These festive homemade pumpkin tamales have pumpkin puree in the buttery masa, and a sweetly spiced mincemeat fruit filling. They’re perfect for Christmas parties and other holiday celebrations, but I also like to make these anytime in the fall or winter season. You can make a big batch and freeze these tamales de calabaza ahead of time!

The tamale masa dough is based on a Oaxacan recipe from the culinary autobiography of Zarela Martinez (Food from my Heart: Cuisines of Mexico Remembered and Reimagined) that I’ve been making for well over a decade.

The mincemeat filling is a twist on traditional tamales dulces, or dessert tamales, filled with spiced chopped fresh or dried fruit mixtures. These are also dessert tamales, but not overly sweet or cloying, so you can serve them as a snack or even alongside savory dishes like roasted meats, hearty soups, or chili.

Best of all, we’ll use a pre-canned mincemeat filling instead of needing to make one from scratch, so they’re about as simple as homemade tamales can be to make. You can use homemade mincemeat, either our traditional meat-based one, or your favorite apple or pear mincemeat recipe, or even a store-bought jarred mince pie filling.

a stainless colander full of pumpkin tamales filled with mincemeat ready to steam and eat.

Pumpkin Tamale Masa: More Filling Ideas

You can also use this pumpkin masa recipe to make savory tamales… some of my favorite filling combinations with this masa are:

Shredded pork with red chile sauce (use our guajillo salsa, ancho salsa, or enchilada sauce for a shortcut if you have any in your pantry or freezer)
Black beans (the tamales Miahuatecos paired with this masa in Zarela’s book, seasoned with hoja santa or anise, pasilla or chipotle chiles, garlic, and cinnamon, and steamed in banana leaves, or with epazote or more plainly simmered black beans, as you like)
It’s also nice with roasted poblano peppers and cheese (queso y rajas)
Shredded chicken or turkey with mole sauce
You can omit the cinnamon in the masa for savory tamales, substitute coriander, chili powder blend, or cumin, or leave it in for a sweet and spicy combination.

Pumpkin Mincemeat Tamale Ingredients

Pumpkin Masa (masa de calabaza):

This masa is made very similarly to regular tamale masa, with dried instant masa flour, but has roasted pumpkin or squash puree added. I use canned pumpkin for convenience and consistency, but you can also make this with freshly roasted and pureed pumpkin or sweet winter squash (like butternut) if you like!

If you want your tamales to be vegetarian, you can make these with butter (or shortening, though I prefer the taste and texture of butter). I usually use all butter unless I can get high-quality fresh non-hydrogenated lard (if I have access to this, especially if it’s the lighter, more neutrally flavored leaf lard, I’ll substitute that for all or a portion of the butter).

If I am using traditional mincemeat and don’t need any leftover masa to be vegetarian, I’ll mix the masa dough using a light chicken or turkey stock. You can use hot water or a lightly flavored vegetable broth for vegetarian mincemeat tamales.

You’ll also need baking powder to make your tamale masa light and fluffy, and a bit of cinnamon and either grated piloncillo or brown sugar to add a bit of sweetness to the dough.

Mincemeat:

You can make these mincemeat tamales vegetarian-friendly with a modern, all-fruit based mincemeat (either homemade or a commercially jarred version works here), or you can use a more traditional mincemeat with ground beef or venison for the filling. Either way, they’re lightly sweet, with a hint of savory goodness, especially if you make the masa with broth instead of hot water.

Tamale wrappers:

I usually use dried corn husks for most of my tamales. You could also use banana leaves, if you prefer and can get them. Our local grocery store often has them available in the frozen section. They add a very different flavor to the tamales!

You can also buy parchment paper wrappers, but then you miss out on the extra flavor added by steaming them in the natural wrappers. We’re going to be using the more common corn tamale wrappers in this recipe. They’re easier to find, very traditional, and have an almost infinite shelf life until you rehydrate them.

If you soak too many, you can usually dry them out (in a warm oven or dehydrator, or just by spreading them out on a kitchen towel somewhere with good air-flow) and save them for your next batch, or just use them to line your steamer basket.

labeled ingredient photo for mincemeat tamales with pumpkin masa recipe.

Kitchen Equipment Needed

Large steamer pot, or stockpot & metal colander:

If you are going to be making a lot of tamales very often, it’s worth investing in a large steamer pot with a perforated insert specially made for steaming tamales, or corn, or seafood.

You can improvise one with a metal colander or vegetable steamer and a large stockpot, or a pasta pot with a strainer insert. You could even use a bamboo steamer but your next batch of dumplings might taste like tamales, and the steamer might get stained if any of your mincemeat filling leaks out?

