Vegetable Tamales Recipe

Nobody says no to a delicious tamale, and there are endless varieties of tamales prepared in Mexico that are enjoyed every day, either in traditional celebrations or at breakfast.  However, for those who eat a diet without animal products, tasting some tamales may not be a good option, since most are prepared with lard or with a meat or cheese filling. For this reason, on this occasion, we share a recipe for vegetable tamales without any ingredients of animal origin, making it perfect for those who follow a vegan diet or simply for those who want to reduce the consumption of meat and derivatives.

Do you dare to try this delicious version? Keep reading, learn to prepare and combine vegetables to know how to make vegetable tamales.

Ingredients to make Vegetable Tamales:

• 400 grams of nixtamalized corn flour
• 150 grams of vegetable shortening or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (chemical yeast)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups vegetable broth or warm water
• 2 grated carrots
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 chopped tomato
• 5 chard leaves
• Leaves for tamale

How to make Vegetable Tamales:

Begin the vegetable tamale recipe by moisturizing the tamale leaves. To do this, put the leaves in a container with warm water and let them soak while you make the dough. Wash and clean the chard leaves very well, cut the stem and leave only the leaf. Then chop it and reserve. Also chop the onion, carrots and tomato. In a pan or pot with a splash of oil, cook the onion, carrot and tomato until the onion has slightly changed its color and the carrot has softened a bit. Season with salt and pepper to taste and reserve.

Trick: you can make your vegetable tamales with more ingredients, such as spinach, pumpkin…

In a bowl, beat the vegetable shortening until creamy. When it has creamed and softened, add the nixtamalized corn flour, the teaspoon of salt and the teaspoon of baking powder and mix with an electric or manual mixer until everything is integrated. Add the vegetable broth or natural water little by little until you obtain a soft, manageable and moist dough texture.

Integrate the previously cooked onion, carrot and tomato and the cut chard leaves. Mix manually or with an electric mixer until a homogeneous texture and consistency is achieved.

Trick: if you like, you can make vegetable tamales with cheese by adding this ingredient to the dough.

To form the vegetable and chard tamales, remove the water from the tamale leaves. Then, take one and place a portion of dough, spread it on the sheet without reaching the tip and close by rolling and securing the tip. Arrange the tamales in a steamer or pot for a bain-marie and cook them over medium-low heat for 1 hour.

When they’re done, let them cool slightly and they’re ready to eat. You can accompany these delicious vegetable tamales with grated cheese or a spicy sauce. With the amounts that we present you will get about 15-20 tamales, depending on the amount you put on the sheet.

With what to accompany the vegetable tamales?

What did you think of the recipe? Very easy, don’t you think? Dare to prepare this rich recipe for vegetable tamales to enjoy it for breakfast, dinner or at a celebration. If you want, you can add more elements and fill them with panela or manchego cheese and even with some type of meat if you prefer, but let us tell you that they are delicious.

If you want to enjoy them in a different way, you can let the vegetable tamales cool and rest in the refrigerator and then toast them on the Comal or fry them. You can accompany them with a little sauce and sour cream as if they were chilaquiles, a different option, but keeping the original recipe. For the sauce, here are some ideas:

• Peanut sauce with chile de arbol
• Molcajete sauce
• Macha sauce