Simple Delicious Tamale Pie with your choice of ground turkey, beef or veggie meat with seasonal veggies, topped with a delicious cornbread crust.
Here’s an easy weeknight dinner recipe for Tamale Pie that can be made with ground chicken, turkey, beef or keep it vegetarian and use ground vegetarian “meat”.
The flavorful Mexican-spiced filling is cooked on the stovetop then topped with a simple cornmeal batter before baking in the oven. When it comes out, it is transformed into a golden cornbread-crusted pan of deliciousness!
Why this recipe works:
What I love about this recipe is how fast and easy it is to put together, letting the oven do half the work. It is also very adaptable- use whichever meat or veggie meat you like!
The flavorful base can be achieved with ground meat – chicken, turkey or beef- or try vegetarian ground “meat”,
How to make Tamale Pie:
- In a nutshell, make the flavorful filling on the stovetop with veggies and your choice of meat.
- Season the filling and top with cornbread batter, then put the whole skillet right in the oven.
- The Cornbread will bake over top of the filling and when it comes out it will be golden, puffed and delicious!
Add cheese for extra richness, or leave it off for a leaner option. Jack cheese or cheddar or mozzarella would be good here!
Spread the batter over the stew, then top with jalapeños. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 400F.
Into the oven it goes to bake!
When it comes out the crust will be golden and crispy.
My husband loves this topped with a little sour cream and I like to add slices of avocado.
Simple Delicious Tamale Pie, a simple weeknight meal, easily vegetarian adaptable and perfect for weeknights! Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Tamale Pie Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Simple Delicious Tamale Pie with your choice of ground turkey, beef or veggie meat topped with a delicious cornbread crust.
Ingredients
- 1–2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 lb ground meat ( chicken, turkey, or beef) or use vegetarian ground “meat”.
- 1 bell pepper ( or try cubes of roasted butternut or sweet potato!)
- 1 can black beans, drained (or sub extra veggies or more meat)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried mexican oregano (or use regular)
- 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (or sub 1 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes and perhaps “up” the spices)
- 1/4– 1/2 cup water
- 4-ounce can drained green chilies (optional)
- 1–2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro- optional
- 1 cup grated cheese- optional (jack, cheddar, mozzarella- anything melty)
Corn Bread Topping
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 extra-large egg
- 2/3 cup milk, soy milk, or buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
- 1 jalapeño, sliced- optional
- more cheese- totally optional
Garnish with fresh cilantro, sour cream ( or avocado) and hot sauce ( all optional).
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F
Make the filling: In a 10-11 inch ovenproof skillet or dutch oven, saute onion, garlic, ground meat and bell pepper in the olive over medium heat until meat is golden brown, about 10 minutes. ( If using vegetarian meat option, no need to brown first – cook the onion, garlic and bell pepper until tender, then add the ground veggie meat. Use a metal spatula to prevent sticking. If the veggie meat continues to stick no worries scrape it up when you add the liquids.)
Add the corn and beans, salt and spices. Stir in the enchilada sauce and a little water and optional canned chilies, bring to a simmer over low heat. Taste, adjust salt and spices. If it feels dry, add a little more water to loosen. ( If you used tomato sauce instead of enchilada sauce you may want to add more spices). Bottom line is …you want this stew base to be flavorful and robust in flavor and just slightly liquidy. If it is too liquidy, simmer on low so some of the liquid dissipates. And while it’s simmering, make the cornbread topping.
Make the Cornmeal Crust: Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk , and oil in a small bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk. If it seems dry, just add a few more tablespoons of milk until the consistency seems spreadable.
Stir in optional cilantro into the filling and sprinkle with the optional cheese. While the stew is still simmering on the stove, spread the cornbread batter in a thin layer over top. Simmer 1-2 minutes more, and top with thinly sliced jalapeño ( or more grated cheese) and then place in the hot oven, over a sheet pan, or sheet of foil to catch any overflow.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, check, then continue baking an additional 5 minutes or until puffed and beautifully golden.
Serve with fresh cilantro, sour cream, avocado and hot sauce.
Notes
PS. my husband likes his cornbread top lathered in butter right when it comes out of the oven. Optional of course.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 347
- Sugar: 7.5 g
- Sodium: 1085.7 mg
- Fat: 13.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.4 g
- Fiber: 6.4 g
- Protein: 20.2 g
- Cholesterol: 70.9 mg
Can I use a large egg instead? I don’t normally buy extra-large eggs.
Yes should be fine.
I could only find gluten free corn bread mix at my grocery. Could I use this instead and how much mix would you recommend for the recipe?
Hi Laura- I bet this would work? I would use one batch?
This is great recipe for a weeknight dinner. Easy to put together and delicious!
Glad you enjoyed Steve!
I love this recipe. I especially love he cornbread. I would love a cornbread stand-alone cornbread recipe that delivers this same cornbread. The other recipes on the blog differ enough (e.g. no butter in favorite cornbread) that they don’t deliver as this does. Can you blend your recipes in a way that would work as a stand-alone recipe?
So I am understanding you- you are looking for a cornbread recipe- similar to this that is made without butter or dairy? (Vegan)?
Excellent
Awesome!
Comfort on a plate. Loved this recipe so much! I made it vegan & worked a treat. This will definitely be a keeper
Really great to hear Lesley!