Chicken Tamale Casserole
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Chicken Tamale Casserole in a Skillet made from scratch! Delicious cornbread crust topped with shredded chicken, enchilada sauce and loads of cheese, and clocking in at under 300 calories per serving!
Easy Chicken Tamale Casserole Recipe
I love love this chicken tamale casserole or pie or whatever you want to call it. I really do think that cornmeal is underrated. We need to cook more with cornmeal because look at the wonderful dishes you can create with it. Trust me when I tell you that this is a true comfort food. I’m talking lots of chicken, cheese and sauce, and lots of yumminess.
To top it all off, it’s really easy to make. I don’t think I need to tell you too much more because this casserole speaks for itself.
What Is A 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 here is not authentic by any means, it’s a casserole version with some of the same flavors, a cornbread crust topped with enchilada sauce, chicken and lots of cheese.
Cornbread
- Dry ingredients – Cornmeal, salt, baking powder, sugar.
- Wet ingredients – Buttermilk, melted unsalted butter, 1 egg, 1 can of creamed corn, and 1 can of diced green chilis.
Casserole
- Cooked Chicken – I usually just buy a rotisserie chicken, shred it and use both white and dark meat.
- 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.
Toppings
- 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 –for a little bit of heat.
- Pomegranate seeds – for garnish.
Make The Cornbread Batter
Start by turning on your oven to 400°F (204°C) to get it nice and hot.
Next, you’ll want to mix the dry ingredients together. To do this, add the cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder to a medium size bowl, then whisk together well.
Then add in the egg, buttermilk and buttermilk and whisk well. Finally, you’ll need to stir in the creamed corn and green chiles.
Bake The Cornbread
Pour the cornbread mixture into a large skillet or a 9×9-inch baking pan. Then transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edge are golden and the cornbread is done. When a clean toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread comes out clean, it’s done.
Assemble The Casserole
In a small bowl combine the shredded chicken with half the enchilada sauce well, making sure all the chicken is coated in sauce.
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 shredded chicken and all the cheese.
Bake The Casserole
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has started to lightly brown on top. Let it 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.
| Ground beef | Cheddar cheese | Bell peppers |
|---|---|---|
| Ground pork | Mozzarella | Sweet potato |
| Ground veal | Queso Fresco | Black Beans |
| Sausage | Provolone | Peas |
| A combination of above meats | Tex Mex Cheese | Potatoes |
Want To Make This Dish Ahead?
You can store this dish in the fridge for 3 – 4 days as long as it’s stored in an airtight container or otherwise tightly sealed.
Freezer
This entire chicken tamale 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 Must Try Delicious Recipes
- Beef Tamale Recipe
- One Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo
- Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
- Fiesta Chicken Skillet Cobbler
- Skillet Lasagna
- Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
- Skillet Chicken Satay
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
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Chicken Tamale Casserole
Ingredients
For Cornbread
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoon butter (unsalted, melted)
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup creamed corn
- 4.5 ounces diced green chiles (1 can)
Tamale Casserole
- 2 cups chicken (cooked, shredded white or dark meat)
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)
- 1 cup Tex Mex cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 10 ounces enchilada sauce
Optional Toppings
- cilantro
- avocado
- green onions
- pomegranate seeds
- sour cream
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°F.
- 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 12 inch skillet or a 9×9 inch baking pan.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. To make sure the cornbread is done, insert a toothpick in the center of the cornbread and if it comes out clean, it’s done.
- When the cornbread is done, poke holes into it with a fork, or I used the end of a wooden spoon.
- Mix half of the enchilada sauce with the shredded chicken. Pour the other half of the enchilada sauce over the top the cornbread. Top with shredded chicken and all the cheese.
- Bake the casserole for about 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has started to brown on top.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes then top the casserole with any of the optional toppings listed before serving.
Equipment
Notes
- 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.
