Easy Tamale Casserole
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Tamale casserole is a delicious baked Tex Mex meal with seasoned ground beef, corn, and Jiffy cornbread topping. Make this recipe all in one pan for easier cleanup!
If you love tamales but hate the prep work involved, this casserole recipe will become a favorite. Actually, I think casserole recipes in general are the easiest meals for busy people to prepare.
Almost all of the breakfast bake and dinner casserole recipes I share here on Kevin is Cooking can be made ahead and frozen for later use.
If you’re in the mood for a casual weekend brunch, make some polenta cakes a day or two ahead. Then just heat and eat when you’re ready for them. For something a bit heartier, make a cheesy sausage baked eggs casserole
What I love about this tamale casserole is that it’s very flavorful, very filling, and there’s a nice contrast in textures. The baked cornbread topping gives it that “tamale” feel without needing to spend hours making authentic tamales.
Ingredient Notes for Tamale Casserole
- Ground Beef
I suggest using an 80/20 blend of ground beef. You want a little bit of fat for flavor, but not so much that it makes the tamale casserole greasy.
Feel free to substitute ground lamb, pork, chicken, or even ground turkey. If you’d like something a bit lighter in calories, chicken tamale pie is perfect. It uses ground chicken and a has a salsa verde sauce.
- Cornbread Topping
To keep things simple, feel free to use Jiffy cornbread mix, but for a more authentic flavor, I use homemade cornbread. The recipe is very simple and I think it makes a big difference in the flavor of the topping.
It you’ll be using Jiffy cornbread mix, combine the ingredients in a small bowl, then pour it over the meat mixture just before baking the tamale casserole.
- Beans– I like to use red kidney beans, but black beans would be fantastic too.
- Shredded cheese– What casserole isn’t made better with melted cheese? This ingredient isn’t a deal breaker; feel free to omit the cheese if you’d like to reduce the overall calories and fat in the meal.
Video: Making Beef Tamale Bake
This recipe is pretty straightforward and not at all difficult. To see it in action from start to finish, watch the video in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Serving Suggestions
Honestly, I think the tamale casserole is hearty and filling on its own. Something like a side of rajas con crema or Mexican salad with roasted tomato vinaigrette is all you should really need. Oh, and maybe some tortilla chips for scooping up any loose meat from your plate.
If you’d like to add some toppings, here are few suggestions:
Topping Ideas
- Classic fire roasted salsa
- Roasted salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
- Guacamole
- Homemade pico de gallo
- Sour cream or Mexican crema
This recipe first appeared on Kevin Is Cooking on Aug. 24, 2015 and was last updated with new content on Sept. 2, 2021.
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Easy Tamale Casserole + Video
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped small
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lb ground beef (90/10)
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1 cup corn fresh cooked or thawed from frozen
- 8 oz kidney beans or black beans, drained
- 1 tbsp chili seasoning
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion, bell pepper and salt. Saute 3 minutes and add garlic. Cook until onion is translucent.
- Add ground beef and break up meat with spoon. Cook until meat is lightly browned. Drain excess oil if needed.
- Stir in tomato sauce, corn, beans, chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder and black pepper. Stir to mix and simmer on low for 10 minutes or until thickened. Pour into a greased 9×9” baking dish, top with cheese. Set aside.
- Mix the cornbread mix, egg an milk in a small bowl. Pour over meat mixture to cover and bake for 20 minutes. Top should be golden brown.
Video
Notes
- Feel free to use Jiffy, Trader Joe’s or your favorite cornbread mix for convenience, but my homemade cornbread recipe is fantastic.
Nutrition
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.
Hey Kevin, I made this today. Very good! Thanks for the recipe. I increased the yeild so that I could bake it in a 10-inch, cast-iron skillet, and it came out great. I also agree with you in that it’s very much a comfort food.
Love getting comments like this! That’s awesome, so glad you liked it Jeff. Pretty easy, right?
Omg Kevinnnn!! I love Tamales! Only I’ve never ever seen them in pie form! Genius!
I’m making this very soon. And pinning it! Thank you for this. I’m so excited to try it!
So maybe their not really tamales per se in the traditional sense, but it’s just about one! 😉
These are super easy and tasty. Thanks so much Karina! Appreciate your Pinning as well. 🙂
Hey Kevin! This was way beyond good! It has all the flavors I love! I think next time I’ll use your chorizo (from the quinoa stuffed peppers)! I agree Jiffy is my favorite, although around here most folks like white cornbread which is not sweet. I make a corn casserole that has a box of Jiffy in it – I like the texture it adds. Once again Thank You! 🙂
Oh thank you Dorothy for the feedback! So glad it hit th espot! I might have to try it with the white cornbread sometime just to see. 😉
Oh, looks delicious Kevin – never made a tamale bake but will be soon – thanks!
Give it a go Rachel, it’s definitely a quick to assemble meal that delivers on flavor and texture!
Jiffy is indeed the best cornbread 🙂
Agreed Chrissy, so good! I love to drizzle honey on top as soon as it comes out of the oven, too. It melts in and is so darn good!
Indeed, this does look insanely simple AND delicious! I love all of those fresh ingredients and delicious spices! Pinning! 😀
Thank you Kennedy. So glad I found your blog too BTW. 🙂
Kevin. Don’t take this the wrong way. But I think I love you.
OMG. This. Is. Genius. Never made anything like it before. I intend to change that asap. 🙂
Love makes the world go round, never taken the wrong way! It’s one of those – it’s so darn simple to make meals. I love cracking through the cornbread topping to the rich and savory filling. 🙂
Hey Kevin! Now this is my kind of dish! I love tamales! Well, actually all Mexican food! I always have a couple of boxes of Jiffy mix in the pantry. Dinner is decided! 🙂
Gotta love Jiffy, I swear it’s the best cornbread mix. Hope it turned out for you. We had no leftovers… Ha!
Please thank Tracy for me! This looks amazing and with everything going on these days…this one pan meal could not have come at a better time! Thanks friend!
You bet Annie, have a great day.
Hey, stranger things have happened on this little thing we call the interweb. But I’m glad you rescued this one from the lost corner of the web. It looks amazing! Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. Hope you guys had an awesome weekend! #WolfpackInternetMysteries
Love your WolfPack tags David… too funny. This is definitely a quick, down and dirty, easy peasy mid-week meal. Pure comfort food 101. Good thing Tracy emailed me, I’d never have checked! 🙂