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A big glass mixing bowl filled with red masa for tamales.
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5 from 1 vote

Vegan Red Masa for Homemade Tamales

Red masa for tamales is made like traditional tamales masa and colored with a mild red chile sauce. My recipe for vegan red masa for tamales is so easy to make and the results are authentic flavorful tamales that are perfect for special occasions, the holidays or whenever you just feel like having vegan homemade tamales! 
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine: Mexican, Vegan Mexican Recipe
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 148kcal
Author: Nancy Lopez & MexicanMadeMeatless.com

Ingredients

Red Chile Salsa for Tamales

Masa Ingredients

Instructions

Make The Red Chile Salsa

  • Place clean and seeded chiles in a medium pot with the garlic, onion and tomatoes. Cover with enough water then simmer until everything is softened.
  • Place the softened vegetables and chiles in a blender and add 1 cup of the boiling broth, the ground cumin and salt. Blend until you have a smooth salsa. Strain into a large bowl or container and set aside.
    Red Chile Salsa for Tamales

Make The Masa

  • In a very large mixing bowl, whip the vegetable shortening until light and creamy.
    Beating vegetable shortening in a large glass bowl to make masa dough for tamales.
  • Pour in half of the masa harina, baking powder and salt and mix until you have a well combined mixture.
    Mixing corn masa with whipped vegetable shortening in a large glass bowl to make tamales.
  • Pour in 1 cup of the red chile salsa into the masa mixture and mix until well combined. Stop to scrape down the sides as needed.
    Adding red chile salsa to masa dough for tamales. Red Chile Salsa Tamales Rojos
  • Little by little begin adding the remaining masa harina and pouring in vegetable stock or broth. Mix until you have a creamy, smooth and airy corn masa dough.
    A woman's hands stirring red tamales masa mixture in a large glass bowl on a wooden table.

Masa Float Test

  • Take a little bit of the whipped masa and drop it into a cup of water. It should float back to the top if your masa is ready. Read this article to find out what to do if your masa doesn’t float.
    A glass full of water with a bit of tamales masa floating in it. It's how to tell if tamales masa is ready for cooking.

Assemble The Tamales

  • Drain the hydrated corn husks, dry off with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to remove any excess water.
    Soaked corn husks draining inside a white colander.
  • Grab a hydrated corn husks and inspect the side of the husk to find the smooth side. The long side of the husk should be pointed towards the bottom and the wide toward the top.
    Right Side to Spread Masa of Corn Husk
  • Using the back of a spoon, or a spatula, spread a couple of Tablespoons of masa onto the corn husk and spread into a thin even layer. Then add a heaping tablespoon or more of the filling into the center.
    A flat lay of a wooden table showcases ingredients for vegan tamales rojos. A corn husk is filled with masa and salsa. Nearby are a bowl of salsa, a bowl of masa, and a stack of dried corn husks. A spoon rests in the rich red tamales salsa bowl.
  • Grab one side of the corn husk and fold it towards the center. Then grab the other side and fold towards the center. The long pointy end of the husk is folded up. Continue until all of the tamales filling is used up.
    Wrapping a Tamale

Steam The Tamales

  • In a tamalera pot pour in enough water to the indicated line then place the steaming rack in place. (If you don’t have a tamalera you can use a large pot and steamer basket, or a pressure cooker or Instant Pot to steam tamales. Click here to learn how.)
    Vegan red chile tamales steaming inside Mexican steamer pot called a tamalera.
  • Place tamales in the tamalera, open end up, cover it with aluminum foil and make a small hole in the center. Place the lid on the steaming pot and steam 60 to 90 minutes or until cooked through.
    Four-panel image showing how to steam tamales in a tamalera pot. Top left: tamales are arranged inside the pot. Top right: the pot is covered with foil. Bottom left: foil is tucked around the edges. Bottom right: a lid seals the tamalera, ready for steaming perfection.
  • You can check tamales after one hour by carefully removing one tamale and set it it on a plate. Let it sit for 10 minutes then try to unwrap, if it's ready the masa will peel away from the corn husk easily. If not it sticks then the tamales need to steam longer. Allow to steam another 30 mintues before checking.
  • Make sure to check your tamalera steamer pot for water and if needed add more so your pot doesn't burn!
    One vegan tamale on top of a corn husk drizzled with salsa verde.

Notes

Please notice that the filling is not calculated into the nutritional information. The final amounts will depend on what filling you use. 
This recipe makes enough for a 24 to 28 tamales.

Nutrition

Serving: 24tamales | Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 204IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2mg
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