How to Reheat Frozen Tamales - The Best Way

Tamales are not only delicious, but they are fun to eat and a great dish to serve at a large family occasion, because the corn husk or banana leaf wrapper can be used in place of a plate, which means no cleaning!

Whether you’ve made a large batch of tamales to freeze or just bought them frozen, you’ll need to know how to reheat them easily and keep them fresh.

How do you reheat frozen tamales? The best way to reheat frozen tamales is to steam them for 20-30 minutes. You can also reheat them in the oven or on the stove. Other methods, such as boiling or microwaving, are possible but not recommended.

There are many other ways to reheat frozen tamales and we cover them all, from the best to the least recommended, in the following article.

How to cook frozen tamales

Tamales can be filled with anything from a meat mix to rice and beans or even scrambled eggs.

They are wrapped in a sweet and savory corn dough and then packed in a pretty corn or banana leaf, depending on where you buy them.

Depending on the filling they are in, you may want to adjust how they are reheated, although any of the following will work respectably well regardless of the filling.

How to steam tamales

The way you steam the tamales will vary slightly depending on your steamer, how many tamales you are steaming at once, and the filling of your tamale.

A steamer with an insert like this one from Amazon is perfect for steaming tamales.

We recommend that you steam only one layer of tamales at a time, unless you have a tiered steamer. However, don’t stack the tamales directly on top of each other because they are more likely to get mushy when touched.

This is how steamed tamales are cooked:

• Program the steamer for 20 minutes and then check the temperature and texture of the tamales.
• You should avoid overcooking the tamales, because the masa will become soft and soggy if you cook them too long. Also, if the filling is very moist, such as many tomatoes or other vegetables with a high water content, be very careful about overcooking.
• If you reheat frozen tamales in a steamer, it will likely take longer than 40-45 minutes, but check at least every 5-10 minutes after 20 minutes.

How to Steam Tamales: Stove Top

There are many very cheap steaming accessories for pots that are perfect for steaming tamales. We love this collapsible steamer attachment because it fits so many different pot sizes and expands to various shapes depending on your cooking needs.

To steam the tamales on the stove

• Fill the pot with about 5cm of water, then place the steamer inside, making sure that no water rises into the pot. You don’t want your tamales to sit in water, as they will get mushy.
• Place tamales in steamer upright, open ends up. Try not to overfill the pot, but also don’t let your tamales fall over so they’re flat or on the diagonal.

As with a countertop steamer, it will take about 40 minutes to steam your tamales from frozen, but start checking at 20 minutes to make sure they aren’t overcooking.

How to Steam Tamales Without a Steamer

If you don’t have a steamer but want to go traditional and steam your tamales, you can get the results using an alternative appliance like a rice cooker or Instant Pot.

How to Steam Tamales in a Rice Cooker

You can steam the tamales in a rice cooker, but you’ll need to add something to the bottom of the pot, such as rolled up aluminum foil or a round metal rack, so you can keep the tamales out of the water.

This is only effective if you are reheating a maximum of 4-6 tamales, otherwise they will be too compacted in the rice cooker to heat evenly.

To steam the tamales in a rice cooker

Add an inch or two of water to the rice cooker and make sure the tamales are raised out of the water. Stand them tall with the open ends facing the ceiling.
Cook over high heat for about 20 minutes from when they freeze. Check the internal temperature and let them steam for up to 10 more minutes if necessary.

How to Steam Tamales in the Instant Pot

Steaming your frozen tamales in an Instant Pot is very easy, though it’s only recommended if you have a specially designed steamer basket for your Instant Pot.

Official Mesh Steamer Baskets are available in 2 sizes that will keep your tamales, and any other food you want to steam, safe from water pooling in the bottom of the pot. They also have a handle that allows you to effortlessly and safely remove the basket, straining any excess water as you go.

When steaming tamales in an Instant Pot

• • You’ll need about 2 cups of water in your Instant Pot to generate enough steam, but you’ll also want to make sure your tamales aren’t sitting in the water.
  • Make sure the openings are facing up and that all the tamales are standing up in a nice, neat circular pattern.
  • Close and seal your Instant Pot, setting it for 15 minutes.
  • When the timer goes off, let the natural release setting release the steam instead of using the quick release button. When done, carefully open the pot and use oven mitts or tongs to remove the basket from the very hot steam.

How to reheat tamales in the oven

Reheating tamales in the oven is very easy, but it can dry out your tamales much faster than other options.

To avoid this travesty, cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil or wrap each tamale individually in aluminum foil.

To reheat the tamales in the oven

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• If your tamales are frozen, they will take at least 25 minutes.
• If you have let them thaw before putting them in the oven, they will be ready after only 15-20 minutes.

How to reheat tamales on the griddle or in the kitchen

If you’re going to deep-fry your tamales, it’s best to thaw them until just barely thawed before cooking. Make sure they are still wrapped in their corn husks and place them on a hot griddle or skillet over high heat.

You must allow the blade to blacken before turning it over. Your tamale should be hot on the inside when the leaf is almost black on all sides. This is a very traditional way to quickly reheat a tamale and should only take 5-7 minutes over very high heat.

You can also fry your tamales without the shells, using a little cooking or olive oil on your griddle. This will give a crispier outer crust, but it only takes about 3 minutes per side and tastes pretty good.

Can the tamales be boiled?

You can boil the tamales, but it’s not recommended because there’s too much room for error.

You want to be absolutely sure that the water is not going to directly touch your tamales, so you have to seal them perfectly, either in a Ziploc bag, which is not intended to be boiled, or in a reusable silicone food storage bag that is Certified for sous vide cooking.

• If you have sous vide bags, place your tamale(s) inside and make sure they are perfectly sealed.
• Ideally, you should first thaw the tamale and then leave it in the boiling water for only 8-10 minutes.
• With a good silicone bag you can place a frozen tamale inside, seal it and boil it for 10-15 minutes.

If you are going to boil your tamales, keep an eye on the bag at all times to check for leaks. If any water gets inside, your food will be ruined.

Can you reheat tamales in the microwave?

You can reheat tamales in the microwave, but these appliances don’t distribute heat evenly, making it less reliable, especially for a heavily wrapped item like a tamale.

When you’re in a hurry or trying to bring a healthy and delicious lunch to work, sometimes the microwave is your only solution.

The result will not be perfect, but it will still taste delicious. You may end up with a slightly rubbery or mushy dough, but if you watch the tamale carefully and don’t overcook it, you should be quite satisfied with the results.

If you’re cooking the tamales in the microwave, you’ll need to adjust the time and heat level based on whether or not it’s frozen:

• If your tamale is frozen , place it on a microwave-safe plate with the skin on, cover with a bowl or splatter guard, and heat on medium or 50% heat for 3 minutes. This will defrost your tamale. Flip it over and continue cooking on medium for another 2 minutes, which will fully heat your tamale.
• If your tamale has thawed , you can heat over high heat for 1 ½ minutes on one side, flip it over, and continue heating for 1 more minute on the other side.

Security note:

It is always a good idea to check the internal temperature of food before eating it, especially if there is meat in the tamale. The FDA recommends that all reheated foods have a minimum temperature of 165F throughout.

Summary: Ways to reheat frozen tamales