Easy Tamale Pie Recipe
This savory Tamale Pie Recipe mimics traditional tamales in casserole (or pie) form! Featuring a meaty filling with beans, corn, chiles, aromatics, and enchilada sauce topped with a cheesy, fluffy cornbread crust. This easy recipe is comfort food at its absolute finest– and perfect for busy weeknights!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Base
- 2 Tablespoons unrefined extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground meat of choice chicken, turkey, or pork
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium yellow or red onion finely chopped
- 1 poblano pepper stemmed, seeded and chopped
- 1 jalapeño stemmed, seeded and minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- One 10-ounce can red enchilada sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 cup cooked beans of choice and/or fresh or frozen corn kernels
Cornbread Topping
- Heaping ¾ cup masa harina
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or a good GF flour blend, like King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill
- 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg + 1 egg white
- ½ cup whole milk or plain unsweetened soy milk
- ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
- ½ cup shredded cheddar divided or vegan cheese or omit
- ½ cup sliced pickled or regular jalapeños
- Optional: Hot sauce and sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the chili: Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees. In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil until it shimmers. Add the ground meat and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until just starting to brown but not cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onions, poblanos, jalapeños, garlic and a pinch each of salt and pepper to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just softened and the meat is cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the enchilada sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and/or corn kernels and remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, prepare the cornbread: In a medium bowl, whisk the masa harina with the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. In another medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and chicken broth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk the batter until smooth. Fold in 1/4 cup of the cheese.
- Dollop the cornbread batter over the chili and gently spread into an even layer. It will seem like a very thin layer of cornbread, but it will rise in the oven. Scatter the pickled or regular jalapeños over the batter, then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on top. Bake the tamale pie until bubbling and the cornbread is risen, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with hot sauce and sour cream.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Masa is the traditional dough used to make corn tortillas. It’s made from dried corn that has been nixtamalized, which is a process in which dried corn kernels are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution to loosen the hulls and make the corn softer for grinding. Masa harina, on the other hand, is a flour that is made from dried masa dough. Masa harina is commonly used to make corn tortillas, too, but it’s also used to make tamales, tamal de cazuela, pupusas and arepas.
- Make it vegan: swap ground vegan protein for meat like Beyond Meat or cooked lentils. Swap flax egg (2 Tablespoons flax meal + 4 Tablespoons warm water) for egg in the batter. Use vegan cheese or omit it. Serve with dairy-free sour cream or avocado.
- For best results, I encourage you to use a cast-iron skillet so you only need one pan for this meal. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer the meat mixture to a baking dish and top with the cornbread batter, then bake.