Pour over half enchilada sauce and top with beef or chicken filling.Slice or crumble on the tube on the bottom of a greased pie dish or cast iron skillet.Some recipes for easy tamale casserole substitute prepared polenta for the cornbread layers. For Tamale Pie with polenta you will need 2 tubes of prepared polenta. If using ground beef, be sure to use ground sirloin or lean ground beef.Make Vegetarian Tamale Pie by substituting a sauteed onion, garlic, pepper, canned corn, pinto beans, bell pepper, and black beans mixed with the salsa, enchilada sauce, and chili powder.

Instead of ground beef, substitute ground turkey or chicken.

Use reduced-fat cheese or halve the amount of cheese.If you’re looking for a lighter version of tamale casserole, use any of these suggestions to make it healthier. This recipe falls in that classic comfort food repertoire, which usually means they are ways save on calories. Layer chicken mixture on cornbread, top with cheese, and bake at 375✯ for 15 minutes.Combine shredded chicken, chili powder, salsa, and remaining enchilada sauce in a bowl.Bake cornbread, poke with holes, and pour over half enchilada sauce.(Either cover 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts with water and boil for 20 minutes or cook in Instant Pot for 8 minutes with 1 cup water.) Use 3 cups shredded chicken to replace the ground beef.Spread onto cornbread, top with shredded cheddar cheese, and return to oven for 15 minutes.Įasily adapt this recipe into Chicken Tamale Pie following these simple steps:.Brown beef and mix in remaining enchilada sauce, salsa, and chili powder.Pour 1/2 can of enchilada sauce and set aside.Use a handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in cornbread.Pour the cornbread batter into a greased cast iron skillet, pie dish, or baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.Mix together easy cornbread ingredients.For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.) ( Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. Everyone can pile on what they would like best! We serve tamale pie similarly to how you would serve tacos. Salsa – Use mild to spicy, depending on your preferred taste.Enchilada Sauce – For a gluten-free recipe, I use LaVictoria brand.Ground Beef – Use lean ground beef, such as sirloin, to eliminate the need to drain excess grease.Sugar – While this may be eliminated, I like the touch of sweet taste it adds, just like old school recipes!.Major brands, such as Del Monte and Green Giant are gluten-free. Cream-style corn – Always read the label to make sure there are no hidden ingredients, questionable food starches or wheat.Be sure to read labels carefully if making gluten-free tamale pie. Cornmeal – Although cornmeal is naturally gluten-free, some brands are processed on shared equipment.If you prefer a thicker, traditional cornbread crust, use gluten-free cornbread recipe, cutting the ingredients in half. Fortunately this gluten-free tamale pie recipe still uses very simple ingredients and the cornbread takes 5 minutes to mix together in one bowl. Shortcut Tamale Pie uses a Jiffy mix for the cornbread layer, which was the version my mother made growing up.įor my purposes, though, this doesn’t work because Jiffy cornbread mix doesn’t work for gluten free dinners. Any of these corn grains are mixed with eggs, butter, baking powder, and cream style corn to make something similar to corn casserole or a sweet corn cake. When made from scratch, cornmeal, masa, or polenta is used to make the cornbread layer. Tamale Pie without Jiffy mix (Gluten-Free!) The Mexican flavors come from salsa, chili powder, and enchilada sauce mixed in with the protein. Variations of tamale casserole uses chicken, chorizo, ground pork, or vegetarian with beans. Although the flavors are inspired by Mexican food, tamale casserole is better categorized as Southwestern or Tex-Mex cuisine. It’s traditionally baked as a casserole, layered with ground beef, a cornbread topping, and cheese. If you aren’t familiar with Tamale Pie, let’s get you properly acquainted.

Tamale pie with jiffy mix