde ingredients in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Then blend with about 3/4 cups of water until smooth.
- Prepare the jackfruit by draining, rinsing, then using a fork or with your hands begin to pull apart into shreds. You can discard the hard core of the jackfruit and the seeds or do like I do and chop them up to use.
- Make the filling by sautéing onion and garlic until soft then add the mushrooms and cook until they begin releasing their liquid. Mix in the shredded jackfruit. Then season with a little salt and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of blended salsa verde into the jackfruit-mushroom mixture. Cook for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Make the masa and do the float test.
- Drain the corn husks and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to remove excess water.
- Spread the masa on the corn husks and add the filling in the center of the masa.
- Roll up the tamales and place inside the tamalera pot or steamer basket.
- Steam the tamales until set and masa is cooked through
If you don’t own a Mexican tamalera pot to steam your tamales in, go read the following article to see another cooking method for tamales, How to Steam Tamales Without a Steamer.
How to Serve Jackfruit Tamales
I love to take some of the extra salsa verde and drizzle it over my tamales. Sometimes I’ll also serve with some homemade refried beans.
If you need more ideas on how to serve do read my What to Eat with Tamales | 24 Tamales Side Dishes article.
How to Store and Reheat
Allow leftovers to come to room temperature then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They’ll keep fresh for about 4 to 5 days.
You can also freeze leftovers in a Ziploc bag or an airtight freezer safe container and eat within a few months.
I have more information about storing tamales on my How to Store Tamales. Make sure to also read How Long do Tamales Last.
To reheat tamales you can do so in the microwave, on the stovetop, air fryer or a tamalera or pot with steamer rack.
Gracias
I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
More Delicious Vegan Tamales Recipes
Be sure not to miss these vegan tamales recipes right here on my blog.
- Masa For Tamales (Tamales without Lard Recipe)
- Birria Tamales
- Bean and Cheese Tamales Recipe (tamales de frijol)
- Sweet Tamales | Pineapple Tamales Recipe
- Cheese and Jalapeño Tamales Recipe
- Vegan Tamales Rojos
Jackfruit Tamales Recipe (Made with Mushrooms)
Ingredients
Masa Ingredients
- 7 oz shortening at room temp this is 1 cup*
- 1.1 lbs masa harina for tamales I use Maseca brand
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 to 5 cups low sodium vegetable broth at room temp
Salsa Verde Ingredients
- 1.5 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 lbs. tomatillos peeled and rinsed
- 2 fresh jalapenos stem removed
- 2 fresh serrano peppers stem removed
- ½ medium onion quartered
- 4 whole garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder optional but adds great taste
- 1 handfull fresh cilantro
- ¾ cups water
Filling Ingredients
- 1 lb. oyster mushrooms pulled apart
- 30 oz jackfruit in water (this was 2 small cans)
- 1 small white onion
- 3 whole garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
Prepare The Corn Husks
- Sort through them and remove any debris or badly damaged husks. Soak with warm water in the sink or in a very large pot. Right before making the masa, drain them and place in a colander or pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
Salsa Verde Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan then add the chiles, onion, and garlic cloves and cook until everything has softened and browned a bit. Turning occasionally.
- Place the cooked veggies in a blender cup (or food processor) with the water, salt, and vegetable bouillon powder and blend until perfectly smooth. Lastly add the cilantro and blend for 3 -4 minutes or until well incorporated. Taste for salt.
Jackfruit Filling Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, cook the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to release their liquid. Stir now and then. Mix in the shredded jackfruit pieces and sprinkle in the salt. Cook for about 8 minutes.
- Pour in 2 cups of the salsa verde and cook for 10 minutes or until salsa thickens. Taste for salt and adjust if desired.
Masa Instructions
- Drain the corn husks and pat dry to remove excess water. Set aside. Use a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer for this step.
- In a large bowl and on medium speed, whip the shortening until creamy. Add half the masa harina, baking powder, and salt and whip until well combined. Gradually begin adding broth and remaining masa corn flour until you have a creamy, smooth and airy masa dough. You'll need to increase to high speed to properly whip everything together.
- Do the masa float test by placing a small piece of masa into a glass with water. It should float back to the top. If not keep whipping until it does.
Assemble The Tamales
- Take a drained corn husk and place it on your work surface. The shiny smooth side should be face up and the wide end should be on top and skinny tip down, like a reverse triangle.
- Now spread some corn masa on the corn husk. Don't go all the way to the side edges and make sure it's an even thin layer across. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling in the center.
- Grab one side of the husk and fold it towards the center, repeat with other side to bring both sides of the husks to the center, then fold up the long pointy bottom of the husk up towards the center. For a step-by-step guide you can watch this video.
- Keep making the tamales until all of the filling and masa has been used up. If you'd like you can rip some corn husk strips to wrap and hold together the tamales.
Cook The Tamales
- Pour enough water into your tamalera pot to the indicated line. Put the steaming rack in place then arrange one layer of softened corn husks on the bottom. Next arrange the tamales inside the steamer pot with the open end up. Try not to pack them in too tightly, leaving a some empty spaces between them so they have some room to expand.
- Cover the pot with aluminum foil, make a whole in the center of the foil then cover the pot with the lid. (You could also use another layer of corn husks instead of the aluminum foil.)
- Set the stove temperature to medium-high heat and allow it to come to a boil. Lower the heat to low heat and steam for 60 minutes before checking the tamales for doneness by removing one and letting it sit for 10 minutes. If the masa peels away easily from the corn husk then they are ready, if not they need to steam longer.
- Add more hot water to the steamer pot if needed to finish cooking the tamales. Pour it into the side of the pot and try to avoid getting the tamales wet.
- Serve
Notes
Nutrition
To make jackfruit tamales rojos you’ll need:
- 4 whole dried guajillo chiles wiped clean, seeded and stem removed
1 whole dried pasilla chiles wiped clean, seeded and stem removed
4 whole dried arbol chiles wiped clean, seeded and stem removed
3 whole garlic cloves½ small white onion quartered
1 medium roma tomato quartered
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
water for boiling
1. Place all of the ingredients except the cumin and salt in a pot and pour in enough water to cover them. Simmer over medium heat until everything has soften. Place in a blender cup with 1 cup of the boiling broth, salt, and ground cumin, and blend until smooth. Strain the salsa into a bowl using a colander and discard any leftover bits.
2. Prepare the jackfruit and mushrooms like stated above then add 1.5 cups of the guajillo chile sauce and cook until thickened.
3. Prepare the masa dough just like stated above but you can replace 1 cup of the vegetable broth with the red chile salsa, if you’d like.
4. The rest of the instructions are the same.
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Nancy Lopez is a food blogger and author of the cookbook Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Born in Mexico, raised in the US, and currently living in Southern Mexico, she has followed a meatless diet for almost 10 years. It is her passion and mission to share all she has learned about vegan Mexican cooking and vegetarian Mexican recipes. Mexican Made Meatless is a blog dedicated to preserving the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine just without the meat. It’s a place to celebrate Mexican culture and all it’s delightfully delicious traditional foods. Read more…
This will be a regular recipe that I use from now on. I used button mushrooms because I didn’t have oyster mushrooms. The umami taste it lends was amazing. So worth it!!!
Button mushrooms are a great substitute for the oyster mushrooms. Thank you AJ and keep enjoying your tamales! 🙂