Walnuts are the star of the show in these walnut green chile tamales! With Cinco De Mayo on the horizon and an excess of time on our hands, we figured a recipe that was both fun and creative would be a hit! We realize, making homemade Tamales does require more time than your standard taco night line up but these babies are so SO worth it! These walnut tamales are delicious AND impressive!

Although we’ll all most likely be enjoying the fiesta of Cinco De Mayo in smaller numbers with our personal households, we can still jazz it up and be festive! Walnut green chile tamales are a truly delicious & savory light meal!

I received free samples of California Walnuts mentioned in this post. I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by California Walnuts and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Making homemade tamales isn’t something most of us do on a frequent basis so here’s a brief rundown of the ingredients we’re working with today…

For the tamale dough, the masa:

• Dried corn husks, which are sold at a few large grocery stores in my town, or you can check your local Mexican grocery store. OPTION: use parchment paper instead- it works like a dream!
• Maseca, or masa harina.
• Coconut oil in a semi-solid state! If you live somewhere warm and your coconut oil is liquid, measure 1/3 cup of oil and pop it in the fridge for 45 minutes to firm up!
• Baking powder
• Paprika
• Vegetable broth

I was able to easily source both the Maseca and the dried Corn husks at my local grocery store- even in these unprecedented times.

As an added bonus, my local store has plenty of Maseca in stock while most stores where I live are currently sold out of AP flour!

For the filling:

• 4 cups of California Walnuts
• Onion
• Garlic
• Black or green olives
• Canned green chiles
• Cumin
• Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce OR sub your favorite hot sauce
• salt + pepper

Why walnuts? Walnuts are a substantial source of omega-3 fatty acids– a plant-based omega 3 to be exact! Regardless of your flavor preference, walnuts are the only nut to provide an excellent source of the plant-based omega-3, ALA (2.5g/oz).

Walnuts can absolutely be used in sweet or savory applications! The texture of ground walnuts is simply delightful in this recipe– there is no substitute for walnuts, you simply MUST use them!

That’s it! You guys. You girls. We are well on our way to devouring some fresh, homemade tamales!

How to make the California Walnut + green chile filling

The filling for our tamales couldn’t be simplier! And let’s get something straight… just because this filling is easy doesn’t mean it isn’t flavorful. The texture and the flavor of this walnut green chile filling are setting new standards for veggie tamales. Welcome to the club.

The filling is designed to be a touch on the spicy side so as you’re cooking and tasting remember, there will be a layer of masa wrapped around this filling which will dissipate and reduce the heat. If it’s a touch too spicy, that’s okay.

Alright! How to make the filling:

1. Measure your California Walnuts and add them to a food processor.
2. Process until a coarse meal is achieved. You don’t want large pieces of walnuts as they could puncture your tamales, you want a uniform, even consistency. The walnuts may have a slight sheen to them as they’ll release some oils during processing, this is ok.
3. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
4. Dice onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Add cumin, salt, pepper, canned green chiles, and sauce from canned chipotle peppers. Stir to coat the onion-garlic mixture with seasonings.
6. Add ground walnuts to the skillet and stir to combine. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove your filling from heat and set aside while we work on making the masa!

Tips to make the tamale dough

Now on to the masa or tamale dough! And you guessed it, the masa is easy to make as well! Hooray for fun, festive recipes that are also easy to create 🙂

Here are the steps to make your masa:

1. We’re going to cream our coconut oil in a stand mixer. Yes. This is real, you can cream coconut oil. ‘Creaming’ makes the coconut oil light and fluffy as the mixer beats air into the fat.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together, Maseca, baking powder, salt, and paprika.
3. Add half the Maseca to the mixer with it on and combine for 15 seconds, then add half the broth.
4. Mix until well incorporated, stopping to scrape the sides of your mixing bowl if needed.
5. Add the rest of the broth, then the rest of the Maseca and beat until a soft dough forms.
6. This will be a soft, wet dough that’s a spreadable consistency. If the dough is too dry it will be difficult to spread. We want a fluffy, spreadable paste.

The masa should be a spreadable consistency — well hydrated, too soft to hold shape and too thick to pour. We’re going for a fluffy paste-like consistency!

PRO TIP: If you are using dried corn husks you’ll need to soak them in water for 45 minutes to an hour to ensure they are soft and pliable. Place your corn husks, if using, into a bowl of water before you begin preparing your ingredients so they are ready and waiting for you!

Gently separate the individual husks prior to soaking them with water to ensure none are sticking together.

Placing something heavy on top of the dried corn husks to keep them submerged in the liquid is helpful to ensure all the husks soften.

Time to assemble!

Alright, let’s assemble our tamales! This step is the most time consuming and requires patience as you figure out the dexterity and movements to fill and wrap the tamales. We’re picking up new muscle memory skills here, team!

First things first, mise en place, or arrange your ingredients. You’ll need your masa + spatula, walnut filling + spoon, and soaked corn husks or parchment paper within arms reach. A spatula, spoon, and dish towel are also helpful.

You’ll also need a steamer basket set up. Add water to the bottom of your pot and place your steaming tray above it. We use the regular ol’ collapsible steaming basket and this will work just fine. Lay several corn husks or a sheet of parchment paper on top of your steaming tray, before placing any tamales in the steamer.

As you finish each tamale you can set them all in your steamer basket where they’ll await cooking. Ok, we’re ready!

1. Remove one corn husk and pat it dry with a towel. It should be flexible and bend in half in either direction.
2. Spread about 3-4 tablespoons of masa dough across the smooth side of a corn husk into a thin, even layer. (One side has deeper ridges, use your fingertips to identify the smooth side) I personally like to move up and down vs. left to right but do what works best for you.
3. In the center of your masa, place about 2 tablespoons of walnut filling.
4. Fold one side of the corn husk over the filling, then repeat with the remaining side and roll. Yes, there will be masa laying over top your corn husk- this will help seal the tamales as they steam so they don’t dry out!
5. Fold the pointy tip of your corn husk up and behind the tamale.
6. Place upright into your steamer basket and move on to the next!

NOTE: Dried corn husks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, your corn husks may be smaller or larger than those I used– adjust the amount of the masa and filling for larger or smaller tamales based on the size of the corn husks you have!

This step will take some time and getting used to. Have fun with it! Even if your first attempt and first few tamales aren’t perfect, they will stay taste amazing.

How to steam the tamales

Add your tamales to the seamer basket in an upright, vertical position. You should be able to catch of glimpse of the filling in each tamale. These will need to steam, covered on low heat for 60-80 minutes.

A very low simmer is best, enough so there is steam created in the pot but not an aggressive boil or the water may dry up very quickly. Set a timer to add more water to your steaming tamales halfway through cooking. If your steaming basket runs out of water it is a MESS to clean up!

Steaming the tamales at a very gentle simmer helps ensure the water doesn’t dry up too quickly. You can listen for bubbling noises near the base of your pot if there is water left. If you don’t hear any bubbling you most likely need to add water.

After an hour has passed turn off the heat and uncover the tamales. Let one sit out for 5 minutes to cool. Tamales are done cooking when the masa removes easily from the corn husk. It should be semi-firm and no longer a paste.

If the masa is still sticky and doesn’t easily pull away from the corn husk, cook the tamales an additional 10-15 minutes then check again.