Strawberry Tamales with Horchata Sauce

How to make Strawberry Tamales! Delicious, fluffy strawberry-infused sweet tamales drizzled with creamy horchata sauce. Perfect for Las Posadas, Christmas, or holiday parties! An easy step-by-step guide + video.

Recipe first posted on October 30, 2020 and last updated on November 29, 2022.

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Last week we talked about savory pork tamales and this week we are indulging our sweet tooth with these gorgeous rose-hued strawberry tamales.

Tamales are very special during the holidays and often made in big batches at Tamaladas—parties dedicated to making and enjoying tamales. We love them so much we make them for every special occasion. Birthday parties, Easter, Father’s Day, and so on.

All this tamal-making has given me plenty of opportunity to experiment with all sorts of fillings, masas, and flavors but I was especially excited to come up with these strawberry tamales because they are made in partnership with my friends at California Grown and feature fresh California strawberries.

More To Explore

Black Bean and Cheese Vegetarian Tamales

Mexican Hot Chocolate Tamales with Hot Honey

Atole {Warm Cinnamon and Corn Drink}

what are strawberry tamales?

If you’ve never dipped your toe into the delicious world of sweet tamales or tamales dulces you are in for a treat! These are very popular in Mexico around the holidays.

Tamales dulces have the same base of corn masa as savory tamales but instead of pork or chicken or cheese they are sweetened with sugar, vanilla, and fruit or chocolate or nuts. This strawberry tamal recipe has a combination of chopped fresh strawberries, strawberry preserves, sugar, and vanilla extract. They make a fantastic gluten-free dessert!

what you’ll need to make these strawberry tamales

Equipment

• 1 large stock pot. One large pot (at least 12 quarts) for soaking the corn husks.
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment. For mixing masa.
• 1 large bowl.
•  Large spoons for filling the corn husks.
• Steamer pot. Also called a tamalera or vaporera. You could also use a large pot (at least 12 quarts) with a lid and steamer basket.

Ingredients

• Dry corn husks 
• Freshly ground corn masa for tamales. Also called masa quebrada preparada or masa preparada para tamales (more on this later) 
• Fresh strawberries
• Strawberry jam
• Vanilla extract
• Granulated sugar
• Almond milk. Or whole milk. I used almond milk to keep them vegan
• Red food coloring. This is optional if you’d rather leave it out, but there are lots of plant-based red food dyes out there and they give the tamales their signature pink color

how to make strawberry tamales

step 1

Soak the corn husks. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Turn heat off and place about 1/2 pound of corn husks in the hot water. Weigh down with a bowl so they are fully submerged. Soak at least 1 hour. Drain well before filling.

step 2

Make the masa dough. For this recipe we use fresh corn masa. It is coarsely ground corn that has lard (or vegetable shortening), baking powder, and salt already added to it, ready to be used to make tamales. It is usually labeled: Masa quebrada para tamales or masa preparada quebrada para tamales (see image below), meaning: coarsely ground masa for tamales. Look for it in the refrigerator section of your local Latin market.

They could also have masa para tortillas which is a more finely ground masa for making corn tortillas. Don’t use that, it’s not the same.

If you can’t find fresh masa, follow the instructions in this Sweet Lime Tamales recipe for making masa with masa harina. 

The secret to making fluffy, tender tamales is to whip all the masa ingredients (except the chopped strawberries) together on medium high speed for a really long time until the texture is light and airy, at least 5 minutes.  

Depending on the size of your electric mixer, you may have to do this in batches. My KitchenAid is only 4 quarts and I do two batches to give the masa plenty of room to mix. If you have a 6 quart KitchenAid or similar you can probably do it in one batch. 

After the masa has the consistency of buttercream frosting, add the strawberries and gently fold them in.

step 3

Prep the steamer pot. The water in the steamer needs to have boiling water in it before you put the tamales in there. 

Fill the bottom half of the steamer pot with several cups water. Place the steamer rack inside the pot and line with corn husks that are too small or torn for filling. 

Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so it’s just simmering.

step 4

Assemble the tamales. Now we can finally put everything all together!

Take one corn husk that is about as wide as your hand on the bottom, dry both sides with a kitchen towel.

Spoon about 1/2 cup of masa in the middle of the wide end of the corn husk. Fold one of the long sides of the corn husk over the filling and pull as tight as you can without the filling spilling out the top. Roll up. Watch video for an example.

Fold the triangle tip over the wide bottom. Tie with thin strips of corn husks if you’d like. Set up-right in a baking dish with high sides to prevent the filling from spilling out the top.

Repeat with remaining masa and filling. 

Make ahead: Tamales can be frozen at this point for up to 6 months. Place a dozen or so tamales in gallon-sized plastic sealable bags and freeze. Steam from frozen (for an extra 10-15 minutes) when ready to eat.

step 5

Cook the tamales. Place tamales, vertically, open-side up in the tamale steamer. Lean the tamales against the side of the pot to keep from falling until you have enough in the pot that they support each other. 

Place over medium high heat so there’s lots of steam. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and then the lid. 

Steam until masa is cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Check occasionally to add more warm water from the kitchen sink to the steamer if needed. 

step 6

Serve.To see if the tamales are ready, remove one from the pot and let cool for a few minutes. Unwrap and see if the masa is cooked in the middle. It should be firm, fluffy, and spring back when you press on it. 

If they are ready, unwrap, drizzle with horchata sauce and enjoy!

how to store

As I mentioned, tamales can be frozen before or after they are cooked. Let cool completely, then place a dozen in a gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. 

They also keep for 4-5 days, tightly wrapped, in the fridge.

how to reheat

Dessert tamales can be enjoyed cold, room temperature or warm.

If you’d like to heat them up, you can reheat in the microwave, but I don’t recommend it. The edges tend to get hard and rubbery. 

The best way to reheat tamales is to place a few in a skillet, add 1/4 cup or so of water, cover and heat over medium heat until warm all the way through, about 15 minutes.

more tamales recipes to try!

• Mexican Chocolate Sweet Tamales with Hot Honey
• Sweet Lime Tamales
• Chicken Tamales with Pumpkin and Mole
• Apple Braised Beef Tamales
• Tahini Potato and Kale Tamales
• Chile Verde Chicken Tamales
• Red Mole Pork Tamales

You Can Do It! 

You can make your own strawberry tamales! I promise. You’ll have these down in no time. And when you make them, I want to hear about it! Share a photo and tag me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno or leave me a comment!

In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month, such as this one here which is sponsored by California Grown. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allows me to run the site. Thank you for reading!