We were recently planning to have friends over for dinner when I asked my husband what he thought I should cook. He randomly said, “How about tamales?!” I was like “Whaaaa?” First of all, I’ve never made tamales in my life, and I’m honestly not sure if I even like tamales all that much (I was looking for ideas from the plethora of options I have actually cooked before LOL). Secondly, I have a hard-and-fast rule to never experiment with new recipes on dinner guests. I think it’s always best to make something you know will turn out well, and leave the possible recipe fails for your immediate family only! Anyone else with me on that?
So, after we made homemade pizza with our friends (haha), I thought it would be nice to fulfill my husband’s desire for tamales with an Easy Tamale Pie. Since I’m not a huge fan of regular tamales myself, and I didn’t feel like hunting down corn husks to make the traditional version, this easy mash-up of cornbread, chiles, and other goodies was the best of both worlds. And bonus, he loved it! So this easy one-dish meal will definitely be making an appearance again at our house. Maybe even for dinner guests. :)
Easy Tamale Pie
Ingredients
For the meat layer
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced (any color)
- 1/2 jalapeño, or other hot pepper, minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, fire roasted variety is a good option for this
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
For the tamale topping
Suggested accompaniments
- sour cream
- avocado
- cilantro
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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In a cast iron skillet (or other oven-proof large skillet) heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onions while stirring until they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
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Add the ground beef to the pan and cook while breaking it up with a spatula until almost brown all the way through, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bell and hot peppers and cook until soft, another 2 to 3 minutes.
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Sprinkle the seasonings onto the beef mixture and stir until well combined. Add the diced tomatoes and corn kernels and bring to a light boil then turn off the heat.
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Meanwhile, in a small pot combine the milk, cornmeal, butter, and salt. Bring to a light boil while whisking constantly. As soon as the mixture begins to thicken, only takes a minute or two, scrape out of the pot and spread on top of the meat mixture into one even layer.
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Top with shredded cheese and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. If preparing in advance may take longer to bake if putting it in the oven cold.
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Garnish with sour cream, avocado and/or cilantro (if desired) and serve.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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Rebekah
March 12, 2018 at 7:14 pmMade this tonight for dinner. Definitely adding it to our rotation! Yum! Made it exactly as instructed except I drained the meat (we used 80/20) and the topping mixture thickened up a lot but didn’t come to a boil. So I just poured it over the top and went with it. Topped it with the cilantro, sour cream, and avocado. It was so good! Thanks for this great recipe!
Jessie Nelson
March 14, 2018 at 10:19 amWe made this the day it posted. Now, we actually make tamales at Christmas every year, but they can be bland, and they take forever! This was easy and super tasty. I will be making this on a regular basis. Thank you for posting recipes that consistently work beautifully.
Sherry Parker
March 17, 2018 at 9:12 amI’m so sorry the above comment was autocorrect, do you think Masa flour will work the same in this recipe ?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
March 21, 2018 at 9:48 amYes, masa will work.
Hydeeann
March 20, 2018 at 11:01 pmI was looking last minute for a quick and simple dinner, saw this on IG, and it totally fit the bill! I used roasted peppers from a jar in place of the fresh, and they worked beautifully. Every single person in my large family likes this dish! We have had it twice in two weeks. It’s going in the rotation, for sure. It’s a keeper! Thanks for such a tasty dish.
Valerie
March 21, 2018 at 9:52 pmThis was delicious and husband approved. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
FCollene
April 9, 2018 at 10:26 amI like to double recipes and freeze one for later…how would you recommend doing that for this recipe? Thank you!
Tamara
April 16, 2018 at 8:00 amIt’s A Unicorn!
I am a pretty good cook, but with two teenage boys and the husband it’s hard to find a meal that everyone agrees is great and takes little time- The boys in the family have name these meals “Unicorns” – At the last minute saw your post and already had a ground beef browned and in the fridge so it worked perfectly – Everyone agreed this is a “Unicorn” and asked me to add it to the rotation. – may add black beans next time in addition to the beef
Thanks!
Tricia
April 16, 2018 at 8:20 amI’ve tried something like this before, but with the cornbread on the bottom. (Cooked it first, then added the meat and cheese and cooked again until the cheese melted). I’ll have to try it this way! My husband likes pork tamales, so I would use shredded pork.
Anne DeVaughn
May 2, 2018 at 1:32 pmTrying to stay away from meat..do you think this would work well with black bean substituted for meat? One 150z can? Thanks.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 14, 2018 at 8:46 amHell0. I’ve made it with refried black beans and it was delish. :)
ali
May 8, 2018 at 1:48 pmHow spicy does the pie turn out with the recommended ingredients? My kids are little, so I usually opt for less spice than what recipes call for. Thanks!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 14, 2018 at 8:48 amHi. You can always lighten-up on the cayenne and/or omit the jalapeno pepper.
elizabeth
May 18, 2018 at 8:49 amI made this for dinner the other night, but had to make plenty of substitutions… I had no hamburger, but had shredded chicken. I had no corn, but had black beans. I had no cornmeal, but had masa harina. We also did not top with cheese.
So, while I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, it still turned out delicious and satisfied my craving for tamales!
The only note I have would be to use additional tamale topping (maybe another half recipe?)… but this could’ve been due to using masa or the size of the pan that I used.
Nayeli
May 24, 2018 at 9:15 amHello Lisa
I like reading your blog, I think that is more interesting than others because you write anything that we need for cook your recipes so I´ll follow you.
Julie guerrini
June 2, 2018 at 12:24 amThis was a very easy recipe to follow and I’m happy to say that it turned out and was delicious! I’ll definitely add some sour cream and avocados next time.
I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Marla
June 4, 2018 at 12:58 pmThis looks delicious and easy! What size skillet did you use?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
June 19, 2018 at 5:00 pmHi there. I’ve used both a 10″ and 12″ inch skillet.
Laurie
March 29, 2019 at 1:56 pmI am sort of new to the cast iron skillet usage. Is it okay to put something acidic, like the canned tomatoes, in the cast iron and bake in it? I remember reading something in the information that came with my skillet, that acidic foods may harm the skillet. This recipe sounds so good!
100 Days Admin
April 1, 2019 at 11:15 amHi Laurie, it’s best to not cook acidic food in a brand new cast iron skillet. You want to make sure your skillet is well seasoned before doing so. – Nicole
jeri lynn
June 5, 2018 at 12:07 amit sounds soo yummy and easy–my two fave things! i will definitely be making it this summer.
btw, there is no word “tamale” in spanish. it’s tamal for singular, and tamales for plural. it’s a mistake made super often, but i just thought you should know. (I teach spanish:)).
Sarah Schiller
June 18, 2018 at 8:40 pmThis was an easy dish that my 13 year old daughter made tonight. We used ground turkey instead of beef and then garnished the dish with sour cream, salsa and crushed blue corn chips. We’ll put this into our rotation (and I”ll teach my other 2 kids to make it too!)