Stand mixer or large mixing bowl & sturdy spoon:

You can make the tamale masa dough by hand, but if you have a large stand mixer with a paddle attachment it will make this job even easier! You could also use a handheld mixer, but don’t use a food processor.

How to Make Pumpkin Mincemeat Tamales

numbered four photo grid, showing soaking corn tamale wrappers in hot water, mixing the pumpkin tamale masa dough, and filling the tamales with masa and mincemeat filling.

one: prep the corn husks

Rinse the corn husks, removing any corn silk or debris, then put them in a large pot or heat resistant bowl.
Cover the wrappers with boiling or very hot water, and weigh them down with a plate or another bowl.

two: whip fat for masa dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl, beat and cream the softened butter or lard until it is smooth, fluffy, and has lightened in color.
This both ensures that your masa dough will mix evenly and also incorporates air into the fat to help make your tamales lighter.
Add about the half of the pumpkin puree to the butter or lard mixture, and whip again until blended.

three: prep broth

If your broth isn’t already warm, bring it up to a simmer or heat it in the microwave.
Add the grated piloncillo or brown sugar to the warm broth or water and stir until dissolved.
Let it cool slightly while you mix the dry ingredients.

four: mix dry ingredients

In a medium-large mixing bowl, combine the masa flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
If your baking powder or cinnamon has any lumps, sift it into the bowl to make sure those are broken up.
Mix with a whisk or wooden spoon until well combined.

five: add broth to dry ingredients

Carefully pour the hot broth into the dry ingredients, and stir or mix well with a sturdy spoon or spatula.
The mixture will seem thin, but will thicken up as the masa flour absorbs the liquid.

six: mix masa dough

Add the masa and stock mixture to the whipped butter by large spoonfuls, alternating with the rest of the pumpkin puree.
If you have a stand mixer, add the dough balls while the mixer is running on medium low speed.
If you are mixing by hand or with a hand mixer, alternate adding and mixing the masa dough.
Keep adding both the pumpkin and masa flour dough until you have incorporated all of them into the pumpkin tamale dough.

seven: assemble the tamales

To fill and roll your tamales, take a large corn husk from the soaking pot and shake the excess water off. There are two sides, a rough side and a smooth one. The rough side is the outside, and the smooth side faces the filling.
Using a wide wooden spoon or spatula, spread about a half inch layer down the center of the shiny side of the corn husk (see the photos for an example of what this looks like).
Spread a tablespoon or two of mincemeat filling down the middle of the masa.
Fold each end of the wrapper over to enclose the filling in the pumpkin masa. Smooth the masa with a wet fingertip if needed.
Fold the sides of the wrapper over the center, like folding a letter in thirds. Then fold the pointed end upwards.
- There are other more complicated ways to fold tamales, including tying both ends with torn strips of corn husk or butcher’s twine, like a Christmas cracker or a piece of wrapped candy.
- You could also tie a “belt” around the basic shape to keep the folded tip in place.
- I rarely bother with either unless they’re for a very special occasion. If you have many hands available to help though, it makes the presentation much nicer!

a row of rolled and filled pumpkin mincemeat tamales ready to be stacked into the metal steamer lined with corn husks.

eight: steam the tamales

Line the perforated steamer pot liner or metal colander with any extra or irregular corn husk wrappers. Save some to cover the tamales in the steamer if you have enough (see below).
Stack the tamales in the lined steamer basket, with the open ends of the tamales facing up to contain the filling.
Make a cap of more corn husks to cover the top of your tamales and protect them from pooling water & condensation while letting in the steam. These extra husks add more flavor to the steam, though if you are out of husks you could use foil for the top or cover the steamer basket with a lid.
Place the steamer basket in a large pot with several inches of boiling water in the bottom. Cover the pot with a lid and set a timer for 45-55 minutes.
Check the pot periodically and top up the water as needed. Don’t let the pot boil dry as it will scorch and give your tamales a burnt flavor (and make cleanup a nightmare).
Check a tamale when the timer is up. The tamales will be very soft coming out of the steamer, but will firm up as they cool. They’re done when the dough doesn’t stick to the wrapper. I usually take out a test tamale and let it cool slightly before sampling it to check. Sometimes I check several times… for science?

a steamer basket full of tamales filled with mincemeat and pumpkin masa, wrapped in dried corn husks.

Storage & Serving Ideas

These pumpkin mincemeat tamales are fantastic hot out of the steamer, but they’re also a great make-ahead dish. I like to make a really big batch and put some away for later. I have to, otherwise I would just eat nothing else until these were gone!

You can refrigerate your leftover tamales for four to five days. Beyond that, you can freeze them. If you have a vacuum sealer, you can pack them in meal-size portions and freeze them for six months or more. In regular freezer bags, I find that they’re best eaten in the first three months, though you can certainly freeze them longer. The better they’re wrapped and sealed, the less likely they are to dry out and get freezer burn.

