Some evenings are such where I need a hearty and filling dinner and this Easy Chicken Tamale Pie is just that. Perhaps this can be your new go to because it’s so easy, too. In this tamale pie version I swap out ground beef and a red chili sauce for ground chicken and a salsa verde with sweet cornbread topping it all.
It couldn’t be simpler either. After browning some ground chicken, spices and salsa with corn and black beans, the cornbread batter tops it all and in the oven it goes. Dinner in 30 minutes people!
These past few days have been in the temperature range from 94° up towards 104°F and while I realize many are experiencing colder weather elsewhere… send it here to San Diego please. I am so looking froward to spending time in cooler temps this Thanksgiving with family up in the Portland area. Send rain, too!
But about this recipe. Remember not too long ago I mentioned it actually rained for 2 days here, well I decided to make this Easy Chicken Tamale Pie. I mean, I had the oven on after my third batch for my Baked Hasselback Apples and just decided to keep things going.
Sometimes if I don’t have any chicken tenders or breasts in the freezer I’ll use ground chicken. Just to switch it up a little. Like ground beef, it’s uses are endless!
Ground chicken is a great one for easy and quick dinners and with some cumin and a nice green salsa of choice, you have a spiced up mix ready to pour into a baking dish and topped with cornbread batter that bakes to a golden brown. I often times drizzle a little honey on top of the cornbread after it bakes, that’s optional of course.
Fresh or canned corn can be used and I like the black bean for color reasons, we do eat with our eye, right? Feel free to use any type of bean you like though.
The tangy, spicy green salsa and chicken work well with the sweet cornbread.
If you like, try my Easy Tamale Bake that uses ground beef in a savory, spicy tomato based sauce. Enjoy!
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Easy Chicken Tamale Pie
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups green salsa
- 1 cup corn fresh or frozen
- 1 8- oz can black beans
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Cornbread Topping:
- 8.5 oz Jiffy Cornbread mix (See Note 1)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and lightly brown the ground chicken. Add onion, garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour over all and stir to mix, cooking for another 2 minutes. Stir in green salsa, corn, beans, salt, pepper, cumin and black pepper. Simmer 10 minutes or until thickened. Pour into a greased 9x9” baking dish or pie dish.
- Feel free to use Jiffy cornbread mix here to make this easy, but my Homemade Cornbread recipe is fantastic. Mix the cornbread mix, egg and milk in a small bowl. Pour this over meat mixture and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and toothpick comes out clean when inserted into cornbread.
Notes
- I have a Homemade Cornbread recipe that can be used instead of the Jiffy store bought version. This might make a little more for a thicker topping. Feel free to omit the corn and jalapeños if you like.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
Nutrition
Made this for dinner with Tom and Kerry – we loved it – even when it was 95 degrees outside! And the best part – I had all the ingredients – no last minute shopping – Thanks for having this recipe handy!
Hi Lois! So glad you all enjoyed it. Plus, thanks for coming back to let me know! We are headed up there in a few weeks, so hopefully we’ll run into you and Steve. It’s been super hot and humid down here as well. Can’t wait to see everyone and the total eclipse! Cheers!
I can’t believe the weather is still that hot in San Diego, Kevin!
This is my kind of weeknight meal in the fall and winter. I honestly can’t believe how easy it is to put together. We’ll be trying this soon…
Thanks Marissa and today is actually foggy – the boys lost the ball twice this morning at the park!
Holy yum. This just looks SO tasty and full of flavor yet so homey and comforting. I’ve gotta try it soon!
Thank you Karly. It’s definitely comfort food season and this one has a little spice and sweetness from the cornbread. Too good! Cheers and thanks for stopping by.
Mmmmm that looks delish! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Zerrin, I hope you do! The heat from the green chiles play well with the sweet cornbread. 🙂
I can see how easy this would be to knock together at the last minute, especially after work. Hold on, what’s work? If I we had a kitchen to use I’d definitely whip this one up – providing we could find the ingredients on this island we’re staying on! I miss cooking!!
Ha! What’s work? It must be nice and I wish to one day to be able to do a journey like what you and Dean are doing. Such fun to just absorb yourself in another culture, not just quick pit stops and move on to the next. I prefer to mingle with locals, walk and explore, too. If I wanted to lay on a beach and read a book I could do that right here in San Diego, but that’s not really me. The last two times we travelled we made sure wherever we stayed there was a kitchen. I… Read more »
My kids would be all over this and I love the shortcut in the cornbread topping!
Thanks Karen, it’s a great meal in minutes. I always have Jiffy cornbread on hand for quick meals like this and my beef version – Easy Tamale Bake.
Hey Kevin! You know your beef tamale pie is a favorite here and I am sure Gary will not object to this version! 🙂 I will probably use shredded thigh meat as I rarely see ground chicken and we prefer dark meat. I make my own green sauce which is what I’d use here. Making this very soon!
So glad to know that Dorothy, tell Gary hello and thanks. This is my alternate and I love my tomatillo green salsa on top myself! Hope you guys had a great weekend.
Wow, it sure is steamy hot out there in your neck of the woods. Meanwhile here on the East Coast we’re running low 70’s and upper 60’s. 🙂 (Of course, soon enough we’ll be running negative temps, and you can make fun of us then!) This tamale pie sounds delicious…and I could definitely see a nice big slice of this one showing up for dinner soon!
Very hot, but this morning when I took the dogs out to the park there was fog on the ground and a most beautiful orange and pink sunrise. It’s already warm, but fingers are crossed it will soon cool down. Get some East Coast weather out here! Thanks Dave.
It’s definitely cooling down around here, Kevin, and we do have rain today. Totally send ya some if I could 😉 I love using ground chicken and I especially love using ground turkey. Bet that would be wonderful here too. I absolutely love your suggestion of honey on the cornbread where you have that whole sweet/savoury combo. So perfect. I’ve never had tamale pie before and now I realize I don’t know what I was missing. Looking forward to trying this one soon! Have a great week 🙂
How was Jerry Seinfeld? I use ground turkey quite often myself. Both are wonderful beef alternatives, right? YES, when it comes out of the oven drizzle that honey on top and it melts in… so good! If you’d like to try my beef version, Easy Tamale Bake, it’s a good one too. 🙂
Here it’s been a little cooler Kevin, so this tamale pie would be perfect. So hearty and I like the change up to the ground chicken instead of the usual beef. Can’t wait to try. Hope your week is off to a great start!
With comments like this how could my week not be off to a great start? Where abouts are you located Mary Ann?