Can you order tamales online in Dallas? Yes: here is how it works

People ask me whether you can order tamales online in Dallas as if it were a trick question, usually because they grew up buying them from a cooler in somebody’s driveway. You can, and from my kitchen in Plano it is the only way to get them, because I do not have a counter to stand at. Here is exactly how it works.

The short answer: Yes. Everything is ordered and paid in our online store: pick chicken or pork, a half-dozen ($30) or a dozen ($60), delivery or pickup, and today or a date ahead. Delivery fees are shown at checkout. An office lunch, a party or a holiday order goes through the same store, with more dozens in the cart.

One store, then, with two choices that matter: when, and how it gets to you. The rest of this article explains what you can get, when the kitchen is open, how far ahead to order, why there is no walk-in counter (but there is pickup at our kitchen), and what “Dallas” means for delivery.

One online store, today or a date ahead

Everything on the order page leads to the same online store.

Today: dinner tonight or a dozen for the weekend

You want dinner tonight, or a dozen for the weekend. Open the online store, choose pork in red salsa or chicken in green, choose six or twelve, pick delivery or pickup, and pay online. The delivery fee is shown at checkout before you pay. Same-day orders go out during kitchen hours, which is the part people are happiest to hear.

A date ahead: offices, parties and holidays

You want four dozen for a training day on Friday, or twelve dozen for Christmas Eve, or enough for a quinceañera. That is still the same online store: put the dozens in the cart, choose the date, choose delivery or pickup, and pay online. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. Only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested.

The only real difference is the date. If you need it today, pick today. If it has a date, a headcount or the word “office” in it, pick the date and order early.

What you can order online

The menu is short on purpose, because I would rather make two things perfectly every morning than ten things adequately.

• Pork tamales in red salsa. Slow-simmered pork, red chile, the one people describe as having “a little kick.”
• Chicken tamales in green salsa. Chicken breast in tomatillo salsa, brighter and milder.

Prices on the menu: a half-dozen for $30; a dozen for $60. That is $5 per tamal at both sizes, and I do not run a different price for catering; a dozen is $60 whether it is one dozen or twenty. Every tamal is made with gluten-free corn masa from scratch, though the kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility.

One thing you cannot order: a table. Maggie’s is a catering and delivery kitchen, not a restaurant. No dine-in, no walk-in: orders are delivered, or you pick them up at our kitchen in Plano, and the address and pickup time come with the order confirmation.

When the kitchen is open

The kitchen runs Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9 AM to 2 PM, and it is closed on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. The online store is open all the time, so you can order at midnight for a date ahead; same-day orders go out inside kitchen hours.

Those closed days catch people out. If you want tamales for a Thursday lunch meeting, order them for Wednesday and reheat. If you want them for Sunday dinner, order for Saturday and reheat. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. Tamales in husks reheat beautifully, which is one reason they make such good next-day food.

How far ahead to order

Online ordering gives people the idea that everything is instant. Some of it is. The rest depends on how much masa I have to make that morning.

If your date is closer than the table suggests, do not assume the answer is no. Call or text (469) 888-8398 and say the date plainly; I will tell you what I can honestly make. My article on last-minute catering in Dallas explains what is realistic on short notice and what is not.

What happens after you click send

Here is what happens after you pay online, whether it is one dozen or forty.

1. You get a confirmation. The tamales, the date, and delivery or pickup. For pickup, the kitchen address and time come with it.
2. We confirm it. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. Only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested.
3. We cook it. Masa from scratch, pork and chicken simmered in their salsas, steamed in the husk.
4. It reaches you. Delivered to the address you entered, or ready for pickup at our Plano kitchen. Offices that make it a habit can read about a monthly Tamale Day on the office catering page.

If you have never ordered food for a group before and it feels like a lot, my walkthrough on ordering catering for the first time takes the stress out of it. And the details of the drive itself, from the steamer to your door, are in how tamale delivery works from my Plano kitchen.

Where “Dallas” means for delivery

My kitchen sits in Plano, just north of Dallas, and that is the center of the map. We deliver to Far North Dallas and the northern suburbs: Allen, McKinney, Fairview, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Murphy, Carrollton, Addison and Richardson. The service area page lists the cities with their own pages, and the Dallas catering page covers ordering for Far North Dallas.

Enter your address at checkout and the online store shows the delivery fee before you pay. If you are not sure we reach you, call or text (469) 888-8398 and I will tell you honestly, or choose pickup at our Plano kitchen.

Ready to order tonight, or for the office?

If it is dinner you need, a same-day order in our online store is the fastest tamales in Dallas you will get without a cousin in the business. If it is lunch for the team, a party or holiday dozens, Order online from Maggie’s with the date and delivery or pickup, and pay online. Either way, the tamales come from the same steamer and the same recipes, passed down from the women in my family.

Frequently asked questions

Can you order tamales online in Dallas for same-day delivery?

Yes. In our online store you can order a half-dozen or a dozen for today, during kitchen hours, which are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9 AM to 2 PM. Choose delivery or pickup and pay online; the delivery fee is shown at checkout. Larger orders go through the same store for today or a date ahead.

Can I order tamales online for an office lunch in Dallas?

Yes, and offices are most of my weekday deliveries. Count two tamales per person, put the dozens of pork and chicken in the cart in our online store, choose the date and delivery to the office, and pay online; the delivery fee is shown at checkout. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day.

How much do tamales cost to order online?

A half-dozen is $30 and a dozen is $60, which is $5 per tamal. Orders for a group use the same price. The delivery fee is shown at checkout before you pay, and pickup at our Plano kitchen is the other option.

Can I come by the kitchen and get my tamales in person?

Yes, as a pickup order. Maggie’s is a catering kitchen in Plano, not a restaurant, so there is no dining room and no walk-in counter. Choose pickup when you order online, and the address and pickup time come with the order confirmation. That is what lets me spend the morning at the steamer instead of at a register.

Do you deliver tamales to the suburbs north of Dallas?

Yes. We deliver to Allen, McKinney, Fairview, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Murphy, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Far North Dallas, and each city has its own page under service areas. Enter the full address at checkout in our online store and the delivery fee is shown before you pay.

Are the tamales gluten-free if I order online?

All my tamales are made with gluten-free corn masa, with pork in red salsa or chicken breast in green tomatillo salsa. My kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility. If someone at your table has celiac disease, call or text (469) 888-8398 before you order and I will describe exactly how things are handled.