How many tamales from a bag of Maseca
A 4.4 lb bag of Maseca Tamal makes about 79 to 99 standard tamales. Maseca does not publish a yield for the bag, so that number is my arithmetic from the planner's masa harina amounts. Smaller tamales stretch it, bigger ones shrink it.
What the bag and recipe pages say
MexGrocer's page for the 4.4 lb bag of Maseca Tamal says "One bag can make a large batch of tamales, with the final yield depending on the size of each tamale." It lists the bag at $11.95 (seen 2026-10-18). The four Maseca recipe pages I opened list flour and wrappers but no count of tamales either.
The recipe pages do show how much flour goes with how many husks (opened 2026-10-18):
| Maseca recipe | Flour | Wrappers |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet tamales | 4 cups | 30 corn husks |
| Corn tamales, Guatemalan style | 4 cups (plus 9 cups corn kernels) | 30 corn husks |
| Pork in green sauce | 8 cups | 35 to 40 banana leaves, 12 inches long |
| Red chili pork | 1.1 lb | 10 corn husks |
The sweet recipe also has 1 1/4 cups of lard and 23.65 oz of warm water. The Guatemalan one wraps each tamale in two leaves, so its 30 husks make fewer than 30.
Two estimates for one bag
Cups in the bag. The Open Food Facts entry for a Tamal instant corn masa mix (UPC 0037297944472) lists a serving of "1/4 cup (30 g)", which is 120 g per cup. It is a community-edited database, so check the label on your bag. The 4.4 lb bag MexGrocer sells is 2 kg, so by my arithmetic that is about 16.6 cups. The Mexican Made Meatless cheese and jalapeno recipe lists 1 lb of masa harina as 4 cups, which is 113 g per cup and lands close.
Estimate 1, the planner. The planner uses 2 to 2.5 cups of masa harina per dozen standard tamales (see how much masa per dozen tamales). 16.6 cups divided by that is 79 to 99 tamales.
Estimate 2, the husks. The two 4-cup Maseca recipes list 30 husks. That is 7.5 husks a cup, or about 124 husks for the bag. At one husk per tamale that is about 124 tamales, at 1.5 husks each about 83. The red chili recipe goes the other way: 10 husks for 1.1 lb is only about 40 for a bag, and its page does not say why.
The estimates overlap at roughly 83 to 99. My suggestion: plan on 80 for a bag if you fill generously and 100 if you spread thin.
Bag size by tamale size
| Tamale size | Tamales per 4.4 lb bag |
|---|---|
| Mini | 159 to 199 |
| Standard | 79 to 99 |
| Large | 53 to 66 |
Mini tamales use half the standard masa and large ones 1.5 times, both my picks (as on the planner). A second 4.4 lb bag doubles every row.
How many bags for 5 dozen
Five dozen is 60 standard tamales and needs 10 to 12.5 cups of masa harina, so 1 bag covers it with about 4.1 cups left over. That is also the amount for 15 guests at 4 each. Run it with your own numbers to get the whole shopping list.
How many bags for 100 people
At 4 tamales each, 100 guests is 34 dozen (408 tamales). That takes 68 to 85 cups of masa harina, so buy 6 bags to be safe (5 if you fill lightly). The steamer loads and the rest of the list are on how many tamales for 100 people.
What this does not cover
The bag is dry flour. Water or broth and lard or shortening go in on top (the planner's lard and broth lines are on how much lard for tamales and how much broth for tamale masa). Maseca Tamal is a coarser grind than the flour for tortillas, so use the bag marked for tamales. Husks are a separate buy: see how many corn husks for tamales.