Tamale Pie Casserole

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 servings

Calories 308kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

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

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