Can the tamales be frozen?

Tamales are a staple of Mexican cuisine. They are a starchy, doughy and tasty corn-based dish that is steamed in a corn or banana leaf. Tamales can be filled with cheese, meat, fruit, vegetables, and sometimes even chili peppers.

The preparation of the tamales is quite an event, since their preparation is an important part of Mexican culture. Tamales can take hours to make, so if you want to make them at home, it might be worth making a few batches at once.

To preserve leftover batches, can the tamales be frozen? Yes, you can freeze tamales, and they keep remarkably well in the freezer. As long as tamales are properly prepared and packaged, they can stay fresh for 3-6 months in the freezer with little change in flavor or texture.

You can save yourself a lot of time when you learn how to freeze tamales correctly, allowing you to spend time making a great batch that you can freeze and enjoy for several months.

We’ll walk you through freezing cooked and raw tamales, as well as thawing and reheating best practices, so you can always have delicious tamales on hand.

Freeze cooked tamales

When tamales are frozen, the most common is to do it once cooked.

It’s a perfect meal to make ahead of time, and once you’ve made the tamales, you can cook them all together in one go. This way you save having to cook the tamales raw when you take them out of the freezer.

However, when the tamales are cooked, you have to make sure to pack them properly and carefully for freezing, as the original corn husk wrapper is too flimsy to withstand the intense cold of the freezer.

It’s best to freeze cooked tamales , as uncooked fillings may change flavor and texture when frozen, so freezing tamales after they’ve been cooked allows more flavor, texture, and quality to be preserved.

How to freeze tamales

Before freezing, just make an extra batch or two of tamales along with the ones you’ll be enjoying that day. You would make them exactly the same as if you were going to eat them directly after cooking.

Once the tamales are cooked, you have to separate the ones that you are going to eat directly and the ones that you want to freeze.

Follow this process to freeze the tamales to enjoy another day:

Allow to cool - You need to allow the tamales to completely cool to room temperature before preparing them for freezing. Leave the tamales on a cooling rack for about an hour.

Check frequently if they have cooled down completely. However, you can’t leave the tamales out for too long, as they could go bad after a long period of time.

Pack Them Up - Once the tamales have cooled to room temperature, you can pack them into their storage containers to freeze. You can place the tamales in a large, airtight container. This limits the number of tamales you can fit in a container, and the containers take up a lot of space in the freezer.

Alternatively , you can wrap each tamale in plastic wrap and place them all in a heavy-duty plastic freezer bag. This allows you to scoop out as many tamales as you like, without having to defrost the entire batch.

Label - Seal the container tightly, whether it is a plastic freezer container or a freezer bag, and label it with the name of the contents and the date of freezing. This helps determine when the tamales should be eaten by for the best quality.

Freezing uncooked tamales

The soft dough used to make tamales is very perishable.

Most people choose not to freeze raw tamales because there is a greater chance that the masa and other ingredients will not hold up well to the freezing process. So they may not have the same taste and texture after freezing and thawing.

With the right technique and preparation, though, you can make the tamales ahead of time and store them raw in the freezer to cook later.

To do this, simply make the filling as you normally would, and then wrap the tamale filling in the corn husk wrapper, or just wrap the whole batch unwrapped, and place in the freezer.

There is no best option for this, it just depends on personal preference. Whether you pack the filling plain or wrap it in the corn husk, it should be placed in a freezer-safe container.

Without a freezer-safe container, the tamale could be damaged by ice crystals and frost, which could alter its consistency and flavor forever, and the tamales won’t taste the same when thawed and cooked.

Cooking Uncooked Frozen Tamales

When it’s time to cook the uncooked frozen tamales, you have two options. You can let the tamales thaw in the fridge overnight, which is the safest way to thaw them, and then place them in the steamer to cook.

You can also place frozen tamales directly in the steamer to cook from the freezer. Wrapped tamales are great to cook straight from the freezer, especially using a steamer.

If you had frozen the filling separately, you will need to leave the masa and filling in the fridge to thaw overnight, before wrapping them in the corn husk and then steaming the tamales.

Thawed tamales can be steamed for 25 minutes over medium heat, but this will depend on the size of the tamales and how much you want to cook.

How long can tamales be frozen?

If placed in an airtight container, or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag, the tamales can keep in the freezer for up to six months.

Although after that time they will be edible, the quality and flavor of the tamales will begin to diminish and they will not taste as good as they should.

Labeling the container with the freezing date is very important to ensure that you can eat the tamales before they lose quality.

How do different fillings affect freezing?

Although most tamales freeze well, you should be careful about the fillings you use when freezing them. Most fillings, such as meat and shrimp, freeze very well and taste about the same when thawed and reheated.

However, in the case of vegetable fillings, it is important to note that they tend to be more watery and mushy after being frozen and thawed.

Therefore, it is recommended not to overcook the vegetable filling before freezing it. You can even leave the vegetable filling uncooked so that it reaches the right texture and consistency when thawed and reheated, and not too soft and doughy.

Dairy fillings, such as cheese fillings, can often be tricky as well. Dairy, depending on what it is, can sometimes separate during freezing or thawing, or, like cheese, can crumble.

If you are freezing a cheese filling, make sure there is a good balance of ingredients to prevent the cheese filling from falling apart or becoming dry and crumbly after freezing.

For cheese fillings, it’s best to freeze the tamales for up to three months, rather than waiting the full six months.

Related questions

There you have it: a guide to freezing tamales of all kinds so you can save them and enjoy them another time.

We’ve also included these related questions in case you have even more questions about freezing tamales.

Can tamales be frozen in aluminum foil?

You can freeze the tamales in aluminum foil. Instead of using plastic wrap to tightly wrap the tamales, you can wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Once covered with aluminum foil, you should place the tamales in a large freezer bag and close it tightly.

How do you thaw frozen tamales?

If you are not going to reheat the frozen tamales, it is best to let them thaw overnight in the fridge. This is the safest way to thaw the tamales and ensures that they are not left in temperatures that can lead to further bacterial growth.

If you don’t want to wait all night, a few hours in the fridge should thaw the tamales enough for you to reheat them later .

Is it necessary to defrost the tamales before freezing them?

You do not need to thaw the tamales before reheating them, but you should allow them to thaw for about 30 minutes before placing them in the oven, steamer, or microwave to reheat.

Technically, you can steam frozen tamales, but giving them a half hour to thaw makes a difference in reheat time and the quality of the tamales once reheated.

Freeze Tamales - Review

It is completely safe and possible to freeze tamales to enjoy later, and most people make a larger batch of tamales to freeze some to enjoy another time.

It takes quite a while to make tamales. So maybe you’d rather spend a couple of hours one afternoon making a whole batch, with extra to freeze, than having to put in a good couple of hours every time you want tamales.

Having some frozen in the freezer really saves you time, and allows you to have a healthy meal without spending hours preparing.