I’ve always made tamales in large batches and kept them in the freezer to use at later times. But tamales are very time consuming, and like you, I don’t often have time to make them. I have purchased frozen tamales at my favorite warehouse store, and found them to be really good, and certainly a timesaver. I now like to use them in the following Tamale Dump Dinner, which is a whole Mexican meal in one. Since this is a dump dinner, there is no chopping or advance prep, it can be assembled in 10-15 minutes. It takes 45- 60 minutes to bake which gives you time to set the table, clean up the kitchen and toss a salad.

You can use any flavor of tamales – pork, chicken, or beef. Leftovers can be made into a quick and easy soup (one of my favorites – I actually make this casserole so I can have some for the soup) by adding 4 or 5 cups of the leftovers to 6 cups of chicken broth and breaking up the tamales; stir in a 16 ounce package of frozen Vegetable Blend (Bird's Eye C&W Ultimate Southwest Blend or Baja vegetables). I serve my soup with crushed tortilla chips.

I also like to heat the leftovers a bit and add to a salad with sour cream and salsa. The leftovers are nice because the tamale dump dinner serves eight and many families are small. I just consider this a “cook once-eat twice” dish. You can freeze the leftovers if you don’t want to use them right away.

8 Servings

1 16 ounce can refried beans
1 1/2 cups medium salsa, divided
3 cups Mexican cheese blend, or cheddar jack, divided
3 cups cooked white rice

8 frozen tamales, pork, chicken, or beef or more to cover dish if they are smaller
2 10 oz. cans red enchilada sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Spread the refried beans over the bottom of a 9" x 13" shallow baking dish.
3. Spread 1/2 cup salsa over the beans.
4. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese.
5. Cover with an even layer of rice. Spread salsa over the rice, then sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.
6. Place the tamales over the top of the casserole. Pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the tamales. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
7. Bake 45-60 minutes or until bubbly.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 585 Calories from Fat 242
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 41% Protein 15% Carb. 44%

Nutrient Amount per Servingkk
Total Fat 27 g
Saturated Fat 10 g
Cholesterol 59 mg
Sodium 1471 mg
Total Carbohydrate 64 g
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 22 g

Vitamin A 5% Vitamin C 15% Calcium 0% Iron 13%