Tamale Pie Casserole with Cornmeal

This easy Tex-Mex casserole has been a favorite of families everywhere for decades. It's budget friendly comfort food for busy moms and dads.

❤️ Why you'll love it

• Tamale pie is filling, it's cheap, it's easy to make, and most of all it's delicious. You can assemble it a couple of days ahead of time and bake when you need it or you can make it for dinner tonight and freeze the leftovers for later. 
• It's not fancy - it's one of those meals that gets thrown together and put on the table confidently because you know it's going to disappear fast.
• It's another one of those great recipes that I like to take to potlucks and when someone at church needs a meal.
• My favorite part of this great recipe is the cornmeal layers which is very similar to the cornmeal crust on a classic tamale. When you put it all together with tons of gooey cheese... well... it's a happy thing, you know?

My recipe for tamale casserole is an adaption of a recipe from a local Women's League cookbook that was published early in the 1940s. This classic dish will please your wallet as much as it pleases your tastebuds.

🧾 Ingredients

🔪 Instructions

1. Saute the celery and onion in a large skillet until tender.
2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, corn and beans, and let it all simmer together.
3. Mix it all together in a medium bowl, adding cilantro.
4. Cook the ground beef in melted butter in a heavy pan on medium-high heat.
5. Season with chili powder, salt, pepper, and chipotle.

5. Blend one cup of water with the cornmeal.
6. Boil the rest of the water in a saucepan. Add in the blended cornmeal and stir until it is thick and creamy.

7. Spoon half of the cornmeal mixture into a prepared baking dish to create the cornbread base.
8. Evenly spread the meat layer, followed by the tomato mixture.
9. Add a layer of cheddar cheese.
10. Top off the casserole dish with the rest of the cornmeal mixture.
11. Sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheese and bake.

🥫 Storage

• This beef tamale casserole can be prepped and stored straight in the dish to be baked for a later date. Just cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and pop it in your fridge.
• Once cooked, you can store it in your fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container.
• Or, you can store it in your freezer for up to 3 months.

📖 Variations

• If you'd like to make a vegetarian tamale pie version double up on the beans and leave out the beef.
• Ranch style beans are beans in a seasoned sauce. If you can't find them pinto beans or black beans are fine but you'll want to taste it and add seasoning.
• Not a fan of red meat? You can use shredded chicken or ground turkey instead of the ground beef in this recipe.
• Make it stretch: add ⅓ cup quick cooking oatmeal in with the meat while you are browning it. It sounds weird but it's an old Depression trick.
• If you are out of cheddar cheese, you can use Mexican cheese or Monterey Jack cheese.

💭 Tips

Expert Tip: You can substitute cooked chicken, turkey, or pork for the ground beef in this recipe.

• I add a lot of cilantro. I am one of those people that LOVES cilantro! If you don't love it then feel free to cut back or leave it out completely.
• Feel free to add extra chiles! YUM!
• Add a dollop of sour cream on top of the cornbread crust when you serve this. In fact, you can add any of your favorite taco toppings to top off this dish.
• Maximize your leftovers with this cornbread tamale casserole. You could use any leftover meat in your fridge for the meat mixture.
• Cooked potatoes and rice are also a great addition to this delicious casserole.
• You can easily use another variety of beans if you prefer.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

📚 Related recipes

• Ranch Chicken has chicken, tomatoes with chiles, and onion are mixed with a creamy, rich sauce and layered in a casserole dish with corn tortillas and a generous amount of cheese. This casserole freezes well, travels well, and disappears fast – you can’t really ask for more than that.
• Baked Mac and Cheese with a buttery crumb topping is legendary comfort food when each spoonful is an old fashioned delight of creamy sauce, tender macaroni, a scatter of crispy breadcrumbs, and a forest of gooey cheese strings stretching from casserole to serving spoon.
• Bacon Cheeseburger Macaroni Skillet dinner goes together in less than 30 minutes so it’s a great weeknight meal that the whole family will love.

🍽️ Serve with...

• This zesty green bean and potato salad is the perfect way to balance this tamale casserole with cornbread.
• Cowboy caviar is a side dish that requires little effort that the whole family will love.
• Spicy roasted cauliflower is another family favorite

📞 The last word

I love this easy tamale pie recipe.

This version comes out of a 1940 Women’s Club cookbook and was submitted by a lady from Seymour, Texas so you know it’s the real deal. It’s a family favorite here.

So, this dish. The meat is spicy with all of that cumin and chile Tex-Mex flavor. The beans and vegetables add texture as well as flavor. It will warm up the chilliest day!

Next time try this taco spaghetti or this authentic King Ranch casserole.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.48 from 34 votes

Tamale Pie Casserole

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This easy tamale casserole recipe has been around for decades. It's hearty comfort food, Texas style, and can be made ahead of time. Use pork, chicken, or turkey to change it up! It's always yummy!

Course Casserole

Cuisine Tex-Mex

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings:8 servings

Calories:308

Author:Marye Audet-White

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Ingredients

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Ingredients

• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ 3 cups celery, diced
• ▢ 2 cups onion, chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, ,crushed
• ▢ 28 ounces tomatoes, diced
• ▢ 14 ounces tomatoes and chiles, diced
• ▢ 2 cups corn, thawed if frozen
• ▢ 15 ounces Ranch style beans, or pinto beans
• ▢ ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 1-½ pounds lean ground beef
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chili powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground chipotle
• ▢ 5 cups water
• ▢ 1-½ cups cornmeal
• ▢ 1-½ cups Cheddar cheese, grated, divided use

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Instructions

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425F.
• Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish or spray with cooking spray.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the celery and onion until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic, tomatoes, corn, and beans – simmer for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the cilantro if desired.
• Melt the butter in a heavy pan, add beef, and cook until done.
• Add the chili powder, salt, pepper, and chipotle.
• Remove from heat.
• Blend 1 cup of water with the cornmeal.
• 10. Bring the remaining water to a boil in a saucepan.
• 11. Stir in the cornmeal and cook, stirring constantly, until very thick. Be careful because it may bubble and pop out of the pan and burn you if you’re not careful.
• 12. Spread half of the cornmeal mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.
• 13. Add the meat and spread to cover.
• 14. Top with the tomato mixture.
• 15. Top with 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese.
• 16. Cover with the remaining cornmeal mixture.
• 17. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• 18. Bake for 25 minutes.
• 19. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Expert Tip: You can substitute cooked chicken, turkey, or pork for the ground beef in this recipe.

• I add a lot of cilantro. I am one of those people that LOVES cilantro! If you don't love it then feel free to cut back or leave it out completely.
• Feel free to add extra chiles! YUM!
• Add a dollop of sour cream on top of the cornbread crust when you serve this. In fact, you can add any of your favorite taco toppings to top off this dish.
• Maximize your leftovers with this cornbread tamale casserole. You could use any leftover meat in your fridge for the meat mixture.
• You can easily use another variety of beans if you prefer.
• This can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.

Make it stretch

There are many ways to stretch this recipe. Here are some of my favorites -

• Use a mixture of beans
• Use all beans instead of meat
• Add ⅓ cup quick cooking oatmeal in with the meat while you are browning it. It sounds weird but it's an old Depression trick.
• Add potatoes that have been cooked and diced
• Mix in cooked rice
• Mix in cooked cauliflower

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 851mg | Potassium: 852mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1325IU | Vitamin C: 25.2mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 2.9mg

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First published May 16, 2017. Last updated November 23, 2021 for better readability and images.