December 18, 2020

Instant Pot Authentic Vegan Tamales

Instant Pot Authentic Vegan Tamales

Today we will be making tamales. Not just any tamales but “Authentic Vegan Tamales”. This is a Mexican dish dated on or around 100 AD. You will spend about $25.00 making this recipe and have food for 2 people for about 7 to 8 days. Who said veganism wasn’t affordable? And how is that for a delicious traditional Christmas dinner. Tamales are a labor of love but the flavors when you eat one make all the work worth while. My husband and I literally ate these an entire week three times a day. No shame what so ever. They are so good and can be enjoyed for any meal of the day.

What do you fill Tamales with?

The possibilities of filling a tamale are almost endless. There is different variations from jalapenos and cheese to refried beans to mushrooms to make this recipe soy free. In this post we will be making poblano peppers with Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese, Butler Foods Soy Curls with a Chile Guajillo Sauce and refried beans. If you are looking to make sweet tamales the recipe is coming soon so stay tuned. Because sweet tamales are almost the same except you use sugar, fruits and coconut for the filling. Sign up for my newsletter so you never miss a new recipe. Today we will be focusing on savory tamales. I highly recommend that you make the fillings one night before so the work doesn’t seem so back breaking. For example, tamales are a staple in my home on December 24th, 25th, and sometimes the 31st. So on the 24th I make the fillings as if I was making dinner. This way the fillings are completely cooled and you won’t be burning yourself or waiting around for them to be cooled when assembling the tamales. The morning of the 25th I focus on mixing the masa while the corn husks are soaking in some warm water. You still with me?

What flour will I use for the Tamales?

As far as flour you will be using a corn masa that has not been prepared for Tamales. I used the “Maseca” brand but you can use any corn masa you find as long as it is not prepared already for Tamales. You might be asking why are you making us work harder? Well that is because this is my family’s recipe and we take no short cuts to achieve optimal flavor. Alternate toppings can be a vegan sour cream I used the Good Karma brand and a Mexican salsa like the many I have on this site. Lets begin shall we!

Is making Authentic Tamales a family affair?

Tamales are definitely fun and easier to make when you involve your children or your spouse. I remember being a child and making them with my grandmother, mother, aunts and cousins. We would make 3 times this recipe for our entire family. And let me tell you that is about 60 of us all in 1 house sleeping on the floor on Christmas eve because we ran out of beds. 😂🤣😂

Authentic Vegan Mexican Tamales

conflictedvegan
5 from 24 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 hours
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 20

Equipment

  • Stove (optional)
  • Instant Pot (optional)
  • Spoons
  • Extra Large Mixing Bowl
  • Steamer Basket
  • Kitchen Towels
  • Blender
  • 1 Penny

Ingredients
  

Soy Curl Filling aka Vegan Chicken

  • 8 Ounces Soy Curls that has been rehydrated
  • 2 Tbs Tamari
  • 1 Tsp Liquid Smoke
  • 1/4 Cup Finely Diced Yellow or White Onion
  • 1 Tbs Minced Garlic
  • 1 Cup Guajillo Sauce

Poblano Pepper and Mozarella Cheese Filling

  • 6 Whole Poblano Peppers or Jalapenos
  • 1 Package Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese

Refried Bean Filling

  • 3 Cups Refried Beans
  • 1 Tbs Neutral Cooking Oil to fry optional

Guajillo Sauce Used in Corn Masa and Soy Curl Filling

  • 25 Whole Guajillo Chiles
  • 2 Cubes Not Chicken Bouillon optional
  • 1 Tbs Salt optional
  • 8 Cups Water to simmer and soften Chiles

The Tamales

  • 1 Bag Corn Husks 16 ounces
  • 1 Bag Corn Masa 2 1/2 pounds not prepared for tamales
  • 1 Can All Vegetable Shortening 1 pound
  • 4 Tbs Salt

Instructions
 

Making the Guajillo Sauce

  • Simmer Guajillo Chiles until soft about 15 to 20 minutes, let them cool before placing in the blender. Drain 2 cups of the water before blending the chiles.
  • Add Not Chick'n Cubes and 1 Tablespoon of salt and blend until smooth.
  • Put the sauce thru a strainer so that no large chunks of Guajillo Chiles are left.
  • Your sauce should be silky smooth.

