Seasoned ground beef, black beans, corn, and cheese are topped with a cornbread crust in this easy tamale pie recipe that’s ready in under an hour.
Fast and Easy Casseroles Like This Are Lifesavers on Busy Weeknights
Like my Frito pie and beef enchilada casserole, this tamale pie recipe leans on store-bought shortcuts to deliver big Mexican-inspired flavor with minimal effort on your part.
Where traditional tamales call for filling a corn-based masa dough with meats and cheeses, this hearty casserole uses boxed cornbread mix to create a tamale-like crust on top of a seasoned ground beef filling.
This is one of those clean-out-the-fridge meals that can be tweaked to use up whatever blend of meat, veg, and cheese you have on hand. It may not be an authentically Mexican recipe, but it sure is tasty.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
A few store-bought shortcuts save you tons of time. You’re welcome to make your own enchilada sauce and cornbread mix if you’ve got the time to do so, but tamale pie is one of those fast and easy dishes that tastes pretty much the same whether it’s all homemade or not.
Always doctor up your cornbread. Boxed cornbread mix often creates dry, lackluster cornbread (IMO). To inject it with moisture and flavor, I mixed in some sour cream, shredded cheese, and corn in addition to the usual milk and egg.
Be careful not to over bake. When the tamale pie goes into the oven, the ground beef filling is already fully cooked through. The only thing that needs to cook fully is the cornbread crust, which you’ll know is done when it’s golden brown all over.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Ground beef — I prefer using 85% lean ground beef for added flavor and moisture.
- Vegetables — You can load up your tamale pie using almost any vegetable you have on hand, but I used frozen corn kernels (thawed first!), poblano pepper, onion, and garlic.
- Chili powder — Doesn’t make the pie super spicy, just adds tons of flavor without having to measure out lots of individual spices.
- Beans — Black beans are my top choice because they’re dense yet tender and don’t fall apart when mixed into the ground beef filling. You may also use pinto beans.
- Enchilada sauce — I used red enchilada sauce, but use your favorite.
- Cheese — I used Monterey Jack and cheddar, both of which are buttery, flavorful, and melt well.
- Cornbread crust — Mixing a little sour cream, milk, egg, and corn into the boxed cornbread mix and then topping with cheese creates a crave-worthy crust.
How to Make Tamale Pie
- Brown and season the ground beef. Add the ground beef, poblano pepper, and onion to a skillet and cook until browned. I always add the garlic and chili powder at this stage because spices are fat-soluble, meaning they really “wake up” when they come into contact with the hot oil in the pan.
- Sauce it up. Stir in the thawed corn, drained black beans, and enchilada sauce. In my recipe testing, I found that the ground beef filling tasted better after 5 minutes of gentle simmering, so don’t rush to the next step just yet!
- Make the cornbread batter. To the boxed cornbread mix, whisk in the sour cream, milk, egg, and extra corn kernels.
- Layer the tamale pie. Spread the ground beef filling into the bottom of a 9×13-inch casserole dish, top with HALF of the shredded cheese, followed by the cornbread batter.
- Bake until golden, then top with more cheese. The reason we’re adding the shredded cheese on top at the very end of the bake time is so it doesn’t sink into the cornbread batter and make it gooey.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Tamale Pie with Cornbread Crust
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds 85% lean ground beef
- 1 poblano or anaheim pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced, about 1 ½ cups
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 12-ounce bag frozen corn kernels, thawed and divided
- 1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
- 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 8-ounce package corn bread mix
- ⅓ cup milk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 jalapeño, sliced
- sour cream, chopped tomato, and sliced jalapeño for serving
Instructions
- Brown the meat and spices. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large skillet over medium-high, cook 1 ½ pounds of ground beef, 1 diced poblano pepper, and 1 small diced yellow onion, breaking the beef into smaller pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cloves pressed garlic, 2 teaspoons chili powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook for 1 minute until the spices have bloomed and are fragrant.
- Add the vegetables and sauce. Stir in 15 ounces drained black beans, half of the corn kernels (6 ounces), and 10 ounces enchilada sauce. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Layer the meat mixture with the cheese. Spread the meat in the bottom of a 9 X 13-inch baking dish. Top with half of the shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses (2 ounces each).
- Top with the cornbread mix, more cheese, and bake. In a small bowl, whisk the 8-ounce cornbread mix with the remaining 6 ounces corn kernels, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup sour cream, and 1 egg, just until moistened. Dollop the cornbread mix over the cheese and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cornbread is golden brown. Top with the rest of the cheese and bake until melted, 2-3 more minutes. Garnish with chopped tomatoes, sour cream, and diced avocados if desired.
Nutrition
FAQ
Go for it! If using ground poultry instead of ground beef, add a tablespoon or so of oil to the skillet to prevent the meat from drying out.
I haven’t tested this myself, but you should be fine to use your favorite boxed gluten-free cornbread mix instead of regular Jiffy.
If there’s something you like on your ground beef tacos, you can also pile it onto your cornbread tamale pie! Think: pico de gallo, sliced avocado or jalapeño guacamole, creamy salsa verde, sour cream, you name it.
What to Serve With Tamale Pie
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Once baked, the pie will last up to 4 days in the fridge.
If desired, you can assemble the pie as instructed, freeze for 1 hour until the cornbread batter is solid, wrap in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, thaw completely before baking (you might need to add an extra 5 or so minutes to the bake time since the filling will be super cold).
More Ground Beef Mexican Recipes
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