Tamales catering in Dallas–Fort Worth: how it works and what to expect

Tamales catering in Dallas–Fort Worth works like this: you choose the tamales, the date and delivery or pickup, the kitchen makes them from scratch, and they arrive ready for your table. That is the whole shape of it. The details, which is where people get nervous, are what I want to walk through here.

The short answer: with my kitchen, tamales catering in Dallas–Fort Worth means chicken or pork tamales by the dozen, ordered in our online store. You pick the filling, a half dozen ($30) or a dozen ($60), delivery or pickup, today or a date ahead, and you pay online. My kitchen in Plano makes every tamal from scratch, and small orders and big ones go through the same store.

I run a family tamale kitchen in Plano, on the north side of Dallas, and I have delivered to offices, backyards, church halls, and wedding venues all over the northern suburbs. Here is exactly what happens from the first click to the last empty pan, so you know what to ask for from me or from anyone else.

First, what a tamale kitchen is and is not

We are a catering and delivery kitchen, not a restaurant. There is no dining room and no counter to walk up to. Orders leave the kitchen in a delivery vehicle for your door, your office lobby, or your venue’s loading entrance, or you pick them up at the kitchen, with the address and pickup time in your order confirmation. I mention this first because people sometimes search for a “tamale restaurant near me” and expect a table. What we do instead is bring the food to your table.

The kitchen is in Plano, next door to Richardson, and we deliver across Allen, McKinney, Fairview, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Murphy, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Far North Dallas. If you are in Plano, for example, the Plano catering page has the specifics for your area, and there is a page like it for each city we serve.

How ordering tamales catering in Dallas actually works

There is one path, whatever the size of the order.

Ordering in the online store

Whether you want a half dozen for the family or ten dozen for an office, you order in our online store: chicken in green salsa or pork in red salsa, a half dozen for $30 or a dozen for $60, delivery or pickup, and today or a date ahead. You pay online, and the delivery fee is shown at checkout. A half dozen is the same food that goes to a wedding, just in a smaller box.

Parties, offices, and holidays: the same store, a little earlier

Bigger orders go through the same store; they just need more notice. Before you order, settle the same four things every time: the date, how many people, what time you want the food on the table, and anything you should know about the guests. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day, and only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested. The how-to-order page lays it out step by step, and if you have a question first, call or text (469) 888-8398.

I care about the timing because a catering order is a promise. Someone’s birthday, someone’s office morale, someone’s daughter’s quinceañera. I want it to arrive the way it should.

What you are choosing from

The heart of every order is the same two tamales:

• Pork in red salsa. Slow-cooked pork, red chiles, the salsa poured over the opened tamal so it soaks into the masa. This is the one that disappears first at every event.
• Chicken in green salsa. Chicken breast, tomatillo, a bright green salsa with a warm little kick. This is the one people who “don’t usually eat tamales” come back for.

Both are made with gluten-free masa, from scratch, every time. No shortcuts, no mixes. The chiles are the best I can find in Texas, and when my family visits Mexico some specialty chiles come back in grandpa’s suitcase. The recipes are the ones the women in my family passed down, and I cook them in the spirit of Like Water for Chocolate: with feeling, and with the belief that you can taste it.

Around the tamales, for a full meal, most hosts add rice, beans, guacamole and chips from their own kitchen or a store. My menu is the two tamales and nothing else, on purpose. The prices are on the menu page.

What shows up at your door, and how to set it out

What arrives

This is the part people most want to know and least often ask. Here is what arrives:

• Tamales in their husks, by the half dozen or the dozen, pork in red salsa or chicken in green, with the salsa cooked inside.
• That is all. Plates, napkins, utensils, sides and serving spoons are yours, so set them out before the food comes.
• If the food needs to stay out for hours, plan a chafing dish or a slow cooker on warm; my guide to keeping catered food hot for hours covers how.

Our reviews mention friendly, on-time drivers more often than I expected, and I am proud of that. When the order arrives, check the count against your order confirmation right away. If you have never had a catering delivery before, that is the moment where a good kitchen shows.

