Tamale Pie Recipe
Perfect Tamale Pie Recipe – Our spicy tamale pie feeds a crowd with big flavors, and is much easier to make than traditional tamales. Your family will love this gluten free tamale-inspired pot pie!
Why We Love This Gluten Free Tamale Pie Recipe
Tamale-making is a ridiculously daunting process. I have made tamales before, but it is not something that I make regularly because they take so long to make!
But you know what I have made again and again? This Perfect Tamale Pie Recipe. What I lovingly call my tamale pot pie recipe is not authentic in the least. However, it is:
- Quick to prepare
- Easy to assemble
- Gluten-free
- And offers the essence of good tamales.
You’ve got a masa (corn flour) coating, that bakes into a pillowy tamale-like top. You’ve got spiced meaty filling that balances out the sweetness of the corn topping and is perfectly savory. And the best part, is you’ve got fewer supplies involved, less cleanup, and much less cook time.
Tamale Pie Ingredients
This easy tamale recipe packs lots of flavor, but is wonderfully simple and quick to make with many ingredients you probably keep in your regular rotation.
Here’s what you need for the meat mixture filling:
- Ground beef
- Sweet onion – peeled and chopped
- Red bell pepper – seeded and chopped
- Garlic cloves – minced
- Frozen corn, thaw and drain
- Canned crushed tomatoes
- Canned chopped green chiles
- Cornstarch
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Salt
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Ingredients for the tamale cornbread topping:
- Cornflour – masa
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Chicken broth
- Melted butter
- Shredded cheddar cheese
How to Make Tamale Pie
This crowd-pleaser of a meal is ready in less than an hour, from start to finish. You’ve probably made similar pot pie-like dinners such as this in one skillet, and you will certainly want to make an easy tamale recipe as one of your go-to favorites!
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, and spray one large cast iron skillet, or two 9″ pie pans with non-stick spray.
Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Push to the side once crumbled and cooked through, and add chopped onion, bell pepper, and minced garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the onion has softened.
Add frozen corn, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, corn starch, seasonings, and shredded cheese. Stir well and turn off the heat.
Next, make the gluten-free cornbread batter by mixing the corn flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add in the chicken broth and melted butter, and whisk until smooth. Finally, stir in the shredded cheese.
Spoon the meat filling evenly between the two prepared pie pans, or leave it in a cast iron skillet. Pour the corn topping batter over the pies, using a spatula to spread it to the edges of the pans.
Bake for 30-45 minutes until slightly brown on the top and an inserted toothpick comes out of the tamale pie topping clean.
Serve hot with any of your favorite sides and toppings, like green onions and sour cream.
Get The Full (Printable) Recipe Below this Gluten Free Tamale Pie Recipe. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
- Add extra ingredients! You can add some additional filling ingredients like black beans, pinto beans or black olives!
- If you like it extra spicy, add in some diced jalapeño or a dash of cayenne pepper. You can also serve your portion of tamale pie with your favorite salsa or hot sauce!
- If you don’t have corn flour, you can also just cornmeal or corn muffin mix, but each will have a different texture.
- If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can make the meat mixture in a different kind of oven safe pan, or transfer it to an oven safe dish before baking with the corn masa mixture on top!
Serving Suggestions
Tamale pie is a complete meal on its own, but is delicious served with some side dishes and toppings to make it extra special! Here are some of my favorite things to serve with it:
- Guacamole
- Sour Cream
- Red Salsa or Green Salsa
- Cotiija Cheese
- Cilantro
- Creamy Chimichurri Sauce
- Refried Beans
- Chimichurri Tomato Salad
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do Leftovers Last?
You can keep these leftovers in the refrigerator either wrapped well with a layer of plastic wrap or in an airtight container for 3 to 4 day days. Leftovers do need to be stored in the fridge.
Can Tamale Pies Be Frozen?
Yes, this recipe is excellent for meal prepping! But NOTE: If you are making these tamale pot pies in advance to freeze, DO NOT bake beforehand. Pour the corn batter on top of the pies and place in the freezer uncovered for one hour to allow the topping to harden. Then, wrap well with plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil, and place back in the freezer for up to 3 months.
See the complete recipe below for reheating tips!
Could I Make This Recipe With Chicken or Turkey?
Absolutely! You can make the perfect tamale pies with different meant variations like ground turkey or ground chicken. Also, use precooked rotisserie chicken to cut back on cooking time for the first part of the recipe. Add it in before adding the corn topping.
Or, thoroughly sauté cut up bite-sized boneless and skinless chicken breast pieces before adding the other ingredients.
How Can I Make Vegan / Vegetarian Tamale Pot Pies?
This tamale-inspired recipe can easily be made vegetarian-friendly by swapping out your favorite legumes, such as cooked lentils or canned garbanzo beans, in place of the ground beef, and subbing vegetable broth.
To make this recipe vegan as well, use your preferred shredded cheese substitute and swap cooking oil in place of the melted butter to make the gluten free tamale pie topping.
Looking for More Easy Comfort Dinners? Be Sure to Also Try:
- One-Pot Shrimp Black Bean Rice Skillet
- King Ranch Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Skillet
- Stuffed Fiesta Cornbread Casserole
- Skinny Chicken Fajita Soup Recipe
- Baked Spaghetti Pie Recipe
Check the printable recipe card below for the prep time, cook time, and nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, fiber, vitamin c, and calcium percentages.
