• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Mexican Food Journal logo
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • About The Journal
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Tamales / Vegan Strawberry Tamales

    Vegan Strawberry Tamales

    Douglas Cullen, This blog generates income via ads and affiliate links which earn us a small commission.

    Tamales de Fresa

    Cover Vegan Tamales Unwrapped by Dora Stone

    If you love tamales but are worried about the lard typically used to make them, these strawberry tamales prepared with vegan butter or coconut oil are the tamales for you. We prepared them using a recipe from the cookbook Vegan Tamales Unwrapped written by Dora Stone from Dora’s Table.

    Dora adapts your favorite Mexican recipes making them completely vegan yet retaining their authentic flavor.

    Vegan Strawberry Tamales

    Everything Needed for Preparation

    Start by gathering all of your ingredients.

    Ingredients Vegan Strawberry Tamales

    Preparing the Masa

    Blending Strawberries and Almond Milk

    The liquid you use to prepare the masa (dough for tamales) is almond milk pureed with fresh strawberries.

    Blend until very smooth.

    Blended Strawberries and Almond Milk

    Mixing the Masa

    Add the coconut oil and sugar to your mixing bowl.

    Coconut Oil and Sugar in Mixing Bowl

    Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to make a paste of the sugar and coconut oil.

    Coconut Oil Sugar Paste

    Add the almond milk mixture and masa harina (corn flour to make tamales) to the paste.

    Masa for Tortillas and Strawberry Almond Milk

    This is how it should look after mixing.

    Mixed Masa for Strawberry Tamales

    Add ½ of the chopped strawberries.

    Adding Strawberries to Masa

    Mix until the strawberries are incorporated into the dough.

    Masa for Vegan Strawberry Tamales

    Preparing the Corn Husk Wrappers

    Place the dried corn husk in a very large bowl and cover with hot water.

    Soaking Corn Husks for Tamales

    Use a plate to keep the husks submerged so that they absorb water evenly.

    Soaking Corn Husks for Tamales

    Filling and Wrapping Tamales

    Here’s how you assemble the tamales. Extend 1 large corn husk.

    How to Fill Tamales

    Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of masa (dough) onto the wide end of the corn husk.

    Filling Tamales with Masa

    Add 1 teaspoon of strawberry jam up the center of the masa.

    Strawberry Jam Tamale Filling

    Fold the corn husk over the dough tightly.

    Rolling a Tamale
    How to Wrap Tamales

    Fold the tip of the corn husk over so that you have formed a nice little packet.

    Wrapped Tamale

    Tying Tamales

    You can tie the tamales to keep them from opening up if you would like. To make the ties, pull off long narrow strips of corn husk.

    How to Tie Tamales

    Wrap the strip around the tamale and tie. In the book, Dora shows you many different ways to wrap and tie tamales.

    Ready to Cook

    Now that all of your tamales are wrapped and tied it’s time to cook them.

    Wrapped Tamales

    Steaming the Tamales

    Put a couple of cups of water in the bottom of your steamer and add the steamer rack. Cover the steamer rack with a layer of corn husks. Place the tamales in the steamer vertically with the open end of the tamale facing up. Don’t allow the tamales to touch the water. Cover to cook.

    Tamales in Steamer

    Improvising a Steamer

    If you don’t have a tamale steamer, you can improvise one by using a larger tall pot. put a couple of cups of water in the pot and then place a heavy ceramic bowl in the bottom. Cover the bowl with corn husks and then add the tamales. Cover to cook. We had to use this trick because we couldn’t find the steamer rack :)

    Improvised Tamale Steamer

    Enjoy Your Tamales!

    These tamales are delicious. They’re a great dessert at the end of a Mexican meal. They are also great with a cup of hot atole or coffee when you want a light breakfast.

    Strawberry Vegan Tamales
    Vegan Strawberry Tamales
    Print Pin
    4.50 from 2 votes

    Vegan Strawberry Tamales

    How to make vegan strawberry tamales from a recipe created by Dora Stone from Dora's Table. Coconut oil or vegan butter replace the traditional lard used to make tamales. Fresh strawberries and strawberry jam give them loads of flavor.
     
