I’m always looking for simple and easy weeknight dinner recipes that will feed my family and keep them happy, which is why I LOVE this super easy and totally cheese Chicken Tamale Casserole!
It combines all the flavors of those authentic tamales into an easy casserole dish that takes less than one hour from start to finish. Since I’m a major fan of all things Mexican food, I had no doubts that this casserole dish would come in as a success.
The base of the casserole is made with a boxed corn bread mix (like Jiffy) that’s infused with creamed corn, chili powder, cumin and a little cheese.
Once the base is done cooking you simply pour some of your favorite enchilada sauce all over the top. Toss on a some shredded chicken and a little more cheese, then let it finish baking in the oven till it’s nice a bubbly all over.
Whenever I make Mexican food it’s always garnished with fresh diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sliced black olives, chopped green onions, cilantro… I basically go all out. That’s because the more vegetation I put on my plate, the more complete the meal becomes. At least that’s how I see it. So while it’s a great meal straight out of pan… I prefer mine topped with all the trimmings.
Tomato… Tomahto…
Chicken Tamale Casserole Recipe Variations:
- Instead of shredded chicken, try shredded pork or beef.
- Add a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to the batter to give it a little kick of spice.
- Add a small can of diced green chilies and substitute chicken for sweet corn for a vegetarian option.
- Try using green enchilada sauce instead of red.
Basically this Chicken Tamale Casserole gets 5 stars from this household, and it’s definitely a recipe we will be putting in our rotation frequently.
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Chicken Tamale Casserole
Ingredients
- 8.5 oz corn muffin mix, (such as Jiffy)
- 14.5 oz cream-style corn
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 cups taco cheese blend, shredded , divided
- 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken, from rotisserie chicken
Optional Toppings:
- diced tomato
- sour cream
- shredded lettuce
- sliced black olives
- chopped green onions
- finely chopped cilantro
- salsa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch casserole dish with non stick cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the corn muffin mix, cream-style corn, eggs, milk, chili powder, cumin and 1 cup of cheese. Stir till combined then pour into the casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and use a knife to pierce the cornbread mixture several times all over. Pour the enchilada sauce all over the top of the casserole. Top with the shredded chicken and remaining cheese. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing into pieces and serving with optional toppings. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Lemon Pudding Cake
Micah
So good but I used fresh chicken that I cooked in chicken taco seasoning and added some jalapeño to the bread.
Shawn
Nice! I love the additions you made to the recipe!
Mandy
Do you think a gluten free corn bread mix would substitute for the regular muffin mix? We have one family member with gluten sensitivity and I’ve seen what happens if gluten sneaks into a dish.
Shawn
For sure! I think that would work just fine.
Ciara
Made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly but used green sauce instead of red! It was delicious! My family liked the sweetness the creamed corn added to the corn muffin mixture. Only thing I’d change next time is maybe adding a little bit of salt to the corn muffin mix to give it a little more flavor. I did have to bake the corn mixture for about 25 min vs the 20 minutes stated, but could’ve just been my oven. Thanks for the delicious recipe
Shawn
Awesome! So glad you liked it with the green sauce. I have to give that a try!
Anita
I was excited about trying this recipe, but I was very disappointed with the results.. it tasted as though we were eating sweet birthday cake with enchilada sauce and chicken, and cheese and veggies and sour cream ect.. it was not good, at all but we didn’t want to waste it so we ate as much as we could. Just being honest.
Sicia
Same here! Very disappointed. But will try switching out the cornbread mix with pre-mixed tamale corn mix (used to make tamales) from our local Hispanic store.
Connie
I was also disappointed with how it turned out. Way too sweet. I even added 1/2 tsp of cayenne to the cornbread mixture and topped it off with sliced jalapenos. I really wanted this to be good but…
Shawn
I’m sorry you found it too sweet. Might be the corn muffin mix you’re using. If you find that mix to be too sweet, you’ll probably find the same results with this recipe. I would suggest finding a brand that tastes more on the savory side.
MARY TOGNAZZINI
I USE POLENTA FOR TOPPING, JIF IS TO SWEET.
Debbie
What is the carb count
Jerry
Im cookink it now. I cant my bread ‘meal’ mixture done enough to poke holes for sauce. Put back n oven. We’ll see lol
Karen
Can you use taco sauce instead of enchilada sauce?
Scott
Absolutely fabulous made this last night added a can of green chilies to the cornbread mix and used ground beef with a pack of toco season in place of the chicken and served it with lettuce tomatoes sour cream and green onions this one is a keeper thanks so much for posting it!!!!
Shawn
Love that you made it with ground beef! So glad you enjoyed it!
Lora L Cotton
Im gonna try making this WITHOUT the corn, by making the cornbread per pkg directions and just pouring that on top.