To reheat your tamales: a microwave works great, or you can steam them again. You can also heat them in a single layer on a cast iron skillet. If they’re refrigerated, they’ll usually heat up in less than a minute, though this will vary with the power of your microwave oven and how large you make your tamales. Frozen ones will take a bit longer. You may want to use the defrost setting first to thaw them at least partially so that they reheat more evenly.

Mincemeat Tamales with Pumpkin Masa

Alewyfe

These festive homemade pumpkin tamales have pumpkin puree in the buttery masa, and a sweetly spiced mincemeat fruit filling.

They're perfect for Christmas parties and other holiday celebrations, but I also like to make these anytime in the fall or winter season. You can make a big batch and freeze these tamales de calabaza ahead of time!

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Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 50

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Small Bites & Snacks

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican, Tex-Mex

YIELD tamales

Ingredients

Pumpkin Masa Dough

dry ingredients:

2½ cups masa flour preferably coarse ground
2 tsp baking powder, sifted
2 tsp salt
1½ tsp Mexican cinnamon substitute regular cinnamon if you can't get canela

liquid ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or hot water
¼ cup grated piloncillo or packed brown sugar (use more or less to taste for sweeter or savory pumpkin masa, from 1-3 oz)

cream until light and fluffy:

½ lb butter, lard or shortening, or a blend of the two

add, alternating with the masa & broth mixture:

15 oz pumpkin puree scant 2 cups

Mincemeat Filling

2 pints mincemeat pie filling

Instructions

prep the corn husks

Rinse the corn husks, removing any stray corn silk or debris, then put them in a large pot or heat resistant bowl.
Cover them with boiling or very hot water, and weigh them down with a plate.

make masa dough

cream fat: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl, beat and cream the softened butter or lard until it is smooth, fluffy, and has lightened in color.
heat broth: If your broth isn’t already warm, bring it up to a simmer or heat it in the microwave. Add the piloncillo or brown sugar, and stir to dissolve. Let this mixture cool slightly while you mix the dry ingredients.
mix dry ingredients: In a medium-large mixing bowl, combine the masa flour, baking powder, and salt. If your baking powder has any lumps, sift it into the bowl to make sure those are broken up. Mix with a whisk or wooden spoon until well combined.
mix broth & masa: Carefully pour the hot broth into the dry ingredients, and stir or mix well with a sturdy spoon or spatula. The mixture will seem thin, but will thicken up as the masa flour absorbs the liquid.
Add half of the pumpkin puree to the whipped butter or lard.
Add the masa and stock mixture by spoonfuls, alternating with the rest of the pumpkin puree.
If you have a stand mixer, add the dough balls while the mixer is running on medium low speed. If you are mixing by hand or with a hand mixer, alternate adding and mixing the masa dough.
Keep adding both until you have incorporated all of the masa and pumpkin into the tamale dough.

assemble the tamales

To fill and roll your tamales, take a large corn husk from the soaking pot and shake the excess water off. There are two sides, a rough side and a smooth one. The rough side is the outside, and the smooth side faces the filling.
Using a wide wooden spoon or spatula, spread about a half inch layer down the center of the shiny side of the corn husk. See the photos below.
Spread a tablespoon or two of mincemeat pie filling down the middle of the masa.
Fold each end over to enclose the filling in corn masa. Smooth it with a wet fingertip if needed.
Fold the sides of the wrapper over the center, like folding a letter in thirds. Then fold the pointed end upwards.

steam the tamales

Line the perforated steamer pot liner or metal colander with any extra or irregular corn husk wrappers and make a cap of them to cover the top and protect them from pooling water while letting in the steam. These extra husks add more flavor to the steam.
Stack the tamales in the lined steamer basket, with the open ends of the tamales facing up to contain the filling.
Place the steamer basket in a large pot with several inches of boiling water in the bottom. Cover the pot with a lid and set a timer for 45-55 minutes.
Check the pot periodically and top up the water as needed. Don’t let the pot boil dry as it will scorch and give your tamales a burnt flavor (and make cleanup a nightmare).
Check a tamale when the timer is up. The tamales will be very soft coming out of the steamer, but will firm up as they cool. They’re done when the dough doesn’t stick to the wrapper.

Keyword appetizer, autumn, celebration, Christmas, comfort food, entertaining, fall, fall foods, freezer meal, halloween, holiday, meal prep, mincemeat, outdoor snacks, party food, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, salty dessert, salty sweets, samhain, savory, small bites, spicy, Thanksgiving, traditional, wild food, winter, Yule

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COOK: Mincemeat Tamales with Pumpkin Masa

Pumpkin Tamale Masa: More Filling Ideas