Mini Tamales
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Oct 8, 2025 
These easy “cheater” zesty Mini Tamales are perfect for sharing, and this recipe is a sure hit for all your game-day gatherings and holiday parties!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
These cute little tamale bites are slightly spicy, hearty, and perfect for cool weather. Every time I take Mini Tamales to an event, they disappear in no time.
Add this Tamale Bites Recipe to your fall party or game-day menu this year. They will save you time, which you can spend on the people you love.
Why You’ll Love This Mini Tamales Recipe
- Huge time saver – Compared to traditional tamales, this recipe cuts the time in half! The prep work is much quicker, and so is the cooking time.
- Meal-prep greatness – Honestly, make sure to make A LOT of these mini tamales, because they’re amazing for planning ahead meals.
- Customizable – Fill these mini tamales with your favorite meat, whether it’s pork, chicken or beef.
These mini tamales are seriously the perfect party appetizer. So what are you waiting for?!
Ingredients and Tips
- Meat – For these mini tamales, you can use your preferred meat whether it’s shredded beef, pork or chicken.
- Vegetables – You’ll need chopped onion and garlic.
- Masa
- Spices and herbs – You will need ground cumin, fresh thyme leaves and a chopped chipotle pepper.
- Sour cream – Use a thick, regular sour cream.
- Masa – For both the filling and masa shell you will need masa aka corn flour.
- Queso fresco – For the garnish, use crumbled queso fresco.
Recipe Variations and Dietary Swaps
- Cheese – Swap the queso fresco with shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack or a spicy jalapeño cheese.
- Vegetarian – Make these vegetarian by replacing the meat with sauteed mushrooms or zuchinni.
- Other protein – Instead of the classic meats, use ground turkey or cooked crumbled chorizo.
How To Make Mini Tamales
Tip for Success – Let the baked tamale bites cool in the pan for several minutes before attempting to get them out. Messing with them while warm can cause the corn bottom to crumble.
Find the full Mini Tamales recipe with detailed instructions and storage tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post!
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Mini Tamales should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. They’re best enjoyed at room temperature.
- Freezing Leftovers – After baking, cool the mini tamales. Then wrap them well in plastic (or store them in an airtight container) and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw at room temperature, then reheat in the oven or air fryer.
- Reheating Leftovers – Reheat leftover mini tamales in the oven at a low temperature.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these delicious mini tamale bites with crumbled queso freso and a dash of freshly squeezed lime juice. You can also enjoy these with my Holy Guacamole Recipe, Roasted Tomato Salsa or a drizzle of simple crema.
Mini Tamales 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can assemble these ahead of time and store in the refrigerator before baking.
Ah, that’s crucial. Make sure to grease the pan really, really well to avoid the masa shell from sticking.
Yep! You can find that in specialty Latin stores and it’s definitely a great time saver.
Perfect for a party Sommer! Excellent for the season and I love the quote and your perfect answer via these tamale bites!
Ciao, Devaki 2 weavethousandflavors
Great idea. They look so good.
These are adorable and look so darn tasty! They'd make fabulous appetizers for a party I plan on throwing soon (as soon as I unpack my mini muffin pans) :) Congrats on Top 9! :)
ooh la la… I love these budles… I am saving this for my next fiesta.
An excellent post! My neighbor is having a fairly large Halloween party as well and these just night be the perfect treat! Thank you so much!
I'm stealing this idea. lol I like the tamale cup idea. I do plantian cups every once in awhile for ceviche. Good job!
I saw the chipotles in adobo and fell in love. They are SO good. I heap them on forgetting how hot they really are! Looks fantastic.
FYI, there's an award for you on my site. Hope you'll pick it up. I think you're awesome.
I think those would be perfect for a party. Hearty, but easy to handle. Oh yeah….
Dianna~
I've made these a couple times…
The first time, I placed a large pan of water on the rack below. The masa cups came out very moist and very similar to the texture of real tamales. The only problem was that they were hard to extract from the muffin tins without damaging the cup. The second time I tried it without the pan of water. The texture of the masa was definitely different from traditional tamales, but much easier to handle. I preferred the second batch. The flavor was on, even if the texture was a bit different!
I’ve tried a similar idea, buying freshly made grocery store tamales and scooping out the filling then using the masa in muffin tins, adding the filling, topping with a bit of chili,minced onion, and shredded cheese…when I tried to removed them from the muffin tins they fell apart…maybe if I use this recipe to make the masa the results will be better…and then I could top each with a dab of chili (I think tamales need that or they are too dry)…anyway thanks for the inspiration!
btw…my blog is cookingalone.blogspot.com
Hey Sommer, time is a mystical thing (smile). Sometimes it goes so fast and sometimes so slow. Either way, I'm inefficient, so I can't get grumpy about it;-)
These tamales are beautiful by the way. I have a feeling I would eat a lot of them if they were in front of me!
Those tamale tartlets look so good! What a great idea.
Time is precious so that is a wonderful and generous gift.
Cheers,
Rosa
Terrific idea I am about to make tamales. I must try this. I posted quesadillas last week, used the same brand as you I see from the photo.
LL