The Tamale Casserole That Enraged Social Media

Instagram creator @good.vibes.cooking received some less-than-favorable reactions after they posted a video on how to make "tamale casserole." Tamales are originally a Mesoamerican dish dating back to the Mayans and Aztecs and are considered an important part of celebratory meals in many Latin American cultures. There are many variations of tamales, but most of them contain meat, cheese, beans, and other ingredients. These are wrapped in a cornmeal dough that has undergone an extensive cooking process. Worth noting is that tamales aren't typically made in a crock pot, which is how this creator chose to create a casserole-style version of the dish.

In the video, the creator is seen mixing the dough and assembling the filling, which includes rotisserie chicken, black olives, chili sauce, chicken bouillon, and beans, among other ingredients. After wrapping the dish in corn husks and cooking it for five hours in the crock pot, the creator cuts the casserole into triangular slices, as opposed to more traditional, individually rolled servings.

At the beginning of the video, the creator asks, "Why in the world would you roll a million tamales when you could make one giant one in the crock pot in five hours?" In response to this, one commenter said, "Because Mexicans aren't lazy! We actually take our time cooking so that our food doesn't taste like some rejected Taco Bell menu item." Another commenter chimed in to say, "Tamale making is a party, that's why!"

Many commenters shared the perspective that the recipe was culturally appropriative, with another user saying, "Don't ever do this recipe again. What a disgrace to my culture and to anyone who eats that." The creator behind @good.vibes.cooking didn't respond to these comments but did post another Instagram recipe several days later explaining how to make "White people taco casserole." This post received somewhat more positive attention, with commenters pointing out that they appreciated the creator acknowledging that the dish wasn't going to resemble culturally traditional tacos.

Overall, the tamale casserole video received 30,000 likes but over 4,000 comments, many of which voiced similar opinions. Some said that their ancestors would be offended by the adaptation of a traditional recipe and that the final product looked unappetizing. The general opinion from viewers indicated that not every meal should be converted to a casserole-style dish, even if it makes the cooking process easier.