Tamale Pie with Cornmeal Crust

Tamale pie casserole recipe with ground beef or turkey covered in cornmeal topping is one of my favorite comfort foods.

More comfort foods that we love include Homemade Shepherd’s Pie, Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla Pie, and Ground Beef Enchilada Recipe.

I love this tamale pie with cornmeal topping so much.

This is similar to the tamale pie my Mom would make for us every Halloween before trick or treating.

I’m sure she made it at other times of the year too, but she ALWAYS made it on Halloween.

She was probably trying to offset the sugar with protein and veggies.  This tamale pie definitely fits the bill.

What I love about this tamale pie most, is the cornmeal topping with melted cheese on top.  Its so delicious mixed with the ground turkey, olives, tomatoes, corn, green peppers, and onions.

Tips for this dish:

1. You can use ground beef or ground turkey.  Both are fabulous.
2. The veggies are completely flexible.  I like onions, green peppers, corn and tomatoes, but you can easily change them up as you wish.
3. Freshly shredded cheese kicks the dish up a notch as opposed to pre-packaged shredded cheese.  It melts so nicely and is so creamy and delicious.
4. If you really love cornmeal crust, you can easily double the ingredients for the cornmeal.  I have done this several times and its super yummy.

Another nice aspect of this dinner is that it keeps really well in the refrigerator for lunch or dinner the next day.  There have been many times, where we will fill thermoses with leftover tamale pie for the kids’ lunches.  Such a nice warm lunch on a cool day.

Enjoy this special recipe.  Its perfect on a cool Fall or Winter evening. Comfort food at its best.

5 from 1 vote

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Tamale Pie with Cornmeal Crust

Tamale pie casserole recipe with ground beef or turkey covered in cornmeal topping is one of my favorite comfort foods.

Course Dinner

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 202 kcal

Ingredients

Meat and Veggies

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 8 oz. whole kernel corn
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 8 oz. black olives, sliced
• 1 cup colby cheese, freshly shredded

Cornmeal topping

• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 cups cold water
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

2. In large skillet, saute chopped onions and green peppers in olive oil, until softened.

3. Add meat and cook until lightly browned.   Move meat around pan with wooden spoon.

4. Add in corn, tomatoes, and olives.  Stir and simmer until mixture has thickened.

5. While meat mixture is thickening, begin to make cornmeal topping.  Combine cornmeal, salt, and cold water in medium saucepan.  Cook on medium high, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens.  Stir in butter, once mixture has thickened quite a bit.  Continue to cook, until butter has melted into cornmeal mixture.

6. Pour meat mixture into 13x9 baking dish.  Spread cornmeal topping on top of meat mixture.

7. Place pie in preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes.  At the 10 minute mark, sprinkle the freshly shredded cheese over the top of the cornmeal topping.  

8. Enjoy!!

Nutrition Facts

Tamale Pie with Cornmeal Crust

Amount Per Serving

Calories 202 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Cholesterol 39mg13%

Sodium 201mg9%

Potassium 178mg5%

Carbohydrates 8g3%

Fiber 1g4%

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin A 175IU4%

Vitamin C 8.7mg11%

Calcium 87mg9%

Iron 1.2mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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