Published on Saturday, December 6, 2025

By Melissa Pette

Alright, Thanksgiving leftovers are officially gone, so it’s time to switch into full-on Christmas mode and in Costa Rican households, that means tamales, rompope, baked ham, king cake, and basically every “I’ll start the diet in January” dish ever invented.

If you’ve got Costa Rican friends, you already know tamales are mandatory on Christmas Eve. No exceptions.

Lucky for you, we’ve got the hookup: Ana Calderón, a super sweet Tica who shared her family’s legendary tamales recipe with us.

Ana’s originally from Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, a town that treats tamales the way some people treat pizza: they’re for every celebration. Christmas? Yes. New Year’s Eve? Yes. Weddings? Yup. Town fairs? Of course. Quinceañeras? Bring two.

She says it’s not like San José, where tamales only pop up in December. In her hometown, it’s tamale season all year long.

And listen... making tamales the old-school way is not “quick.” It’s not “easy.” But imagine spending the day with your family, neighbors, your besties, your personal tamale squad, all laughing, talking, and cooking together.

By the time you're done, you’re sitting down to a plate of tamales made with love. And trust me, that flavor hits different. Totally worth the effort.

Good news, Ana even scaled this recipe to make 20 tamales, enough to feed your whole family, your neighbors, and maybe the mailman.

Ingredients are all easy to find at most supermarkets:

• 1 package cornmeal.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic.

• 1/2 kg pork.

• 1/2 kg chicken breast.

• 1 kg rice (pre-cooked is best).

• 2 cans of green peas.

• 3 red sweet peppers.

• 2 cups vegetable oil (traditionally it's pork fat, but we’re keeping it lighter).

• 2 cans chopped carrots.

• 2 cups Lizano sauce (optional but so good).

• 3 white onions, chopped.

• 2 tsp pepper.

• 2 tsp cumin.

• 2 tbsp annatto powder.

• 1 bundle of banana leaves.

• Heavy-duty thread.

Let’s get cookin’!

Before we even start: banana leaves. They matter. A lot.

You can’t just grab any random leaf like you're trying out jungle survival skills. Nope. You want leaves that are already cleaned and heat-sealed, meaning they’ve been warmed on a griddle so they're flexible and ready to roll. If your store only has raw leaves, guess who’s doing the heating? Yep... you.

Skip this step, and your tamales turn a sad greenish-gray and taste just as tragic.

Here’s the game plan. Wipe each leaf with a damp towel. Heat a griddle to medium and glide each leaf over it like you’re giving it a quick spa moment. A little smoke? Totally normal. Do both sides.

Don’t get distracted; they burn fast, and you don’t want tamale-flavored ashes. Get them soft, shiny, and good to go.

Now let’s kick off the tamale challenge by marinating the meat the day before. Trim the pork and chicken, then mix everything together with a cup of Lizano, plus a teaspoon each of pepper, cumin, and annatto. Give it a good toss so every piece is coated, then let it chill in the fridge overnight so all those flavors can sink in and get real cozy. Trust me, tomorrow’s tamales will thank you.

The next day, get your rice going by tossing it into the rice cooker along with a chopped onion, a chopped red pepper, a teaspoon each of pepper, cumin, and garlic, plus two teaspoons of annatto and half a cup of oil. Close the lid, hit the button, and let the rice cooker do its thing while you move on to the rest of the tamale magic.

For the meat, grab a big pot and toss in all your marinated pork and chicken, then pour in enough water to cover everything. Add a cup of Lizano plus the remaining pepper, cumin, annatto, garlic, and half a cup of oil, and let it all cook on high for about 30 minutes, around 160°F.

Once the meat is fully cooked, let it cool down a bit, then chop it into nice chunky 4x4 cm squares so they’re ready to tuck into your tamales.

To make the dough, start by saving the broth from the meat and straining it so it’s clean and free of any bits. Pour the broth back into the pot, add the cornmeal and a cup of oil, and cook it over high heat, around 160°F, while stirring for about 30 to 45 minutes.

If the liquid starts evaporating too fast, just splash in a little more water to keep things moving. You’ll know the dough is ready when it comes together with a soft, modeling-clay texture that holds its shape without being sticky.

For the veggie mix, just grab a bowl and toss in the chopped onion, chopped sweet red pepper, peas, and carrots, giving everything a quick stir so the colors and textures blend together into a bright, tasty little combo that’s ready to jump into your tamales.

To build your tamales, lay two clean banana leaves on the table and give them a quick wipe, heating them again if you want them extra soft and fragrant, then wiping them dry.

Spoon on a generous scoop of dough, add a spoonful of rice, tuck in a piece of pork and a piece of chicken, and finish with a spoonful of the veggie mix.

Once everything’s stacked, fold the leaves up like you’re wrapping a cozy little present, then cut a 60-centimeter piece of thread and tie the whole bundle securely with a snug double knot.

To make the traditional tamale pairs (called piñas or couple), simply take two finished, wrapped tamales and tie them together with a little extra thread. Tamales in Costa Rica always travel in pairs, so think of this as giving them their official buddy system before they head into the pot.

To cook the tamales, gently place each paired bundle into a big pot of boiling water and let them simmer away for about an hour.

Once they’re done, give them a few minutes to cool, if you have the self-control, because they’ll be piping hot and smelling incredible. And fair warning: trying to stop at just one is basically impossible.

If you store them in the fridge, reheat in boiling water for 20 minutes. They’ll taste brand new.

And enjoy every bite of these Tico tamales with your favorite hot cup of Costa Rican coffee, together they’re a whole holiday mood.

Have a Pura Vida Xmas!

------------------------

Feel free to share your own recipes by emailing a horizontal photo of your dish to food@amcostarica.com. You can find more tasty Costa Rican recipes over on the AM Costa Rica Food Magazine.

----------------