Vegan Tamales Recipe (Authentic Tamales Rojos)
Traditional Mexican tamales rojos made vegan. Red chile masa, shredded oyster mushroom filling, no lard and no meat. Every bit as delicious as the tamales I grew up eating.
Servings: 18 servings
Calories: 218kcal
Ingredients
Red Chile Salsa for Tamales
- 4 whole dried guajillos 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 cloves
- ½ small white onion quartered
- 1 medium roma tomato quartered
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- water for boiling
Masa Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable shortening 7oz or 200 grams
- 1 lb. masa harina the kind for tamales (4 cups roughly)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup red salsa
- 2 to 4 cups vegetable broth
Vegan Red Tamales Filling
- 2 lb. oyster mushrooms shredded
- 1 medium white onion halved then sliced into smaller pieces
- 5 whole garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoon light soy sauce or Maggi Seasoning
- 1.5 cups red salsa
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
Instructions
Hydrated The Corn Husks
- Sort through the dried corn husks and remove any damaged ones. Thoroughly rinse. Place in a very large container or right in your kitchen sink. Pour enough warm water to cover by a few inches. Use a heavy pot or bowl to help push down the husks and help them hydrate.
Make The Red Chile Salsa
- Wipe chiles clean, then remove seeds and stems
- 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.
Make The Filling
- Shred the oyster mushrooms by pulling them apart into thin shreds. Mince the garlic and slice the onion.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and once hot add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Then add the mushrooms, sprinkle in the ground cumin, and drizzle in soy sauce. Sauté until mushrooms have softened and their liquid has evaporated.
- Pour in 1.5 cups of the red chile salsa and cook for 10 minutes under low heat. Set aside to cool.
Make The Masa
- In a very large mixing bowl, whip the vegetable shortening until light and creamy.
- Pour in half of the masa harina, baking powder and salt and mix until you have a well combined mixture.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Assemble The Tamales
- Drain the hydrated corn husks, dry off with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to remove any excess water.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.)
- 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.
- 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 minutes before checking.
- Make sure to check your tamalera steamer pot for water and if needed add more so your pot doesn't burn!
Instant Pot Method
- Add 1 cup of water and a steamer basket. Arrange tamales upright, open end up. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes with a 10-minute natural pressure release.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 18servings | Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 315mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 298IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 3mg
