Beef Tamale Casserole
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This Beef Tamale Casserole will certainly make your dinner time easy. We’re talking comfort food to the max: layers of cornbread, enchilada sauce, spiced ground beef, all loaded with cheese then baked to perfection!
My kind of comfort food are tamale casseroles or pies. I have made this tamale casserole many times, with both chicken and beef. Can’t really say I have a favorite, because I love them all. This dish isn’t really about the meat, but about that yummy cornbread and that cheese.
This beef tamale casserole is so good, that I really hate sharing it with anyone but alas it’s impossible not to once that wonderful aroma fills the house as it cooks. I love the fact that I can top it with all my favorite taco toppings, like avocados, cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, whatever you like. But you must top it with something, because the toppings really make it way better, that is if you can improve upon perfection.
What Is Tamale?
Tamale is a Mexican dish of seasoned meat wrapped in cornmeal dough and then steamed or baked in corn husks. You can then discard of the corn husks or use them as an all natural plate to eat the delicious tamales off of. Yep, pretty cool! Now my dish is not authentic by any means, consider it merely inspired by the deliciousness of the simple tamale.
Ingredients
Corn bread
- Dry ingredients – Corn meal, salt, baking powder, sugar.
- Wet ingredients – Buttermilk, melted unsalted butter, 1 egg, 1 can of creamed corn, and 1 can of diced green chilis.
Beef
- Ground beef – I just used regular ground beef today, feel free to use extra lean if you’d like.
- Olive oil – To brown our beef.
- Onion – I like to use something that cooks down well in a dish like this, yellow or white will do in a pinch.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Spices – Chili powder, cumin, and chipotle powder.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
Casserole
- Enchilada sauce – 1 can, if you’d prefer to make it fresh please refer to my recipe listed down below.
- Cheese – I used freshly shredded Monterey Jack cheese today. You can substitute this for cheddar or any kind of cheese that melts down well.
- Cilantro – Chopped up fine and sprinkled liberally over top, totally optional if you’re not a cilantro fan.
- Avocado – This will add a nice buttery texture to your finished dish.
- Jalapeno – Sliced up fresh if you’re into a bit of heat.
How To Make Beef Tamale Casserole
Corn bread
- Preheat your oven: To 400 F degrees.
- Combine the cornbread ingredients: Add the cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder to a medium size bowl and whisk together. Add the egg, butter, and buttermilk and whisk well. Stir in the creamed corn and the green chiles.
- Bake the cornbread: Pour the cornbread mixture into a large skillet or a 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are golden and the cornbread is done. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cornbread, if it comes out clean, it’s done.
Beef
- Create the beef layer: In another large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, then add the onion, garlic, cumin, chipotle powder, chili powder, salt, pepper and stir. Cook until the onion has softened, another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Introduce the sauce: Add half of the enchilada sauce to the meat mixture and stir. Set aside as we will use this over the corn bread later.
Assembly
- Score the cornbread: When the cornbread is done, poke holes into it with a fork, or I used the end of a wooden spoon. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the cornbread and spread. Top with the ground beef and the shredded cheese.
- Finish the Beef Tamale Casserole: Bake the casserole for another 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has started to lightly brown on top. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then top the casserole with cilantro and your favorite toppings and you’re done!
Want To Make Your Own Enchilada Sauce?
Making your own homemade enchilada sauce will really take this dish to the next level, believe me. I chose to use store bought today because I wanted to showcase how to achieve great flavor with relative ease. I have a recipe here on the blog for making this sauce yourself, it’s easy and super tasty!
What Else Can I Use In Beef Tamale Casserole?
There’s lots you can add or tweak in this dish, while I think the recipe described above is an absolute knock out any way you slice it, don’t be afraid to play around with your new favorite casserole.
Leftovers
This dish can be stored in the fridge for 3 – 4 days as long as it’s stored in an airtight container or otherwise tightly sealed.
Freezer
This entire casserole can be popped in the freezer, as long as it’s tightly sealed. It can be stored this way for up to 6 months and just needs to thaw out overnight in the fridge when ready to eat. Just pop it in the oven set at 350 F degrees for 30 minutes when ready to enjoy!
More Delicious Recipes To Try:
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
- Sausage Potato Breakfast Casserole
- Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
- Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
- Sloppy Joe Casserole
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Beef Tamale Casserole
Video
Ingredients
For Cornbread
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted)
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 14.75 ounce cream style corn ((1 can))
- 4.5 ounce diced green chiles ((1 can))
For Beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
For Casserole
- 10 ounce enchilada sauce ((1 can))
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese (shredded (cheddar cheese or any blend of Mexican cheese works as well))
- 1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
- avocado (optional)
- jalapeno pepper (sliced, optional)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400℉.
- Add the cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder to a medium size bowl and whisk together. Add the egg, butter, and buttermilk and whisk well. Stir in the creamed corn and the green chiles.
- Pour the cornbread mixture into a large skillet or a 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are golden and the cornbread is done. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cornbread, if it comes out clean, it’s done.
- While the cornbread is cooking, prepare the beef. In another large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, cumin, chipotle powder, chili powder, salt, pepper and stir. Cook until the onion has softened, another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add half of the enchilada sauce to the meat mixture and stir. Set aside.
- When the cornbread is done, poke holes into it with a fork, or I used the end of a wooden spoon. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the cornbread and spread.
