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Chicken tamale casserole is loaded with the flavor of tamales with none of the hard work! It’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner!
My husband had the flu this week and I served him Chicken Tamale Casserole. He sorta thought that was a mean thing for me to do.
In my defense, I asked him on Sunday if he had any special dinner requests for the week (he said no), and I did my grocery shopping Monday morning.
He came home sick and pukey and ouchy feeling on Tuesday. If he didn’t have the good grace to warn me that Mexican food would be a no-no for the week, how can he blame me?
So, I stuck with my original meal plan and I ate the crap outta some Chicken Tamale Casserole. He ate it, too, but he glared at me the whole time.
Which, let’s be honest, isn’t really anything new for me.
I have children. I tend to get glared at during most every meal. It’s part of being a mom. Unless I’m serving these fried tacos, of course. Errbody loves some fried tacos.
My son and I scarfed this down, but Chaddy (the husband, who I am sure loves it that I call him Chaddy on the internet) ate a small portion (against his will, he says), and my daughter took her required 3 bites and asked for something else. Please don’t tell anyone, but I just gave her a box of graham crackers and called it a day.
Chicken Tamale Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Cheddar cheese grated
- 4 ounces Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese grated
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 14.75 ounces cream-style corn 1 can
- 8.5 ounces corn muffin mix (Jiffy works great) 1 box
- 4 ounces chopped green chiles 1 can
- 10 ounces red enchilada sauce 1 can
- 1 pound ground chicken turkey or beef work just as well
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Combine the cheeses in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the combined cheese, the milk, egg, cumin, red pepper, corn, muffin mix, and the green chiles. Stir until just combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until just set.
- While the cornbread is baking, cook your ground chicken in a skillet over medium heat until cooked completely through. Drain, if necessary, and salt and pepper the chicken.
- Remove the cornbread from the oven and pierce all over with a fork.
- Pour the enchilada sauce over the corn bread.
- Top with the chicken and remaining cheese.
- Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro or parsley and serve.
Nutrition Information:
recipe adapted from Cooking Light
Looking for more Mexican flavors? I’ve got you covered!
Cream Cheese Chicken Enchilada Dip
Southwestern Avocado Salad Dressing
Kate says
Made this, loved every bite of it, as did the family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wendy says
I made this tonight for dinner. It was nom nom good! I served it with sour cream, and I bet it’s going to be even better tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe!
Tee says
OMG I LOVE this! The whole pan was snarfed in two days and there are only 2 of us. *tiny amount of shame* I changed out the red sauce for green and I can’t wait to make it again. THANK YOU!!!
Karly says
@Tee,
Ooh, bet it was amazing with the green sauce!
Erin says
I sent this recipe to my mom a few days ago and we just had it for dinner tonight. It’s yummy! We served it with sour cream and guacamole 😀
Rahim says
First time poster, long time reader.
I picked up most of the ingredients to make this recipe for tonight but unfortunately I was unable to find a box of corn mix muffins. Would I be able to substitute it with a basic corn muffin recipe? If so, could you or someone else advise to how much corn muffin batter I should make. Would the recipe below suffice as a substitute, both taste and portion wise?
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup milk
Thanks in advance.
Karly says
@Rahim,
Hi there! I’m sorry you couldn’t find the muffin mix. It’s located right near the flour and boxed cake mixes in most grocery stores, for future reference. 🙂
As for your recipe, it sounds yummy, but I think it will make for a thicker cornbread base than the boxed mix does. That would be just fine, but you will likely need to adjust the baking time a bit. Otherwise, this recipe (http://www.food.com/recipe/jiffy-corn-muffin-mix-copycat-345502) is supposed to be a copycat recipe for the boxed mix. It should create the same amount that I used.
Hope you enjoy your dinner! 🙂
Hannah says
Totally made this tonight and it was great. I swapped the creamed corn (didn’t have any) for some kernels and used all extra sharp cheddar cheese. My dad said, “This is like spaghetti on shortbread!” I can confirm that it does not taste like that and it is amazingly delicious.
katie says
yum! I found this through pinterest… your photo intrigued me. I will definitely be making this recipe in the near future!
JoAnna says
Fixed this recipe with the beef……DELICIOUS!
Katie says
I made this last night and can vouch – it’s delicious!! I didn’t have any creamed corn on hand so instead used a 10oz box of Green Giant nibblets in butter sauce and it came out fantastic! I also had to substitute beef for the chicken, which I think I may keep doing. This is absolutely a go to EASY dinner for me now!
Glory/ Glorious Treats says
Yum, this looks so good! I’ve been needing some new recipes to rotate into the dinner routine!
pam says
Looks SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS-LY WONDERFUL!
Deborah says
I want!!!
Cara says
Can’t wait to try but it was the all too familiar commentary that had me laughing and saying yep in making it! I agree id eat Mexican food all day everyday and I just don’t care if they go hungry anymore! The reason my husband cooks more often is because in not picky whereas he is! I was raised to clean my plate no matter what the dish!
Georgia says
That sounds sooo good. I’m adding that to my list for next week.
Joanne says
I could eat Mexican food any day, even while deathly ill. I mean…when I’m sick I NEED all that flavor to force its way to my taste buds and let me taste SOMETHING.