Lora Cotton
This looks absolutely DELISH! But there is one small problem…my husband cannot ear corn. Is there something else that could be used in place of the creamed corn??? TIA
Shawn
He would probably have an issue with the corn muffin mix as well. I would maybe skip this recipe and try for something else like my Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet (omitting the corn of course).
Lora L Cotton
Actually, Shawn, his corn restriction is more due to diverticulitis, so it’s actually the KERNEL that is the problem -he can’t eat onions, seeds, nuts or corn – because they tend to get caught in the diverticuli and as the intestine squeezes, these things become caught and then to decompose, which causes infection = diverticulitis. So the only corn he CAN have is corn meal.
Rachel
Can I leave out the corn?
Amy
I was wondering the same thing. Can you leave out the corn?
sue hubbard
what about just blending the corn down even further so there are not any actual kernels left before adding in, but still flavor? i dont know what that would do to the consistency of the dish, but just a thought.
Patricia Ann Moore
This is so easy and delicious! I made it with ground beef a few weeks ago and today I made it with chicken. Both delicious!!!
Debbie
OMG, this is sooooo good! I made it last week and again this week. I did add a second can of enchilada sauce and added more cheese. It is super easy to make. Can’t wait to make it again for our neighbors when we all get together.
Suzette
When would you add the green chilies?
joanne anderson
Made it for Sunday dinner for the family. It was big hit. I boiled skinless chicken breasts in water with some mexican spices, then shredded it myself.
Also, once it was baking after I added the chicken and cheese etc.. I caked it for 10 minutes and it looked dry, so I took it out put another layer of enchilada sauce on top of the first layer of cheese, then I added another layer of cheese and baked it for another 10 minutes at 375. It was great. Served sour cream, olives, salsa, guacamole, we also had salad and homemade Sangria. A great easy dinner! Thank for the recipe!!!
Shawn
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it!
Heather
I made this for our weekly Sunday Supper and it was AMAZING!!! Exactly the same texture as if I’d made tamales – the flavour was spot on and delicious!!! I can’t wait to make it again! I hope you don’t mind if I feature it on my blog?
Shawn
Love it! So glad you guys enjoyed it!
John
Thank you for the recipe where or when would I add a can of diced green chilies?
Jillian Conley
I’m making this tonight, and adding them to the corn/cornbread mixture. You could also mix them with the enchilada sauce I would think, or add them to the shredded chicken 🙂
Jessica
Think it could still work if I put diced chicken in with the mix instead of after the enchilada sauce? I’m trying to make about 6x the amount and only have diced chicken to work with.
Shawn
Is the chicken cooked already? If not, I would just precook the chicken, as I’m not sure how long it would take to bake AND cook the chicken at the same time.
Christine Gerhardt
It says in the recipe to use already cooked chicken.
Reeda
Trying this tonight
Shawn
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!
Susan
Do you think this would be a good freezer meal it after cooking the cornbread and adding the other ingredients it was cooled then frozen before the final cooking process?
Kathey Reed
I think I will use ground beef after we try the chicken.Some green chilies sound good for this also..
Stephanie Ford
Can I use one egg even though it calls for two eggs?
chels23
I made this last night for my boyfriend and I and it was delicious! I added more cheese on top because I wanted it to cover the whole casserole. I highly recommend this dish. Tasted just like a tamale which he loves! Thanks for the recipe!
Zozo
I love it !! can’t wait to try it this weekend 🙂
Moira C
FYI…I only had one can of chicken from Costco on hand so I added a can of black beans for the topping part and it came out wonderfully. I think this recipe has a lot of flexibility for vegetarian, seafood, beef, pork… Good stuff!
ball
Thank you for share.I like eat chicken very must.
Maria G.
I always wanted to make a casserole but I always thought that this dish is something similar to lasagna. It seems to be nourishing and it consists of the favorite products of my kids I hope they will love it!
Chels R.
This looks totally delish!
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious
I gotta make this! My kids would fight me for it..
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
Wow!!! I want to come over for dinner!! This looks amazing!!!
Lisa @ Wine & Glue
This looks awesome, Shawn!! I LOVE tamales. I have been known to eat them for all three meals in one day. I wish I was kidding. I can’t wait to try this! Pinning!
CTY
Sounds like a winner. I’m changing it up a bit (halved the recipe) and will be making it an iron skillet. Will be pairing it with Cuban style black beans.
Tess @ Tips on Healthy Living
This looks like a delicious Tex-Mex recipe! Since I like my food pretty spicy, would you recommend also add jalapenos?
Lori @ RecipeGirl
This looks like an easy and quick casserole – I will save this recipe for a weeknight when I don’t have much time!
Emily
This is a Taco Tuesday dish for sure!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
Now this is a casserole! It looks so creamy and flavorful!