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This easy Tamale Pie combines all of the delicious flavor of homemade tamales with an easy to make recipe. Enjoy a tamale pie casserole for dinner this week.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you have never heard of tamale pie, it is just like a traditional tamale, but the ingredients are baked in a casserole. So instead of wrapping all of the meat and seasoning inside a masa filled corn husk, you layer in in a dish with a delicious corn meal crust. Sort of like a tamale pot pie! So if you love the flavors of a tamale, and want an easy way to enjoy them for dinner this week, Tamale Pie is the answer.
I make my tamale pie in my cast iron pan which makes it feel even more like comfort food to me. But you can also do it in a glass casserole dish. I like tamales but I am not a fan of a really thick layer of corn meal. So this version of Tamale Pie was perfect for me. You get a yummy meat mixture in between two thin layers of cornmeal. Another thing I love about this recipe is it is gluten free!
If you are a big fan of thick cornmeal I would suggest doubling the recipe for the cornmeal layer so it will be thicker. The trick with your cornmeal layer is to make sure it is really, thick – more like stiff! Cook it on the stove until it gets nice and stiff.
Ingredients Needed
- Ground Beef
- Onion
- Green Pepper
- Tomato Sauce
- Petite Cut Tomatoes
- Sliced Black Olives
- Garlic
- Sugar
- Cumin
- Chili Powder
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Yellow Cornmeal
- Butter
- Water
How to Make Tamale Pie
- Brown beef with onion, green pepper and garlic.
- Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, olives, sugar, and seasonings
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer until liquid is gone and mixture has thickened.
- Combine cornmeal, salt, chili powder and water.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently until stiff.
- Put 1/3 of mixture into bottom of cast iron pan or casserole dish.
- Add meat mixture to the cast iron skillet.
- Top with remaining cornmeal crust.
- Bake at 375 F for 30-35 minutes.
Check out more of my favorite casserole recipes:
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Tamale Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 C chopped onion
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2 15 oz. cans petite cut tomatoes
- 1 4 oz. can sliced black olives
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp chili powder
- dash of black pepper
Cornmeal Crust I suggest doubling this
- 3/4 C yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 C cold water
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Brown beef with onion, green pepper and garlic.
- Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, olives, sugar, and seasonings
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer until liquid is gone and mixture has thickened
Cornmeal Crust
- Combine cornmeal, salt, chili powder and water.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently until stiff.
- Put 1/3 of mixture into bottom of cast iron pan or casserole dish
- Add meat mixture
- Top with remaining cornmeal crust.
- Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes
Nutrition Facts:
VICKIE MITCHELL says
I used one can diced tomatoes and one can rotel tomatoes for the spice! I doubled the corn meal but I left it a little thinner so it would spread. This will definitely be prepared again. The family loved it.