- 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. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I made this last night and it was delicious! This morning, my husband opened the microwave and said, “look what I found?”. It was the butter for the recipe, haha. It was fine without it, go figure. I’ll have to make this again and see what difference adding the butter makes.
Thanks for the recipe!
Haha, that sounds like something that could happen in any kitchen – even without the butter, it’s great to hear that the casserole was still a hit! 🤗 I’m sure the butter would add a bit more richness and depth to the flavor, but it’s fantastic that the recipe proved to be forgiving and delicious regardless. Can’t wait for you to try it with the butter next time, though! Thanks so much for making the recipe and sharing your fun story! P.s. your casserole looks great!
My granddaughter and I made this for a famiy get together in a 14″ Dutch Oven with coals. We used a gallon size freezer bag full of tamale meat I had frozen a couple months back and also homemade sauce. My freezer went out and wanted to use them up. How perfect!! We doubled the cornbread using masa flour and it tasted just like a tamale. 7 adults and 3 children ate the whole thing!! I’m going to make it for an upcoming Dutch Oven Gathering.
Another JoCooks winner! Delicious…and that cornbread turned out great 👍
Had 6 people last minute for dinner. Had half a rotisserie chicken. Made the Tamale Chicken Casserole. They raved over it. Received phone calls today telling me again what a great cook I was. Told everyone where I got the recipe and how easy and delicious all the things I have made from you are. I am positive I converted all the dinner guests. Love love love your recipes.
Wow, what an amazing story! I’m thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit with your guests and that you received such rave reviews. I absolutely love the idea of using a rotisserie chicken – talk about a time saver!
Thank you for sharing my recipes with your friends, and for your kind words. They truly mean a lot to me. I’m excited to hear about what you cook up next.
We love this recipe!! Tonight I’m trying it with ground beef since I don’t have chicken on hand.
So good! A new family favorite!
This dish looks amazing! And my sister and I are looking to get rid of our rotisserie chicken. The only problem is we dont have enchilada sauce😭 is there a substitute we can use like taco sauce or something else?
You can easily make your own using my recipe here: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/enchilada-sauce/
We’ve made this recipe multiple times and it’s always amazing! Easy to make especially with left over chicken!
We really enjoyed this recipe. The only thing we did different was to add our chosen hot sauce over the top. I like the green Tabasco and my husband likes fresh medium salsa. The cornbread portion was very tasty.
Like I do every Sunday, I’m sitting here and deciding what to make this week for dinners. This will be making the cut for sure. I love using cast iron for so many recipes and this one sounds like a keeper. Can’t wait to try it.
In many recipes, especially desserts, I have substituted evaporated milk mixed with some vinegar for a buttermilk substitute. Do you think that would work here, or some lite sour cream? I never have buttermilk in the house.
I am going to saute some onions and red bell peppers and add it to the chicken before baking.
Yeah that should be fine. Let me know how it turns out for you. 🙂
I have never seen a substitute with evaporated milk, but I use regular milk and vinegar for cornbread. Turns out great!
To me, onion and chicken go hand in hand. Saute before, or cook with the chicken. Yum!
I might be making this tonight. Or an enchilada casserole. I cooked a whole chicken yesterday. Still cooking the bone broth. Smells delicious!
This was absolutely delicious! I doubled the recipe and used a 9 x 13 pan. Will be making this for many meals and pot lucks!! Thumbs up from my family!
Do I need to let the cornbread cool before adding the toppings?
No, you don’t have to.
This was delicious, filling and satisfying. And not as much work as I thought it would be, given the scratch cornbread. Bonus! I considered buying a mix but am glad I didn’t. Used a baking egg substitute in the mix for an allergy and that worked fine. This was a great use of leftover chicken and everyone loved it. I used a 12 oz pouch of sauce which worked out fine. We will try green enchilada sauce next time. It was a nice change from our typical leftover chicken enchiladas. Thanks Jo!
I wanted it saucier, so I used a 20 ounce can of enchilada sauce. It was delicious and this is a keeper!