- Top with the ground beef and the shredded cheese.
- Bake the casserole for another 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has started to lightly brown on top.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes, then top the casserole with cilantro and your favorite toppings.
Equipment
Notes
- To save time, you can use a boxed cornbread mix for this recipe.
- I’ve made this several times with different types of cheeses. Monterey Jack cheese is good, you can also use a blend of cheddar cheese, or the Tex Mex blend.
- This entire casserole can be popped in the freezer, as long as it’s tightly sealed. It can be stored this way for up to 6 months and just needs to thaw out overnight in the fridge when ready to eat. Just pop it in the oven set at 350 F degrees for 30 minutes when ready to enjoy!
- Nutritional information does not include any of the optional toppings.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I liked this recipe because it used scratch cornbread and a wide array of spices. I kept to the recipe other than draining the meat and adding some diced red and yellow peppers I had in the fridge
Unfortunately, i found the casserole lackng in spice and heat. I think I also prefer the cormeal layer dryer which, I admit, is not like a tamale. I would reduce the meat and maybe use a can of beans to strtech the recipe and add more texture/flavor.
I appreciate your insights on the spice and texture. It’s always great to adapt recipes to personal preferences. Adding beans for extra texture and flavor sounds like a fantastic idea. If you’re looking for more heat, feel free to adjust the spices or add some diced jalapeños next time. 🌶️🍲🌽
Cornbread was a little too sweet and soggy. Next time I’ll leave out the extra sugar…there’s plenty in the cream corn, and add some flour to stiffen it up a bit. Delicious though!
Made this tonight. Doubled the reciped. My parents loved it! I thought it was pretty good. I went a tad under for the cumin and didn’t add the chipotle powder. I did keep the chili powder the same. Most tamale pies don’t have enchilada sauce on top of chili powder and cumin, so I thought I’d go a smidge less.
I went an extra cup of cheese (I used about 1/3 mexican blend and 2/3 mild cheddar….3 cups in each pan….6 total) I also mixed about a 1/3 of the cheese into the burger with the sauce and used the remaining 2/3 on top.
I noticed about 3 reviews said it was a bit soggy. A few thoughts on why. The recipe does not specify to drain the green chilis or burger before adding sauce. Though it seems an automatic to some, not everyone might know this. Cooking the green chilis with the burger instead of in the cornbread seems to be a good option as well. The creamed corn, or the amount of the creamed corn may be a factor. Also, most cornbreads call for flour, sometimes baking soda, and about double the cornmeal. This would definitely make a difference for anyone who feels it was too soggy or more like a mush instead of a pie.
I topped mine with some green onion after baking.
Overall, I think the recipe is worth making and changing a bit to fit your style if needed.
I supposed it depends on which green chilies you get, mine were already diced and there really wasn’t anything to drain, but I will make a note of it. Thank you for your feedback.
Can I use maseca yellow or does it have to be corn meal?
Yes, you can definitely use Maseca instead of cornmeal in this recipe. Maseca, a brand of masa harina, is a traditional Mexican flour used in making tamales and tortillas. Using it will likely give your casserole a more authentic tamale taste and texture. Just be aware that masa harina absorbs liquid a bit differently than cornmeal, so you may need to adjust the amount of liquid in the recipe to achieve the right consistency.
Great recipe I added a little more cheese
We all loved this recipe, even my grandpa who “isn’t into Mexican food.” (of course we left much of the hot elements out for him.) We used a spring-form pan for this bake which made for a fun presentation at the end. Next time, we’ll mix most of the cheese into the meat layer so that it cuts easier at the table… that awesome cheesy layer was pretty thick and crushed the rest of the casserole when serving. We also did a cold Mexican slaw on the side. It was an excellent compliment to this dish!
Enjoyed making this recipe. Super easy and delicious. No cream corn, so I used my food processor and pulsed corn kernels.
I used manchego cheese and it was perfect.
Cornmeal crust was a little soggy, but absorbed the hamburger mixture really well.
Topped it off with salsa verde and a glass of Jarrito Mandarin drink.
Thanks.
My pleasure, glad you liked it!
This is great!! The whole family loved it!! Thanks for this recipe!!
I just realized what I did wrong MY FAULT…I forgot the egg!
The flavor was awesome, but the cornbread stayed mushy even though I cooked it a lot longer than it called for. Not sure what happened.
My family ate the whole on and wanted more!! I used a corn bread mix.
For us, the cornbread was too mushy and needed more time to cook before adding the other stuff. We put a toothpick in and it was clean, but if we do it again, we will cook the cornbread much longer. It was very tasty otherwise so we will probably try it again cooking the cornbread much longer so its not mushy (it was not from the enchilada sauce we did not think but undercooking).
Awesome, I’ve saved this in my special recipe folder. I was low on time so I actually used pasta sauce instead of enchilada sauce and it was still fine.
When you cook the cornbread to full and then add your ingredients and cook again for another 15 minutes, how does the cornbread not get overcooked or burned?
You’ve got nothing to worry about, it doesn’t overcook because you’re poking holes in the cornbread for sauce to get through, it’s really good. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
I have been using so many of your recipes and I love all of them!! This is my favorite so far and the others are high in my list. I am subscriber to NY times recipes and you surpass all of them. Xo. All my friends use your recipes.