Homemade tamales may seem daunting, but they are surprisingly easy to make. Sure, there are a few steps involved, but the steps are quite simple and extremely forgiving. Tamales can be stuffed with just about anything from savory meats to sweet strawberry jam. In this recipe, I use butternut squash and mushrooms for an earthy, veggie-packed filling. These tamales are steamed until tender, then topped with a savory chili cheese sauce, taking these vegetarian tamales from good to great. My Butternut Squash and Mushroom Tamales with Queso are seriously good and a great way to turn your meatless meal into something super magical.
To start, make the tamale filling. Add two cups of cubed butternut squash to a large stock pot, along with ¼ cup of chopped onion and 3 cloves of smashed garlic. Fill the pot with water, covering the vegetables, add a large three-fingered pinch of salt to the water, cover and boil the vegetables until tender, about 20-25 minutes. When tender, drain the vegetables and scatter them onto a baking sheet to cool.
While the squash cools, place 18 large corn husks into a 9”x13” glass pan. Cover the corn husks with warm water and place a large, heavy glass bowl over top of the husks to keep them submerged in the water. Soak for about 30 minutes.
Sauté 3 ounces of chopped mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in ½ tablespoon of liquid aminos or soy sauce, then remove the mushrooms from the heat. Add the squash, mushrooms, ½ teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 tsp of cumin powder, ⅛ teaspoon of dried ancho chili powder, ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and 2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a large bowl. Using a fork, smash the squash and garlic and stir the ingredients together until the filling is smooth, but still chunky in places.
In a separate large bowl, mix together 2 cups of masa with 1 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda, garlic powder and smoked paprika. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1½ cups of warm water, 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon paste and 6 tablespoons of canola oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
To assemble the tamales, take a large corn husk that has been soaking and pat it dry. Lay it on a flat surface, then place a large, golf ball-sized scoop of masa onto the center of the corn husk. Use your fingers to press the masa out into an even layer, centered on the corn husk that’s about an ⅛ of an inch thick and as long and wide as you can make it, leaving a bare edge around all sides of the husk. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of filling into the center of the flattened masa, shaping the filling into a long thin cylinder that is skinny enough to be wrapped and sealed in by the masa. Use the corn husk to roll and seal the tamale. If you notice that there is not enough masa to fully wrap and seal the filling, simply add a bit more masa to the tamale and roll it again until sealed.
Grab another corn husk and tear it into long, skinny strips. Use the strips to tie the ends of the corn husk-wrapped tamales into nice little packages. You can also fold the ends of the corn husks in towards the center of the tamales and tie. Do whatever is easiest for you.
There are two things to keep in mind when making tamales. First, tamales are really forgiving, and do not have to be perfect. If there is a little filling oozing out of the masa, don’t worry about it. Add more masa to cover the seeps, then reroll to seal. Second, while you’ll want to wrap the tamales entirely in the corn husks before steaming, this too does not have to be perfect. Just do the best you can to tie the ends together, but don’t fret if the packages aren’t perfect.
Okay, once all of your tamales are assembled (you’ll end up with about a dozen), place the tamales into a steamer basket or large stock pot that is outfitted with a colander. Add a few cups of water to the bottom of your steamer pot, enough to fill the pot to within one inch of the steamer basket (or colander), but not so much that your tamales get wet once the water boils. Steam the tamales for 40 minutes, then cut the heat and let the tamales rest for another 10 minutes in the steamer pot before removing them.
During those 10 minutes of rest time, make the queso sauce. In a small stockpot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then stir in 2 tablespoons of flour, a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika. Cook the flour/butter mixture for one minute, stirring continuously. Slowly add 1½ cup of milk to the flour mixture and stir continuously until thick and smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and 2 ounces of diced canned chilis (or more if you like chilis!). Stir the queso sauce until very smooth, then cover to keep warm.
To plate this dish, unwrap a few tamales from their corn husks and arrange on a large plate. Spoon the queso sauce liberally over the tamales and enjoy! This recipe feeds four.
Butternut Squash and Mushroom Tamales with Queso
Ingredients
Squash and Mushroom Filling
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 3 cloves of smashed garlic
- 3 oz chopped mushrooms
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp liquid aminos or soy sauce
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ⅛ tsp ancho chili powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
For the Tamales
- 2 cups masa flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1 tsp vegetable bullion paste
- 6 tbsp canola oil
- 18 corn husks
Queso Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 oz canned diced green chilis
Instructions
- To start, make the tamale filling. Add two cups of cubed butternut squash to a large stock pot, along with ¼ cup of chopped onion and 3 cloves of smashed garlic. Fill the pot with water, covering the vegetables, add a large three-fingered pinch of salt to the water, cover and boil the vegetables until tender, about 20-25 minutes. When tender, drain the vegetables and scatter them onto a baking sheet to cool.
- While the squash cools, place 18 large corn husks into a 9”x13” glass pan. Cover the corn husks with warm water and place a large, heavy glass bowl over top of the husks to keep them submerged in the water. Soak for about 30 minutes.
- Next, sauté the chopped mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the liquid aminos or soy sauce, then remove the mushrooms from the heat.
- Add the squash, mushrooms, remaining seasonings and apple cider vinegar to a large bowl. Using a fork, smash the squash and garlic and stir the ingredients together until the filling is smooth, but still chunky in places.
- In a separate large bowl, mix together the masa, salt, baking soda, garlic powder and smoked paprika. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1½ cups of warm water, 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon paste and 6 tablespoons of canola oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- To assemble the tamales, take a large corn husk that has been soaking and pat it dry. Lay it on a flat surface, then place a large, golf ball-sized scoop of masa onto the center of the corn husk. Use your fingers to press the masa out into an even layer, centered on the corn husk that’s about an ⅛ of an inch thick and as long and wide as you can make it, leaving a bare edge around all sides of the husk. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of filling into the center of the flattened masa, shaping the filling into a long thin cylinder that is skinny enough to be wrapped and sealed in by the masa. Use the corn husk to roll and seal the tamale. If you notice that there is not enough masa to fully wrap and seal the filling, simply add a bit more masa to the tamale and roll it again until sealed.
- Grab another corn husk and tear it into long, skinny strips. Use the strips to tie the ends of the corn husk-wrapped tamales into nice little packages. You can also fold the ends of the corn husks in towards the center of the tamales and tie. Do whatever is easiest for you.
- Once all of the tamales are assembled (you’ll end up with about a dozen), place the tamales into a steamer basket or large stock pot that is outfitted with a colander. Add a few cups of water to the bottom of your steamer pot, enough to fill the pot to within one inch of the steamer basket (or colander), but not so much that your tamales get wet once the water boils. Steam the tamales for 40 minutes, then cut the heat and let the tamales rest for another 10 minutes in the steamer pot before removing them.
- During those 10 minutes of rest time, make the queso sauce. In a small stockpot, melt the butter, then stir in the flour, a pinch of salt and the smoked paprika. Cook the flour/butter mixture for one minute, stirring continuously. Slowly add 1½ cup of milk to the flour mixture and stir continuously until thick and smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the shredded mozzarella cheese and 2 ounces of diced canned chilis (or more if you like chilis!) until very smooth, then cover to keep warm.
- To plate this dish, unwrap a few tamales from their corn husks and arrange on a large plate. Spoon the queso sauce liberally over the tamales and enjoy! This recipe feeds four.
