These sheet pan chicken tamales are super delicious and much easier to make than traditional tamales! They taste authentically like tamales but are made on a sheet pan instead of individually wrapped.
They can be made day of and take about 20 minutes to put together. They then bake for about an hour and come out perfectly steam cooked, moist and delicious.
I use taco seasoning in my masa dough along with chili powder, butter and chicken broth, so it’s simple but super flavorful. It gets baked up and it tender and always moist! (yes I am allowed to use that word when I am talking about food).
The filling is made from rotisserie chicken or any cooked chicken that has been shredded or chopped. I then mix it with red enchilada sauce and spices for flavor. That way you get that slow cooked flavor of the peppers and spices without all the time and effort that traditional tamales would require.
These will feed about 8 people, so it’s great for feeding a crowd and they also make excellent leftovers. You can also cut and frozen these into individualized portions and save them for an even quicker tamale later on. Just wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave them to reheat or reheat in a steamer.
Here are a few other recipes you may also enjoy:
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Grilled Mexican Pork Chops
Instant Pot Sweet Pork without Soda
What you need to make these sheet pan chicken tamales: (printable recipe is below)
Serves ~8
Masa Flour:
- 3 cups masa corn flour – finely ground corn meal
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 3 tablespoons salted butter – melted
- 32 ounces or 4 cups chicken broth
Chicken Filling:
- 3 1/2 cups shredded chicken – chicken breasts and/or thighs
- 1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
For Tamales:
- 1/2 pack of dried corn husks – can be found in the Mexican food aisle of most grocery stores
- 1/2 cup water – for steaming the tamales
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Place corn husks into hot water and submerge them fully then set aside.
- In a bowl, add masa or corn flour, chili powder, taco seasoning, melted butter and chicken broth and mix together until a wet dough forms, set aside.
- In another bowl, add chicken red enchilada sauce and taco seasoning and mix together then set aside.
- On a sheet pan, place soaked corn husks onto the sheet pan in a layer.
- Pour half of the masa mixture down on the husks and spread it out so it is about 1/2 inch thick, it will not cover the whole sheet pan but instead will make a rectangle in the center of the sheet pan.
- Add the chicken on top of the masa.
- Add the remaining masa on top of the chicken and press down so the chicken is mostly covered, it is okay if there are a few open spots.
- Lay the remaining corn husks on top of the masa and tuck around the tamale mixture so it is covered nicely by the corn husks.
- Add 1/2 cup of water to the side of the sheet pan so it runs under or around the bottom layer of the corn husks.
- Cover the tamales with another sheet pan or aluminum foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the cover on and then remove the top sheet pan or aluminum foil and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the corn husk layer on top, slice into desired portions, top with salsa and desired toppings and enjoy.
Sheet Pan Chicken Tamales
Ingredients
Masa Flour
- 3 cups masa corn flour – finely ground corn meal
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 3 tablespoons salted butter – melted
- 32 ounces or 4 cups chicken broth
Chicken Filling:
- 3 1/2 cups shredded chicken – chicken breasts and/or thighs
- 1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
For Tamales:
- 1/2 pack of dried corn husks – can be found in the Mexican food aisle of most grocery stores
- 1/2 cup water – for steaming the tamales
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Place corn husks into hot water and submerge them fully then set aside.
- In a bowl, add masa or corn flour, chili powder, taco seasoning, melted butter and chicken broth and mix together until a wet dough forms, set aside.
- In another bowl, add chicken red enchilada sauce and taco seasoning and mix together then set aside.
- On a sheet pan, place soaked corn husks onto the sheet pan in a layer.
- Pour half of the masa mixture down on the husks and spread it out so it is about 1/2 inch thick, it will not cover the whole sheet pan but instead will make a rectangle in the center of the sheet pan.
- Add the chicken on top of the masa.
- Add the remaining masa on top of the chicken and press down so the chicken is mostly covered, it is okay if there are a few open spots.
- Lay the remaining corn husks on top of the masa and tuck around the tamale mixture so it is covered nicely by the corn husks.
- Add 1/2 cup of water to the side of the sheet pan so it runs under or around the bottom layer of the corn husks.
- Cover the tamales with another sheet pan or aluminum foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the cover on and then remove the top sheet pan or aluminum foil and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the corn husk layer on top, slice into desired portions, top with salsa and desired toppings and enjoy.