5 Ingredient Tamale Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is tamale pie made of? ›

Tamale pie is prepared with a cornmeal crust and typical tamale fillings arranged in several layers. Beef is traditionally used, but it can also be prepared using other meats such as chicken and turkey meat, and can also be prepared as a meatless dish.

What do I serve with Tamale Pie? Serve your delicious Tamale Pie with some classic Mexican sides to make it go further. Try my Mexican Rice, Grilled Mexican Street Corn, Easy Refried Bean Dip, and this Homemade Gucamole. Serve some salad sides like Grilled Corn Salad, or my Homemade Coleslaw too.

While Mexican-style and other Latin American-style tamales are featured at ethnic restaurants throughout the United States, some distinctly indigenous styles also are made. The Choctaw and Chickasaw make a dish called banaha, which can be stuffed or not (plain).

It's a Time-honored Tradition

Their origins can be traced back to Mesoamerica and they were eaten during the times of the Aztecs, Mayans and Olmecs. Since tamales were portable food, they were often used to feed men when they were away for battle or on hunting trips.

Tamales are super nutritious and tasty; there's a reason they've been around for centuries! They have fiber, micronutrients, resistant starch, and protein that can promote health for many people. But tamales are so much more than just their nutrition facts.

With meat-based tamales (yes, I know it's tamal in Spanish no need to offer corrections), I prefer crema mixed with a red or green salsa (usually to match whatever chiles are inside). Sour cream and Tapatio work in a pinch.

The key ingredient in the Mexican dish "tamales" is masa harina, which is a type of corn flour made from dried corn kernels that have been soaked in lime water (a process called nixtamalization) and then ground into a dough. Masa harina is the primary component used to make the dough or masa for tamales.

WATER, BEEF, TOMATOES (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), CORN MEAL, CORN FLOUR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF MODIFIED CORNSTARCH (CONTAINS ERYTHORBIC ACID), MASA FLOUR (GROUND YELLOW CORN, TRACE OF LIME), SALT, CHILI POWDER (CHILI PEPPERS, FLAVORING), PAPRIKA, SPICE.

"This tamale recipe is about as traditional as you can get, although I use a roast instead of the whole pig head that many use. These take about all day to make and are a lot of work, but they are so worth the time and the effort. They are a huge hit here in the West.

What is the history of tamale pie? ›

Tamale pie is thought to have originated in Texas sometime in the 1900s and became popular in high school cafeterias to feed students. Variations may include beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, beans, and cheese with vegetables, cornbread, and/or creamed corn.