This tamale pie recipe is a quick and easy Tex-Mex meal. Baked in a skillet with fluffy jalapeño cornbread, juicy ground turkey, black beans, corn, and cheese, it has all the flavor of homemade tamales without the extra work!
Our house goes crazy for this Mexican-inspired casserole, and I think yours will, too. Also, try my taco casserole, Frito pie, and fiesta chicken casserole.
My family could eat tamales every week (and Tex-Mex dinners in general, like tacos, burritos, and enchiladas). But on busy nights, there just isn’t enough time for all that hands-on wrapping and steaming, which is why I’m a big fan of tamale pie. This recipe brings together seasoned ground turkey, chilies, corn, and melty Mexican cheese in an easy-to-make cornbread tamale casserole.
It’s done in a skillet in under an hour, and my kids are pretty much guaranteed to eat anything with taco seasoning, so this make-ahead casserole is always a hit. It’s filling on its own, or I’ll make a side of quick Instant Pot Mexican rice.
Once cooled, tamale pie slices nicely and feeds a large family. It’s such an easy and adaptable Mexican-inspired dinner. You’re going to love it!
Why the Whole Family Loves This Tamale Pie Recipe
- Almost one skillet. This easy tamale pie is a family-friendly dinner with juicy ground turkey, black beans, jalapeños, and convenient corn muffin mix. It gets layered in one pan, so cleaning up is quick afterward.
- A flavor-packed shortcut. This cornbread tamale pie has all the flavor you love in classic tamales without the extra work of assembling them.
- Freezer-friendly leftovers. Leftovers store, freeze, and reheat well. This Tex-Mex skillet dinner is a great comfort food recipe for lunches and meal prep.
Ingredients You’ll Need
These are the ingredients needed for this cheesy tamale pie recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Cheese – Melty Mexican-style cheeses like Oaxaca and Asadero cheese are great if you can find them. The texture will be better if you grate the cheese fresh, but I’ve made this recipe with a shredded Mexican cheese blend (like Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Colby), and that also works well.
- Milk – Any kind will do.
- Egg – Adding an egg helps bind the spicy cornbread mixture.
- Corn Kernels – Canned sweet corn kernels, drained. You could also use frozen corn or shave the kernels from leftover cooked corn on the cob.
- Green Chiles – Canned green chiles, also drained. Choose hot or mild depending on how spicy you’d like your casserole. Another option is to chop up a fresh jalapeño. I recommend removing the seeds, then, to tame the heat.
- Taco Seasoning – I usually use a 1-ounce package of taco seasoning, such as Old El Paso. If you have a homemade spice blend, that would also be delicious.
- Corn Muffin Mix – Using a box of corn muffin mix, like Jiffy, makes this weeknight casserole extra convenient. You can also make this tamale pie with cornbread or spoon bread batter made from scratch if you have time. Note that cornmeal alone does not work as a substitute here.
- Ground Turkey – I make this tamale pie a little leaner with ground turkey instead of the usual ground beef. You can absolutely use ground beef or ground chicken (or shredded chicken), whichever you have on hand. The recipe is very flexible like that.
- Black Beans – Optional. Feel free to leave out or swap black beans with kidney beans or pinto beans. If you’re using canned beans, drain and rinse them.
- Enchilada Sauce – Red enchilada sauce from your favorite brand or homemade. This tamale casserole also works nicely with green enchilada sauce if you prefer.
How to Make Tamale Pie
Rather than baking the cornbread layer on top, I bake it underneath the ground turkey tamale filling. This way, it soaks up the flavor and creates a sort of cornbread “crust” that makes this pie thick and sliceable. Make sure to use an oven-safe skillet. If you don’t have one, use a baking dish instead.
- Prepare the cornbread layer. Mix the shredded cheese, milk, egg, green chiles, seasoning, and cornbread muffin mix in a bowl. Spread this mixture into a greased 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes, until set.
- Make the filling. Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey in a separate skillet. Then, stir in the black beans, followed by the enchilada sauce.
- Assemble and bake. Using a fork, poke the cornbread all over. Pour the turkey filling evenly on top, and add a layer of shredded cheese. Bake again for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve warm, and enjoy!
Variations
What I love most is that it’s easy to adapt this tamale pie with ground beef instead of turkey, for example, along with different veggies and seasonings.
