Beef tamale pie made with lots of cheese, enchilada sauce, ground beef and an irresistible cornbread crust, is one of my favorite comfort casserole recipes! This easy dinner idea turns a handful of humble ingredients into a really special meal.
What Is Tamale Pie?
Contrary to its name, tamale pie isn’t a steamed bundle of masa with filling, wrapped in a corn husk. Surprisingly, it’s not even a pie! This cheesy casserole meal, topped with cornbread, originated in the Southwest a long time ago and has remained immensely popular across America ever since. I personally look forward to every bite of this staple recipe.
Why I Love This Jiffy Tamale Pie
- The sweetness of the cornbread and the savory ground beef layer are crave-worthy!
- The tex-mex flavors remind me of my favorite taco noodle casserole.
- Start to finish, this tamale pie is ready in under an hour.
- I top each portion with my favorites – sour cream, avocado and salsa for even more flavor and texture.
If you’re a cozy, casserole enthusiast like me, once you’ve mastered this tamale pie recipe, make sure to give my ground beef casserole or pizza casserole with pasta or my creamy chicken poblano casserole a try. I think you’ll even love my tuna casserole too. You can’t go wrong with any of these comfort meals.
Ingredients You’ll Need and Substitution Ideas
- Ground Beef: I like to keep it lean with 93%. If you use a higher fat ratio, just make sure to drain the fat really well. You can easily swap out the ground beef for ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork for a lower calorie version. For a vegetarian tamale pie, use black beans instead of ground beef.
- Yellow Onion: Adds flavor and sweetness.
- Taco seasoning: Use your favorite brand or a homemade version you love.
- Corn: Canned corn adds the perfect texture and sweetness to this casserole.
- Enchilada sauce: Canned works great, but I love using my homemade enchilada sauce in this recipe.
- Diced Green Chiles: Make sure they’re chopped. If you prefer more heat, use canned jalapenos instead of green chiles.
- Shredded Mexican Cheese: This cheese adds flavor, but feel free to use any cheese blend you have on hand.
- JIFFY cornbread mix: While you can use any cornbread mix, I find the JIFFY brand to work perfectly in this recipe.
- Green Onions: For garnish and extra flavor.
How to Make Tamale Pie with Ground Beef
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking dish by misting with cooking spray.
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Next, add diced onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add taco seasoning and water; cook for one minute. Remove from heat and drain any excess grease, if necessary.
- Mix in corn, enchilada sauce, chiles, and 1/2 cup shredded cheese with the meat mixture. Spread evenly on the baking dish.
- Prepare cornbread mix according to package directions, but do not bake. Spread evenly over the meat mixture using a large spoon or spatula.
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Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the cornbread mixture.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until bubbling and the cornbread is fully cooked (insert a toothpick in the center, it should come out clean).
- Finally, slice and serve warm with sliced green onions or any other toppings you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
- I like to serve greens with my favorite Mexican salad dressing.
- This avocado orange salad is a nice contrasting side dish to tamale pie.
- A black bean avocado salad also works well with cornbread tamale pie.
Can You Freeze Tamale Pie?
If you want to freeze the dish, allow it to cool completely to room temperature before covering it and placing it in the freezer in its baking dish or a smaller container, if needed. When ready to reheat, allow the frozen dish to thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight before heating it up.
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Tamale Pie
Equipment
- casserole dish 10.5x7.5 an 8x8 square also works
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1-1/2 lbs. ground beef (93% lean)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 oz. taco seasoning
- 3 tbsps. water
- 1 (15 oz.) can yellow corn drained
- 1 (15 oz.) can red enchilada sauce
- 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles mild or medium heat
- 1-1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese, divided
- 1 (8.5 oz.) box cornbread mix, such as JIFFY (include whatever is required to make cornbread according to package directions, such as an egg and milk))
- garnish: sliced green onions (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare baking dish by misting with cooking spray. (Dish used was an 10.5 x 7.5 casserole dish, but an 8 x 8 square will also work well. A 9 x 13 pan will make the casserole thinner and require more cornbread mix to cover the whole casserole. If you choose to make it in a 9 x 13, increase the ingredients by half, but use 16 oz. of cornbread mix,)cooking spray
- Brown and crumble ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through and no longer pink. Add diced onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.1-1/2 lbs. ground beef (93% lean), 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- Add taco seasoning and water and cook for one minute. Remove from heat. Drain any excess grease if you have any.1 oz. taco seasoning, 3 tbsps. water
- Add corn, enchilada sauce, chiles and 1/2 cup shredded cheese to the meat mixture. Stir until combined. Spread meat mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.1 (15 oz.) can yellow corn, 1 (15 oz.) can red enchilada sauce, 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, 1-1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese, divided
- Prepare cornbread mix according to package directions (do not bake) and spread evenly over the top of the meat mixture with a large spoon or flat spatula.1 (8.5 oz.) box cornbread mix, such as JIFFY
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the cornbread mixture.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbling and the cornbread is fully cooked through (comes out clean with a toothpick in the center).
- Slice and serve warm with sliced green onions or any other toppings you prefer.garnish: sliced green onions (optional)
Notes
Nutrition
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