Tamale Bites Recipe
Easy “cheater” tamales that are perfect for sharing. This zesty Tamale Bites Recipe is a sure-hit for all your game-day gatherings and holiday parties!
Time, my ultimate love-language.
Some women want gifts or sweet talk. Those things are nice, but all I really crave is ample time with the people I love.
Time is what I consider my greatest asset. I give it freely to loved ones, yet become stingy with my time when it’s under attack. If someone isn’t valuing my time, wasting my time even, it makes me crabby. Just being honest.
Faith, Family, Friends, Workouts, Travel, Cooking/Blogging… These things envelop my time. If a task doesn’t fit under these parameters, it usually falls to the wayside. If it fits under these parameters, but is “busy work” (meaning I think it’s a waste of time) it still usually falls to the wayside.
To only spend time on valuable people and efforts is my constant goal. Sometimes I feel like the bad guy when I have to say no to a person or opportunity, but you have to protect your assets.
I like to consider myself charmingly efficient rather than difficult. *wink*
Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have – so spend it wisely. ~Kay Lyons
Today’s Tamale Bites Recipe is a time saver on two levels. Do you know how excited that makes a person like me?
1) Compared to traditional tamales, this recipe cuts the time in half! The prep work is much quicker and so is the cooking time.
2) This recipe starts with cooked shredded meat. That generally mean leftovers from another meal, such as a beef roast, pulled pork, grilled chicken, or even take-out! So when you prepare one meal during the week, you are actually getting a head-start on the Tamale Bites Recipe as an appetizers for your weekend gathering. Isn’t that EXCITING!?!
For further appeal, these cute little tamale bites are slightly spicy, hearty, and perfect for cool weather. Every time I take my Tamale Bites Recipe to an event and they disappeared in no time.
Make sure to add this Tamale Bites Recipe to your Halloween party or game-day menu this year. They will save you time so you can spend it on the people you love.
Tamale Bites Recipe
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1 pound cooked, shredded beef or pork or chicken
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons masa (corn flour)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves + extra for garnish
- 1-2 canned chipotle pepper chopped
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Salt and pepper
For the Masa Shell:
- 2 cups masa (corn flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/3 cups beef stock
- 2/3 cup vegetable shortening melted
- Crumbled Queso Fresco to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onion and garlic with 1 tablespoon butter for 2-4 minutes. Add the shredded meat, masa, tomato paste, cumin, thyme, and chopped chipotle peppers. Stir well and add 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer. Simmer until all the liquid in rendered out--approximately 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix 2 cups of masa with the baking powder, salt, and cumin. Add the beef stock and mix to a crumbly consistency. Pour in the melted shortening and mix by hand until smooth.
- Spray mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Scoop the masa mixture into small 2 teaspoon balls using a small cookie scoop and place in the muffin tins. Use a round teaspoon (or pestel) to press a deep indention in the center of the masa balls. Once the beef mixture has rendered out the liquid, stir in the sour cream and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill each masa shell with the meat mixture. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow the tamale bites to cool 5-10 minutes before extracting them from the muffin tins. Use a small sharp knife to loosen the tamale bites from the muffin tin. Then lift one side with the tip of the knife and gently lift each tamale bite out with your fingers. Garnish with crumbled queso fresco and thyme leaves. Serve warm.
Oh wow Sommer…that is so clever. We absolutely adore tamales but I never seem to find the time to make them the traditional way. This is awesome! Thanks for posting the recipe.
Cute little bites – I'd help them disappear quickly! I also love the quote about time – so true!
really innovative and great dish- love it!
i'VE got a bag of masa and have been wanting to make tamales for some time – but i'm afraid they won't turnout – thank you so much for suggesting this idea – tamale cups – wow- genius… i like it! you rock!!
These sound and look awesome!
Meant to type so darn good;)
Hi Sommer- these look son darn good I want one now for breakfast! Time does fly by so quickly. This is fantastic b/c it is all homemade and quick.:)
I love these! They look delicious and so adorable. I totally agree about how precious time is. There never seem to be enough hours in the day. This post was time well spent. Thank you for that.
These look delicious, I love tamales but when done like this its definitely more accessible. I just found corn flour here in France this weekend so will definitely give this a try.
That really looks great ! Invite me to your party !
Like you, I will take the time if that's worth it, I don't mind doing a bread over 4 days (not full time, it's more about planning), but if I can do something quicker, I don't hesitate.
What a time saver. Fantastic. I have thought about making my own tamales. We could buy them at the farmers market until two weeks ago, but now we are almost out. Thanks, Summer.
Oh yep…these would make a great party food! The queso fresco atop has brightened up these beauties.
Angie
Could these look any more appetizing? I think not! You are so skilled with your camera…and of course in the kitchen! I'm consistently impressed. I want one of these little guys right now. Thank you so much for your kind words on my blog…they are so appreciated during this difficult time.
Great quote! Love the party idea as well :)
they look like perfect party food and your right time is so precious
These are precious. Time is well spent eating these!
"To only spend time on VALUABLE efforts is the goal. "Just Say NO" is a real challenge, isn't it? Sometimes I feel like the bad guy saying no, but you have to protect your assets."
Fantastic quote! Time is our greatest commodity and is not to be wasted. I completely agree! I get a lot crammed into one day by being efficient. :)
Thank you for your logo feedback! :)
Andrea
Definitely charmingly efficient! I love it when I can make something out of leftovers, and these look perfect and delicious, Sommer. I completely agree about time – I absolutely love finding time saving tricks that still give amazing results. ( : XO