- Protein: Substitute lean ground beef, chicken, or a mix of ground meats for ground turkey. This recipe is also a great way to use up salsa verde chicken, pork carnitas, or leftover taco meat. You can just reheat the meat and stir in the black beans and enchilada sauce.
- Extra veggies: If you have them on hand, go ahead and add diced onion, bell peppers, or garlic to the ground meat.
- Adapt the chiles: Swap fresh chopped jalapeño, serrano, or poblano peppers for canned green chiles. For extra spice, add cayenne, chili powder, or chili flakes to the ground turkey mixture. You can also leave out the chile altogether for a milder dish.
FAQ
If you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, you can bake this tamale pie in a glass or ceramic pie dish. A square baking dish will also work.
Yes. Double the recipe for a 9×13-inch casserole.
Absolutely. I do recommend using very lean ground beef so that you won’t have too much fat in the pan. Of course, you can drain the fat, but it just makes it easier to use lean meat.
YES! This tamale pie is a great meal prep recipe that freezes like a dream. In this case, I recommend assembling it in a casserole dish so you don’t have to freeze your skillet.
Traditional Mexican tamales are a dish made from seasoned masa (corn dough), wrapped inside a corn husk with ingredients like pork or chicken, and then steamed.
What to Serve With Tamale Pie
I serve this tamale casserole topped with sour cream, avocado, tomato, and shredded lettuce. If you’d like, set out the toppings in separate bowls. Everyone can customize their pie slices, taco night-style! For an easy side, try this Southwestern Cobb salad, Southwestern quinoa salad, chicken taquitos, or tortilla chips and avocado salsa.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate. Store leftover tamale pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheat. Warm up the pie in a 350ºF oven, or you can reheat individual slices in the microwave.
- Freeze. I recommend portioning servings into individual meal prep containers or freezing your tamale pie in a freezer-safe baking dish. Double-wrap the casserole and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the pie in the fridge before reheating.
More Tex-Mex Dinners to Love
Tamale Pie
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Description
With ground turkey, black beans, cheese, and jalapeño cornbread, this tamale pie recipe has all the flavor of tamales without the extra work. It’s a quick and easy Tex-Mex dinner the whole fam loves!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup grated Mexican style cheese, divided
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 (15.25 ounce) can corn, drained
- 1 (4.5 ounce) can green chiles drained
- 1 (1 ounce package) taco seasoning
- 1 (8.5 ounce package) corn muffin mix
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 10 ounces red enchilada sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Coat a 10- inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup cheese, milk, egg, corn, green chiles, taco seasoning, and muffin mix. Stir until combined.
- Spread this mixture into the prepared skillet and bake for 15 minutes, or until the center is set.
- Meanwhile, in another skillet, cook the ground turkey on medium heat until it’s done and no pink remains. Add in the black beans and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Add the enchilada sauce to the mix and stir to combine. Remove from the heat until ready to use.
- When the corn muffin mixture is set, use a fork to liberally poke holes across the entire surface. Pour the turkey mixture on top of the corn.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately with sour cream, avocado, tomato, and lettuce, if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 402
- Sugar: 5.3 g
- Sodium: 1379.5 mg
- Fat: 13.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.1 g
- Protein: 25.9 g
- Cholesterol: 75.8 mg
Any substitutes for the cornbread mix? Maybe corn meal?
Ahh no, cornmeal won’t work, although you can make your own cornbread batter and use that!
I made this again last night, & just had to come back & tell you how much I LOVE it! I had seconds (& I never have seconds) because I just couldn’t bear to be done eating it. 😛 I didn’t even put any toppings on it (usually I like salsa & sour cream on my Mexican dishes) because the flavor was just amazing on its own. I used a glass pie dish because I don’t have a skillet for the oven, & it worked perfectly. I also added some chopped onion in w/ the meat since I had some extra in the fridge, & we love onion.
Made this last night for supper & my picky hubby & I both loved it! Win win! This will definitely be a regular for week nights.
Finally got around to making this last night – HUGE hit with my hubby and boys! (they are 16 and 12) Everyone loved it and said to definitely keep the recipe 🙂 Thanks!!
This is definitely my family’s kind of dinner! And love that it’s a one skillet dinner too.
Can’t wait to try this! Could I use a glass pie dish instead?