Rehydrating the Soy Curls

  • I followed the instructions on the package for extra flavor you can add a Chick'n Cube but this is optional.
  • After rehydrating them and squeezing the liquid out pan fry the curls about 10 minutes with the onion. Once the onion is translucent add the garlic and remaining ingredients, 1 cup of the Guajillo Sauce, 1tsp liquid smoke and 2 tbs Tamari sauce. Simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes covering your pot. Using oil here is optional I used 1 TBS only. Make sure the curls are not runny since they will be packed in the tamales and we don't want them spilling from the bundles.

Roasting the Poblano Peppers and Preparing the Cheese

  • Place your poblano peppers on a baking dish in the oven at 400F for 35 minutes flipping half way at the 17 minute mark.
  • Let them cool on a kitchen towel or napkin and remove the skins. Cut in small 1/2 to 1 inch strands.
  • Cut your cheese as if you will be making mozzarella sticks, I make 12, but you control the cheese portions. Aim for the cheese to be the size of the Poblano pepper strands about 1/2 to 1 inch.

Soaking the Corn Husks

  • Wash and disinfect your kitchen sink or a large soup pot so that you can place the corn husks in there with warm water so they become pliable. This process is short and can be done while you are making your masa.

Making the Refried Beans

  • Using oil in your beans is optional. In fact these fillings don't really need it. I realize that the recipe in itself already uses fat so this step is optional. I mashed the beans in a bowl to avoid using another pot and more oil. But you make this recipe your own.

Preparing the Masa

  • Mix 2 1/2 pounds of masa with 20 ounces vegetable shortening and 4 tablespoons of salt.
  • Vegetable shortening
  • Begin kneading your masa and vegetable shortening with your hands until the shortening is evenly distributed.
  • Add 2 1/2 cups of Guajillo Sauce to the mixture of masa, vegetable shortening and salt.
  • Add 6 Cups of warm water and continue kneading the dough until you a achieve a smooth texture kind of like hummus. If you feel it doesn't feel like hummus yet add another cup but no more than 8 cups. You will be kneading about 15 minutes combined from start to finish your masa should resemble a pretty light orange color.
  • Rinse and drain your corn husks from the warm water and have them nearby so that you aren't running around the kitchen. Run your fingers up and down and left to right on the husk so that you know which is the soft side. On the soft side of the husk is where you will be spreading your masa. At this point protect your kitchen table or counter with parchment paper taped together and secured under the table to make clean up faster.
  • With a spoon begin spreading the prepared masa evenly on half of the corn husk utilizing the soft side of the husks only.
  • Your masa should be thin about 1/16 of an inch thick or so to hold the filling. Unless you like thick tamales then make them how your family will enjoy them best.
  • Here is another example of the technique.
  • Sealing the tamales. Place the filling in the center and fold in each side of the husks one at a time as if wrapping up a newborn baby 😊
  • Should look like this.
  • I batch up the spreading of the first.
  • Then put the filling also in batches.
  • Then begin to seal in batches. I made 100 tamales with this recipe
  • If you are using your stove to cook these tamales. You will need a steamer basket for your large stock pot and 1 penny. The penny should be placed on the bottom of your stock pot under the steamer basket. Do not overfill with water. 3 cups of water is enough it should barely cover the surface and not touch the tamales at all. Remember we are steaming these tamales. Hence why the penny will be placed in the bottom of the stock pot. The penny will make noise if your pot is dry and needs more water.
  • IF USING A STOVE TO COOK THE TAMALES FOLLOW THESE INTRUCTIONS: Position your tamales upright so that the filling does not fall out and seal your stock pot with aluminum foil and a tight lid. If you do not keep aluminum foil in your vegan kitchen that is all right the only reason I use foil is to secure the steam inside the pot. Steam the tamales for 2 1/2 hours on your stove.
  • IF YOU ARE USING AN INSTANT POT FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS. Put 3 cups of water for steaming. Depending on how big your Instant Pot is you will likely fit about 30 at a time. Place your Instant Pot on Steam for 18 minutes. I used a 6 quart size Instant Pot.
  • Now it's time to enjoy your tamales.
  • Cut them in half and savor the flavors you created.

Notes

You may want to top your tamales with the many salsas I have on this website.  I found they go very well with vegan sour cream and the Mexican Mayo Salsa.  Alternatively, when eating these Tamales the following day they can be warmed on a griddle for 15 minutes flipping every 3 minutes. Or heating them up in a microwave for 2 minutes or so. 
Looking for a Sweet Tamales, look no further my friend Nancy has the best recipe on her recipe called Mexican made Meatless. Give her a visit and tell her I sent you.
Did you have leftover Guajillo sauce?  Make my Enchiladas.
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Keyword authentic, mexican, plantbased,, tamales, vegan
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