Tamale Pie
45 comments » 
It’s starting. Every once in a while, there’s a brief sense that fall is peeking around the corner. The way the morning sun hits the trees, or a crisp smell of evening air. It’s not overwhelming, but there’s not doubt that before we know it, it’s going to be time for jeans, hoodies, football, apple cider and pies. I’m not one to wish time away, but after so many days close to triple digits this summer, I’m more than ready for some cooler weather. Which is why, a few weeks ago, when my Chief Culinary Consultant and I were flipping through one his mom’s old cookbooks and saw a recipe for tamale pie, I was more than excited to make it. Astonishingly enough, I have never had, much less heard of, tamale pie before we happened upon that page. I’m living in a serious shell. What could I possibly not love about a chili-like filling baked with a layer of cornbread on top?! It’s quite possibly the most genius dish ever invented. Cornbread is the perfect accompaniment to chili, which makes this recipe all the more perfect. Summer be damned, bring on the chili!
I first attempted the recipe that we found in the cookbook, but the top cornbread layer ended up a complete disaster. We were able to salvage the filling and used it to make impromptu tacos. It was good, but I wasn’t in love with it. I immediately began working on round two, because the concept of the recipe was so spectacular, I knew there was a better way. In the end, I never came across a recipe that sounded like the one, so I started building my own based on my favorite flavors, ingredients and, most importantly, what was ripe in the garden! The result is one absolutely phenomenal dinner. You just can’t beat all of the bright and bold flavors in the beef filling, topped off with a thick layer of cornbread. Genius and delicious.
Two quick notes on the recipe:
- I included black olives in the recipe for two reasons: (1) they were in almost every single tamale pie recipe that I came across; and (2) my mom and Chief Culinary Consultant love them. However, I personally don’t like olives (that’s putting it mildly) and think this dish would be just fine without them, so I included them as an optional ingredient. If you love ‘em, add them! If you’re a fellow olive hater, you can totally leave them out.
- I used Monterey Jack cheese, but cheddar would also be great in this recipe, or a combination of the two. Feel free to substitute and experiment with your favorite or what you have on hand.
One year ago: Cream Cheese Brownies
Two years ago: Salted Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Four years ago: Pain Ordinaire Careme (A Daily Loaf)
Five years ago: Italian Stuffed Peppers
Tamale Pie
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
1½ pounds ground beef
1½ cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 can (14.5-ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ cup sliced black olives (optional)*
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup shredded)For the Cornbread Topping:
1½ cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, meltedDirections:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Making the Filling: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil until hot. Add the onion, green pepper and jalapeños, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the ground beef to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Once the meat is browned, add the onion mixture back to the pan. Stir in the corn, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and salt. Stir well to ensure that the spices and the tomato paste are evenly distributed. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand while preparing the cornbread topping.
4. Make the Cornbread Topping: Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the cornmeal mixture and stir together until barely incorporated.
5. Assemble & Bake the Pie: Stir the olives and shredded cheese into the beef mixture and pour it into a 9x13-inch baking dish, smoothing the top. Pour the cornbread batter over the filling, using a spatula to spread it into an even layer. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the pie to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
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haha, fellow olive hater here too! I don’t think i’ve come across any recipe that can mask the taste and texture of the olive yet. However, I will give this a try!
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What a clever idea. I always afraid to make Tamale. Turning it into a pie sounds like a plan. Your Tamale Pie looks perfect and beautiful. Can’t wait to try it.
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I love olives!! My hubby, however, hates them
This looks like such a great recipe!
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I love tamale pie!! Yours looks SO good! I’ll have to try it very soon. I agree on getting glimpses of fall, I am posting snickerdoodles! Lol
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OMG, my mom have been making tamale pie’s since I was a toddler. It’s so good!
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Beautiful, I love how thick that cornbread layer is!
I used to not eat any olives, but I’ve gotten to the point where I actually like them on pizzas and cooked in certain dishes
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What a fantastic recipe!!!
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Yummy!!
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I’ve never had anything like this before! Definitely sounds like a winner
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I have been making tamale pie since I found the recipe in a 1978 Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. I make it several times during the fall and winter. I love it, and it’s even better the second day. I serve it with a green salad and of course, some nacho chips. I’m going to give this one a try, too. Thanks
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Ha – I’m anti-olives too. This looks amazing!!! LOVE tamale ingredients…and all the better in a pie!
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Michelle,
This tamale pie looks to die for! Our readers over at Mr. Food would flip over this for sure. We’d love for you to submit a similar recipe to The Search for the Ultimate Weeknight Meal, offering a grand-prize to one lucky blogger who will tape a segment to air on national TV! If you’re interested, check out our contest page for more details. http://www.mrfood.com/Editors-Picks/Search-for-Ultimate-Weeknight-Meal-Blogger-Contest
Alexis Franzi
Editor, Mr. Food
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This looks insanely good!! I can’t wait for fall and this will absolutely be on my fall recipe list. I don’t think I can think of single person I know who wouldn’t drool over this.
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This sounds great. My mom use to make this too when I was a kid and I always loved it. I can’t wait to give it a go.