Perfect Tamale Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes (1 can)
- 4 ounces chopped green chiles (1 can)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
For the Tamale Top:
- 2 1/4 cups corn flour (masa)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2+ cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch pie pans, one 9 X 13 inch baking dish, or a 12-14 inch cast iron skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place a large saute pan (or cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Add the ground beef and break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Brown the meat, then push it to the sides of the pan and add the chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until the onions have softened. Then mix in the frozen corn, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, cornstarch, chile powder, cumin, salt and cheese. Stir well and turn off the heat.
- Meanwhile, mix the corn flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add in the chicken broth and butter. Whisk until smooth. Then stir in the cheese.
- Pour the meat filling into the prepared pans. (If you cooked the filling in a cast-iron skillet, you can leave it in the pan.) Pour (or scoop) the corn batter evenly over the top and spread to the edges of the pans. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the corn batter comes out clean. Serve warm!
This is definitely the perfect Tamale Pie! I made this last night and it was SO good! Tastes just like tamales (when you do the masa for the topping). I will definitely be making this again and again!
Loved this recipe – so easy & tasty! Used a boxed cornbread mix and it all came together nicely. I’ll try again for Super Bowl Sunday and sub Frito chips and cheese instead of the cornbread – I’m convinced it’ll be like a Frito Pie. Ha!
It was so good! I used 3 cups chicken broth and 6 tbsp butter with the masa, plus about 2 tbsp sugar. It mixed up beautifully and was thin enough to pour but not too thin. Only had 1 lb ground beef so I added 1 can black beans. I increased the onion and decreased the cheese slightly. Used a 9×13 Pyrex dish and baked about 30-40 minutes. Baked on a Sunday night, refrigerated, reheated portions in the microwave Monday night and it was great. We are going to eat it s few more days so I’ll see how it holds up. I’ve never made this or real tamales before so I have nothing to compare but I thought it was easy to make and so delicious. My very picky kids said it was ok, which is good for them, and they ate every bite without complaint. Thank you!
Can you use cornbread mix (make it as directed) and just bake on top?
Yes, thats what I did and it worked perfectly. Used Jiffy brand, but should have used 2 boxes (didn’t look at how many muffins it makes) to cover the whole thing. It needed a little more bake time than listed on the box – I’m assuming from the moisture underneath, but it was super delicious.
The proportion of broth to masa was a bit off. I only added about 3/4 of the mass mix to the broth and I knew if I added the full amount it would be unspreadable.
This recipe is delicious, and what I call “forgiving.” It’s easy to customize it by removing/adding/exchanging the ingredients a bit without straying too far from the original. I doubled the green pepper just because I like it so much. One thing for sure is that it takes A LOT LONGER THAN 10 MINUTES of prep time to make this — I spent nearly 2 hours putting it together . . . and it was worth every minute.
Thank you! I also spent nearly two hours making this! And the masa proportions were off for me too. I had to add a lot of more broth and water, and I’m still afraid it’s not liquid enough, but I guess I’ll find out in half an hour:)
I made this for our annual pie night and it was a huge hit. I added a can of olives because it just seemed wrong not to. 😆 Also, I covered the pan in tin foil and left it in the warm oven for 20 minutes and it steamed it giving the topping an even more tamale like texture. But those were the only changes I made. The flavor was spot on and it tasted just like the authentic tamales we buy from the roadside stand. Everyone loved it and asked for the recipe.
If I prepare this in two 9 inch pie pans, how long does it take to bake one 9 inch pie? I would like to freeze the other pie for another time.
Hi Joyce!
Bake for about 30 minutes for just one pie. Make sure to thaw the other pie before baking. :)
Excellent! Went crazy with doubling everything for the filling, added green bell, black beans, black olives(big family, stretches the meat and meals). Used pulled pork for the meat. Loved the tamale top. I’m freezing half the filling without the cheese to pull out for upcoming postpartum. Oh we skipped the cornstarch in the filling (wasn’t needed) and I used leaf lard for the butter in the topping, because we are out of butter, whoops. Looking forward to the freezer meal!
This is my go to easy dinner. I like to half the meat and add a can of rinsed/drained kidney beans. I also double the spices and use new Mexican red chili instead of regular chili powder. When making the crust I add a teaspoon of cumin as well. I’ve made this vegan by doing a mix of kidney, black, and pinto beans. Everyone who has tried it has loved it. It’s been one of my favorites for years. If you are reheating it in the microwave you can add a splash of water to rehydrate the masa. It tends to get dry after a while.
Never seen corn or veggies in a tamale before. I’ll give it a try.
Great recipe, we’re in the middle of a kitchen remodel so a one pan meal is ideal. I substituted the ground meat with some left over smoked brisket and cooked to whole thing on my grill (no oven yet).
Turned out amazing, definite do over. Next time I’m going to add black beans, meant to this time but forgot.
Thanks for sharing.
I love this recipe. So easy to make, easy to adjust to whatever veggies I have, there’s one leftover to freeze, AND it’s delicious!!