Setting up the serving line

A tamale line runs itself if you set it in the right order. From my years of watching people go through it:

1. Plates and napkins first. Obvious, but people put them at the end and then guests juggle.
2. Tamales next, husks on. Guests take one or two by the husk and open them on the plate. Put a pair of tongs in each pan.
3. Salsas right after the tamales. A ladle in each. This is where the red-or-green decision happens.
4. Rice and beans, then guacamole and chips. Chips at the end so people fill the corner of the plate rather than the middle.
5. Drinks on a separate table. It keeps the food line moving and keeps cups away from hot pans.

For a seated dinner, plate the tamales opened, with a spoon of crema on top if you like. It looks like the photo below, and it changes the feeling of the meal from “buffet” to “dinner,” which for a rehearsal dinner or an anniversary is worth doing.

What to expect for different events

The per-person column is the one that surprises people, because my tamales are big. I go through the whole calculation, including how to turn a headcount into dozens, in how many tamales per person. For offices specifically, the corporate catering and Tamale Day page explains ordering the dozens for a recurring office lunch.

Timing and cost, in plain terms

Why fresh means notice

Everything is made the day it is delivered. That is not a marketing line; it is a schedule constraint. Masa is mixed in the morning, tamales are rolled and steamed, and then they go out. It means I need to know about your order ahead of time so I can plan the kitchen day around it, and it means holiday weeks fill up early, because everybody in Texas wants tamales for Christmas at once. The holiday tamales page covers those weeks, and our frozen tamales are the way to stock up ahead.

Beyond the next-day rule, I do not give a hard number of days’ notice for big orders, because it honestly depends on what else is on the calendar. What I tell everyone is: the sooner you order, the more I can say yes to. If you want a fuller answer by event type, read how far in advance to order catering.

What it costs

Catering prices confuse people because every kitchen packages them differently. Mine is simple: a half dozen is $30, a dozen is $60, and a party guest eats two or three. The delivery fee is shown at checkout before you pay, so there are no surprises. Sides and serving items are yours to add, and they move the per-person figure from there. I wrote a separate guide to catering budgets per person in DFW that goes through the math and the places hosts overspend.

Why people come back

We have a 5.0 rating on Google from more than 600 reviews, and I read every one. The words that show up over and over are “huge,” “packed with meat,” “a little kick,” and some version of “the best tamales I’ve ever had.” The office reviews are my favorite, because they describe something I care about more than any single event: a team that looks forward to lunch. You can read them yourself on the reviews page, and then decide.

Frequently asked questions

Do you deliver tamales catering in Dallas, or only in Richardson?

Beyond Richardson, yes. The kitchen is in Plano, next door to Richardson, and we deliver to Allen, McKinney, Fairview, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Murphy, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Far North Dallas. Delivery, or pickup at the kitchen, is how everything we make reaches you; there is no dining room. Enter your address in the online store and the delivery fee for your area is shown at checkout.

How do I order tamales for a party in DFW?

Order in our online store: choose chicken or pork, a half dozen or a dozen, as many as the party needs, delivery or pickup, and today or a date ahead, then pay online. For a party, settle the date, headcount, serving time and any guest needs first, and order early; next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day.

Do the tamales arrive ready to serve?

Yes. Tamales are made from scratch and arrive in their husks, pork in red salsa or chicken in green, ready for your table. Plates, sides and serving equipment are yours, and for events where food needs to stay out for hours, plan a chafing dish or a slow cooker on warm. Check the count against your order when it arrives.

Are the tamales gluten-free?

Yes. All of our tamales are made with gluten-free masa, from scratch, every time. The pork is cooked in red chile salsa and the chicken tamales use chicken breast in a green tomatillo salsa. If you have guests with other dietary needs, call or text before you order and I will tell you honestly what works.

Can I order tamales catering for a small office of ten people?

Yes. A small office is an easy order: two tamales per person with rice and beans is a full lunch, so ten people is about two dozen. Many small offices set up a recurring Tamale Day and order the same dozens in the online store each time, changing the count only when the headcount changes.