    Course Tamales
    Cuisine Mexican
    Keyword how to make strawberry tamales, strawberry tamales, strawberry tamales recipe, vegan tamales
    Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour hour
    Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
    Servings 18 tamales
    Calories 202kcal
    Author Dora Stone (Vegan Tamales Unwrapped)

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups strawberries cut into chunks
    • 2 cups almond milk warm
    • 1 cup 8 oz. vegan butter at room temperature (IMPORTANT NOTE: we substituted chilled coconut oil because we are unable to get vegan butter in Mexico. The tamales still turn out great!)
    • ½ cup sugar granulated
    • 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
    • 1 tsp. salt kosher
    • 4 cups 1 lb. 2oz masa harina
    • 1 cup water warm
    • 1 ½ cup strawberry jam
    • 30 corn husks dried

    Instructions

    • To prepare the corn husks: Soak the corn husks in hot water in a large pot or in your kitchen sink. Place a plate over them to weigh them down so they are completely submerged. Let them soak for at least an hour.
    • To make the filling: Blend the 2 cups of almond milk and 1 cup of the strawberries until smooth.
    • To make the dough: Beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until the butter has doubled in size and is nice and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the baking powder and salt. Beat for 1 minute to incorporate into the butter.
    • Add half of the masa harina. Then add the strawberry almond milk. After they are completely incorporated, add the “other half of the masa harina and the water. Add the remaining cup of chopped strawberries and beat at low speed until thoroughly mixed. It should have the consistency of a thick cake batter. If necessary, add more water until you reach that consistency.
    • For lighter and fluffier tamales, let the dough rest for an hour in the refrigerator. Remove the dough from the fridge and beat it again, adding enough liquid to get it to the consistency it had before.
    • Remove the corn husks from the water and set on paper towels. Reserve the largest husks to wrap the tamales and the small ones to line the steamer.
    • To set up your steamer: Fill the bottom with water making sure the water is not touching the steamer rack. Line the rack and sides of the steamer pot with corn husks. Set aside.
    • Place the tamal in the steamer vertically, leaning against the side of the steamer, with the open end on top. Repeat this process until you run out of dough and all the tamales are in the steamer. Cover them with a layer of corn husks. If the steamer is not full, fill the empty spaces with more corn husks. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and cook for 40 minutes. Check the tamales. When they separate easily from the corn husks, it means they are done. If they are not done, steam for 10 more minutes and check again.
    • Remove steamer from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Uncover and let cool for at least an hour. Don’t be alarmed if the tamales seem really soft. As they cool, they will firm up.

    Notes

    • If you would like to make these with fresh masa, replace the masa harina with 2 lbs. of fresh masa and use only 1 cup of almond milk.
    • To substitute the fat, you can use 8 oz. of coconut oil.
    • For tamales without fat, substitute with 8 oz. of cooked, unsweetened pumpkin.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1tamale | Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 54IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 2mg

    More Recipes from Dora’s Table

    • Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

    Mexican Dessert Recipes

    • Cream Cheese Flan Napolitano
    • Tres Leches Cake
    • Pan-fried Bananas with Lechera
    • Arroz con Leche

    More Tamales Recipes

    • Chicken Tamales with Salsa Verde

    More Tamales

    • Authentic Mexican Tamales
      Chicken Tamales with Salsa Verde

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rena. Mobley says

      December 18, 2016 at 8:57 pm

      I need a sauce . , sweet tamales made with pineapple, walnuts and ‘ diet brown sugar’ are good however not sweet enough,
      Suggestion for a sauce/ icing to serve over tamales.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    D. Cullen Profile Picture

    Hola, I am Douglas. Let me share my love of Mexican Cuisine with you that developed over 20+ years of living in Mexico.

    More about me →


    Most Popular Recipes

    • Classic Salsa Verde
    • Bowl of Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa
      Restaurant Style Salsa
    • Bowl of Traditional Mexican Sopa de Fideo
      Traditional Sopa de Fideo
    • Bowl of Authentic Red Pozole
      Red Pork Pozole
    • Bowl of Chicken Tinga
      Chicken Tinga
    • Agua de Jamaica
    • Tres Leches Cake with Berries
      Tres Leches Cake
    • Beet Salad Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
      Beet Salad with Feta Cheese and Citrus Balsamic Viniagrette
    • Cheese Enchiladas with Red Enchilada Sauce
      Red Enchilada Sauce
    • Authentic Mole Poblano
      Mole Poblano

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Mexico Publishing LLC