Texas Tamale Pie with a Cornmeal and Cheese Topping

Preview: Dig into this Texas Tamale Pie with a Cornmeal and Cheese Topping. The pie includes a layer of ground beef, corn, tomato sauce, and beans with a layer of cornbread over the top. No special occasion is required.

Do you love Tex-Mex food? If so, you’re going to go crazy for this Texas Tamale Pie with a scratch cornmeal crust. Serve it with avocados or guacamole, chopped tomatoes, and chips if you want to go all out.

You might expect this casserole to taste like tamales judging by the name. However, it’s not exactly like that. It’s more of a chili-flavored meat mixture with corn, beans, and olives added. Top it with a cornmeal crust (like cornbread) and cheese, and you’ve got a treat!

The recipe makes a lot (2 pounds of ground beef), but it’s easy to cut in half, which is how I usually make it.

I’m not much for processed foods, but there are exceptions.  For example, making Tamale Pie is a lot easier if you use canned beans.

Even though this recipe involves cans of tomato sauce and canned beans, the cornbread topping is made from scratch. Compared to using a mix, this makes for a fresher taste in my book.

The cornbread layer is also not as thick as in many tamale pie recipes. I like it that way–it keeps the whole creation from becoming too dry.

I’m constantly tweaking my recipes because I frequently make what I publish on this website for my family. Over the years, I’ve added cheese on top and sour cream to the cornmeal topping. I also use tomato sauce instead of tomato soup. I hope you like it.

Ingredients and substitutions:

• GROUND BEEF: My ground beef of choice is an 85/15 blend. This ratio translates to only 15% fat, so I rarely have to drain it after browning.
  
  Substitute hot ground breakfast sausage for the beef to add more flavor.
  
• TOMATO SAUCE: I used to use tomato soup. However, I’ve found that using tomato sauce makes the whole casserole moister with no change in flavor.
  
• SEASONINGS: Adjust the seasonings to your tastes, especially the chili powder.  I like to substitute smoky chipotle powder for some of the chili powder. 
  
• OLIVES: The olives add personality and salt to the party in this casserole. Olive haters can leave them out.
  
  Substituting green olives for black olives will change the character of this recipe, so I don’t recommend it.
  
• CORN: Use fresh, frozen, or canned corn.
  
• BEANS: My favorite beans for this recipe are Ranch-Style beans, pinto beans, black beans, or kidney beans, in that order.
  
• CORNMEAL: Either yellow cornmeal or white cornmeal is fine.
  
• BUTTERMILK, SOUR CREAM, or MILK: You have choices. 100% buttermilk or yogurt, 50% sour cream and 50% milk, or 50 % buttermilk and 50% sour cream.
  
• CHEESE: The cheese is for sprinkling on top if you desire. A good melty cheese like Colby, Monterrey Jack, or sharp Cheddar would work. I use a combination of whatever I can find in the fridge. If you aren’t a cheese lover, leave the cheese off.

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How to make a Tamale Pie with a Cornmeal and Cheese Crust:

How to assemble the cornmeal layer:

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Texas Tamale Pie with a Cornmeal and Cheese Topping

This spicy mixture of ground beef, tomato sauce, corn, and beans is the layer beneath a delicious cornmeal topping sprinkled liberally with cheese before baking.

Paula Rhodes

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 15 mins

Course Beef

Servings 10 servings

Ingredients

Meat Layer

• 1-2 large onions - chopped
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 4 cans - 8 oz each tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 teaspoons garlic - minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder - use less if you don’t like spicy
• ½ cup ripe olives - sliced
• 1 ½ cup canned or frozen corn
• 2 cans ranch style or pinto beans - undrained

Cornmeal Topping

• ½ cup all-purpose flour - 60 gr
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon soda
• ¾ cup cornmeal - yellow or white (117 gr)
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2-4 ounces of shredded Colby - Jack, or Cheddar cheese

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Instructions

 

Meat Layer:

• Brown onion and meat. Drain off any fat.
• Add remaining ingredients and pour into two 2-quart greased casseroles or one 9 x 13-inch pan and cover.
• Bake at 325˚F for 1 to 1¼ hours.

Cornbread Topping:

• Combine the first five ingredients in a small bowl.
• Add the milk, sour cream, egg, and vegetable oil. Stir just until combined. Remove the hot casserole from the oven. Spread the cornbread batter evenly over the top. Bake uncovered at 425˚F for 20 minutes. Serves 10 to 12.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 423kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 21gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 637mgPotassium: 433mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 998IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 125mgIron: 3mg

Keyword beans, corn, cornbread, meat pie, tamale pie, Tex-Mex

Cuisine Tex-Mex

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