Grilled Tamales

Grilled Tamales are a quick and easy dinner that is perfect for feeding the holiday crowd.  We take a shortcut with frozen tamales and they are super simple to grill with no steamer required.

The process of making homemade tamales is a bit extensive but it is easy to find excellent quality tamales in the frozen section of your grocery store. We love the Texas Tamale Company brand for this recipe.

Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish with a savory filling of meats and cheeses, wrapped in masa and steamed in a corn husk.

Ingredients for Grilled Tamales:

• Frozen Tamales in corn husks
• Water
• Salsa
• Guacamole

How to Heat Frozen Tamales on the Grill:

• Thaw tamales in the refrigerator before cooking. 
• Leave the tamales wrapped in the corn husks.
• Stand the tamales up with the open side facing up and tie together with butcher twine. We bundled 12 together.

• Prepare a grill fire to 320° with a pan of water below the grate.
• Cook tamales, standing up over the pan of water with the grill closed for about 15-20 minutes.

• Check the internal temperature, cooking to about 165°.

• Remove tamales from the grill to a clean baking sheet.

• Unwrap tamales from corn husks and serve with salsa and guacamole. 

More Toppings for Tamales:

• Green onions
• Pico de gallo
• Queso
• Cotija cheese
• Sour cream
• Chili

How to Store and Reheat Tamales:

Store leftover tamales in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 days. Heat tamales in a skillet over medium heat, turning after about 3 minutes, continue to cook until heated through.

Tex-Mex Dinner Favorites on the Grill:

• Chili Burritos
• Grilled Steak Fajitas
• Grilled Chicken Enchiladas
• Grilled Chicken Fajitas

The easy way to cook tamales without a steamer is to cook them on the grill. We use a pan of water below the grate and the tamales turn out perfect.

Tamales are a tradition for many to serve for Christmas dinner and large family gatherings. If you don’t have time to make them from scratch, pick up the frozen tamales and cook them on the grill for your next Mexican Feast. 

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5 from 2 votes

Grilled Tamales

Frozen Tamales are one of our favorite quick and easy weeknight dinners and we love to make them on the grill. Traditionally tamales are steamed on the stovetop but they are even easier to grill.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Grilling

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: grilled tamales, how to cook frozen tamales

Servings: 24 tamales

Calories: 173kcal

Author: Milisa

Ingredients

• 2 dozen frozen tamales thawed
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 cup guacamole

Instructions

• Leave the tamales wrapped in the corn husks.
• Stand the tamales up with the open side facing up and tie together with butcher twine. We bundled 12 together.
• Prepare a grill fire to 320° with a pan of water below the grate.
• Cook tamales, standing up over the pan of water with the grill closed for about 15- 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165° using a digital thermometer.
• Remove tamales from the grill to a clean baking sheet.
• Unwrap tamales from corn husks and serve with salsa and guacamole. 

Notes

How to Store and Reheat:

Store leftover tamales in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 days. Heat tamales in a skillet over medium heat, turning after about 3 minutes, continue to cook until heated through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 751mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g

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