This recipe for tamale pie is a delectable, classic comfort food that’s ideal for chilly fall or winter nights.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 50 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch pie |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon sour cream, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef, onion, and bell pepper in the hot skillet until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
- Stir tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, olives, chili powder, garlic, cumin, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper into the skillet. Bring to a low boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup Cheddar cheese and continue to simmer until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Heat milk, butter, sugar, and salt for topping in a large saucepan over medium heat until butter has melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in cornmeal a little at a time, stirring vigorously with each addition, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Drizzle in beaten eggs slowly, stirring vigorously until combined. Pour mixture over filling in the prepared dish, smoothing evenly over the surface.
- Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow pie to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 311 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 97 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 710 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
For a church potluck today I multiplied the recipe x4 and put it in three half size steam pans. I added rinsed and drained black beans to stretch the recipe to feed more. The tamale pie was an absolute hit. Since the cornbread topping has no flour a member of the church that must eat gluten free was thrilled to be able to have some! Delicious.
Exactly what my pallet expected. I had to leave out onions due to allergy and peppers and olives due to our preference. Very good flavor. I used jiffy corn muffin mix for the top due to restricted time- definitely a repeat
I absolutely loved this. What made it different was the addition of milk, cheese and eggs to the topping. Of course you can add as many ingredients to the tamale pie as you like. I followed it to the T ❤️
Super! I had to omit bell pepper because I didn’t have any, but it was still good. I drained some of the juice from the can of tomatoes, and that’s a good idea so it won’t be too watery.
This was so good! Just like my mom used to make.
We liked this very much. I added some additional salt and pepper.
This was labor intensive, but really worth the effort. The cornmeal topping is so luscious! The only changes I made were leaving out the red pepper flakes and adding a can of mild green chilis. Definitely a keeper! Served it with a dollop of sour cream and a fresh marinated veggie salad.
I wasn’t thrilled with the cornbread topping but the rest was quite good. May use cornbread mix next time.
I used regular diced tomatoes, would try ‘petite’ next time. I would also add additional olives, maybe just halved to add extra flavor. Would also double the topping, maybe I used a pan to large, it didn’t really cover the top of the dish. But it was a great dish, I’m sure I will use it again.
This is how my mother used to make Tamale Pie when I was a child (70+ years ago). It was right on the back of the Alber’s Cornmeal box! She never added olives, (personal dislike) but I do!!! I also sometimes substitute Rotel tomatoes too! Did that for a potluck (in desperation, late at night!), and everyone loved it!!!
I read all the reviews before starting this and follow the recipe exactly but the ingredients for the “cornbread” topping are incomplete. The ratio of the milk-to-solids was *way* off so it never thickened up (my topping ended up being more like a flat, tasteless pancake). Afterwards, looking over other tamale pie recipes, it looks like this one is missing flour. The meat mixture was good but I suggest using a different recipe for the cornbread topping.
I have made this recipe 3 times now because I kept forgetting to add the egg to the cornmeal part but I have to say, either way, my family loved this recipe. The egg does make the cornmeal part nice and fluffy. I did omit the black olives in this recipe because only my husband likes them. Beans would be a good substitution. I made this in my large cast-iron skillet instead of a 9×13 skillet making it a one-dish dinner. Then we topped our tamale pie with crema. This is a recipe I have been asked to make this again.
Delicious!! I followed the recipe as it is written. We loved this casserole. Will make again.
I was looking for a recipe that didn’t use boxed cornbread and came across this. It has a very nice flavor and is easily customized to your own taste. I thought the tamale topping might not be enough but I took it to a friend’s house for a potluck and everyone thought it was great!
This was “good…” according to my 10-year-old daughter and teenage son. I pretty much followed the recipe, but substituted ground turkey for the beef (which was fine, since there was sufficient sauce and spices). Also decided to substitute a can of beans for the olives…was going to add the olives to the topping but didn’t because I was in a hurry. Maybe next time I will also consider adding some diced zucchini for extra veggies. The addition of the eggs to the cornmeal topping made for a nice, fluffy crust that had the added plus of being gluten-free. I think this is the best tamale pie recipe I ever tried!