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For some reason the photos didn’t show up on my email this morning. Glad I came to the website to see the photo of this delicious dish. Such memories!
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I use a similar recipe (from Elise at Simply Recipes) and as a fellow olive hater (and raisin hater, her recipe calls for raisins), I substitute a can of drained pintos for both. Oh, and I use the “fire roasted” diced tomatoes, too. I can’t wait for it to get cooler here (Dallas) so we can start with the warm comfort foods like Tamale Pie!
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Very nice, I have to try this for my husband, it looks like a fun and delicious dinner!
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Oh I have Fall fever too! This looks wonderful. Can’t wait for the temps get cooler to make it
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I love making tamale pie! It’s totally versatile, I throw in whatever I have at the moment I decide to make it and it’s different every time!
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Here in Peru we call this “pastel de choclo” or corn cake. We make it with meat filling, but also with local cheese. There is also a sweet version, which I really don’t like, but is very popular, it has raising and is made with “chancaca” or molasses.
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Yum!! Looks delish!!
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This is a must try. Thank you for finding the right way to do it.
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This looks great! I’ll add it to my list to try this week!
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That looks so good! I wish I had a piece right now, with extra sour cream…
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This looks great! I have a similar recipe I love that has a sloppy joe base with cornbread baked on top of it: http://thefoodierd.blogspot.com/2012/03/makeover-monday-reduced-fat-sloppy-joe.html
This sounds like a great change up!
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Michelle on August 9th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Oooh, I have been wanting to make homemade sloppy joe’s!
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That tamale pie is looking really taste!
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We love this kind of meal! Especially the cornbread topping!
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I LOVE tamale pie!
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I am glad, I am not the only one, making some of the winter food although, it is still hot. I made soup which I said, I would not do until September.
Now, I think, I will make this for dinner. Thanks.
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This looks awesome — I have eaten this dish (minus the jalepeños and cumin) since childhood. My mom and grandmother always made it, and they call it Miser’s Meal. My husband is CRAZY about that dish, and being the jalepeño lover he is, I know he’ll flip for this version!
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Oh my goodness Michelle, this looks absolutely divine (and I am also more than a little tired of this heat and ready for fall!). I too tried a recipe from a cookbook for tamale pie that didn’t live up to my expectations, so I can’t wait to try yours! Yum!
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I loved it. I made a few adjustments. I did not have any jalapenos, so I added a small can of diced green chilies. I thought that the jalapenos would have been too hot for the kids to eat. Great recipe.
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Call me crazy, but I made this dish for one reason only – I had an open jar of tomato paste that I had to use quickly (that, and the combination of ingredients sounded promising). And for once, I almost didn’t tinker with the recipe… the key word being “almost”. One thing I’d like to tell anyone attempting to tackle this recipe is: don’t be afraid of the spices! At first I was taken aback: two TABLESPOONS of chili powder? But the truth is, ground meat takes to spiciness well, and the topping is very mild, so don’t hesitate and bring on the chili! I did, however, cut the amount of salt down to 1/2 of a teaspoon. All in all, it was a great dish – hearty, filling, full of flavours, not too salty, and with a perfect spicy kick. Thanks for posting this!
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LOVE, LOVE. Simply delicious. All of my favourite ingredients put together nicely. The polenta topping is a great substitute to any rice or other starch. Will be made again and again now. Many thanks for the post.
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I love your version of Tamale Pie. Yours is so much lighter than the Tamale Pie I grew up with – and your is very flavorful. I grew up on tamale pie made from masa and lard (ugh-heavy, heavy). I will try this as soon as I can turn on my oven. (115 degrees here on the AZ desert) Can’t wait to try this.
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This recipe looks great! quick question, i have a package of Martha White mexican corn bread in the cupboard, you think if i prepared that according to package and put that on top of the filling instead that would work out ok?
thanks
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Michelle on October 10th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Hi Jasmine, Definitely, just make sure that it’s for a 9×13-inch pan. If it’s only for an 8 or 9-inch square pan, you’ll need to double it.
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I just made the Tamale Pie yesterday for a potluck dinner. It was a success! Everyone loved it!
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Thanks for having a “real” recipe as far as the corn bread part goes as I looked for other recipes and was so disappointed to see them giving boxed mixes for the corn bread instead of a recipe. Most boxed mixes have a recipe already on the box. What is the point. what a relief to see your recipe. I’m making it tonight.
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Quick Question–Do you think that this can be made a day before it will be served or do you think the cornbread will get soggy? Looks fabulous!
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Michelle on February 21st, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Hi Grace, I did eat this as leftovers and while it was still good, it definitely wasn’t the same as fresh baked.
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This looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
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This is the BEST recipe and now on the cold days my boyfriend only wants me to make this! Everything is great and I had added 1 can of kidney beans which made it that much better. Also to make it easier on myself I used 1 cornbread mix from a box!
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This was delicious! I was having the same experience — so many tamale pie recipes and none of them looked just right. Until I found yours! I only had a pound of ground beef, so I added a can of pinto beans. Worked out great. The toddler loved the filling (funny little dude doesn’t much go for bread) and the grown-ups loved the whole thing. Thank you!
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