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
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup cornmeal, finely ground
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, finely shredded
Suggested accompaniments
- sour cream
- avocado
- cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Garnish with sour cream, avocado and/or cilantro (if desired) and serve.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Red Lentil Coconut Curry from Pretty Simple Cooking
I 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.
Hello 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.
This 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.
This looks delicious and easy! What size skillet did you use?
Hi there. I’ve used both a 10″ and 12″ inch skillet.
it 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:)).
This 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!)