Tamale Pie

5 from 4 votes

Tamale Pie was at its peak in the 70's when casseroles were the thing. Today it's still perfect for weeknight dinners, meals to boost a friend, and great for leftover lunch. Best the day it's baked but you can assemble the Tamale Pie up to a day ahead and then bake it just before serving.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Course: Casserole, Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Tex Mex

Servings: people

Calories: 362kcal

Author: Sally Humeniuk

Equipment

9" x 9" casserole dish or similar (two quart capacity)
1 saute pan 12-inch
1 sharp knife for cutting vegetables
1 Cheese grater

Ingredients

Tamale Pie

1 medium onion yellow or white, diced
1 small green bell pepper diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey, or black beans
1 12-ounce can yellow corn or fresh corn from two ears corn
1 cup black olives sliced, more or less. Optional if desired
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2-3 tsp chili powder to taste. 3 doesn't make it too spicy
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper more or less to taste
6 ounces sharp cheddar or favorite cheese, grated

For the Cornmeal crust

¾ cup yellow cornmeal
½ tsp sea salt
2 cups cold water
1 tbsp butter plus more to add after baking, if desired

Instructions

Saute ingredients for the Tamale Pie

In a medium saute pan, cook onion, green bell pepper, and garlic over medium heat until the pepper is softened and onion is translucent.
Add ground beef, breaking up and cooking with the vegetables until most pink is gone.
Add corn, olives, tomato sauce, sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir and simmer a couple minutes until well combined. Simmer over medium-low to medium heat for about 20 minutes, until mixture is thickened.
Add cheese, stir till melted. Turn mixture into greased 9x9x2-inc baking dish or similar 2-quart capacity pan. The larger the dimension, the thinner the meat mixture will be in the pie.

Prepare the cornmeal topping

In a small sauce pan heated to medium-high heat, add cornmeal, salt, and cold water. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, adjusting temp if boiling too much. Add butter and mix well.
Spread the cornmeal mixture over top, not too thick or the inside of the topping won't cook.
Bake in 375℉ oven, uncovered for about 40 minutes until the filling is bubbly around the edges and the top is beginning to craggle. At this time you can add up to an additional 2 tablespoons butter to the top. Return to the oven and bake additionally until the butter has melted well.
Let rest 5-10 minutes then serve. Leftovers may be covered and refrigerated up to 3 days.

Notes

We prefer the tamale pie the day it is baked, but you can assemble everything except the cornmeal topping and refrigerate for a day. Then make the cornmeal topping and proceed as instructed.
Additional ingredients that are also tasty in the Tamale Pie- Red bell pepper (in place of or addition to the green pepper), minced jalapeno peppers, cayenne pepper or hot sauce, diced russet potatoes.

Nutrition