An easy way to have the flavors of tamales on a weeknight, this Chicken Tamale Casserole is super easy and packed with flavor.
If you love a good, Mexican inspired chicken dinner, also check out these Chicken Chilaquiles, Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas, or Smothered Chicken Burritos.
I grew up in New Mexico, so I have a natural love of Mexican food. So when I see a Mexican inspired recipe, I always want to jump right in and try it.
This recipe isn’t really a true tamale pie, mostly a quick way to get those same flavors you would get from a tamale pie or from tamales.
I especially love how fast and easy it is – perfect for a weeknight dinner. And the leftovers are delicious, as well!
Ingredients
- Cheese: I like to use cheddar cheese, but feel free to use a Mexican blend, colby jack, or monterey jack.
- Cream Style Corn: I have only ever made this with cream style corn. I like the texture and flavor it gives. I have had someone say they used regular canned corn with success, though.
- Corn Muffin Mix: I usually use Jiffy, although it will add a bit of sweetness. I have actually really grown to love that sweetness, but if it’s not for you, choose a brand of corn muffin mix that doesn’t have any sweetness.
- Green Chiles: These add lots of flavor without really adding heat.
- Milk: I use 2% milk.
- Eggs: You’ll want to use large eggs.
- Cumin & Chili Powder: You can up the spice amount by increasing the chili powder, or by using a cayenne pepper.
- Enchilada Sauce: Make sure you use a brand that you love, as the flavor will really come through.
- Cooked, shredded or cubed chicken: I make this shredded chicken ahead of time and keep in on hand to make recipes like this one a breeze!
How to Make Chicken Tamale Casserole
Mix part of the cheese, the corn, corn muffin mix, green chiles, milk, eggs, cumin and chili powder.
Pour it into a baking dish and bake just until set.
Remove from the oven and pierce the top with a fork.
Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the casserole, letting it soak in.
Top with the chicken, then the cheese, and return the dish to the oven. Bake until set and the cheese is melted.
Tips and Tricks
I like to top this with sour cream and cilantro, but you could also add salsa, avocadoes, tomatoes, lettuce, or guacamole.
Make sure to let the finished casserole sit for 5 minutes before slicing so that it will set up.
Switch it up and use ground beef or beef barbacoa instead of the chicken.
You can also use green enchilada sauce instead of red!
More Easy Chicken Dinners
Chicken Crescent Rolls
BBQ Chicken Wraps
Chicken Tetrazzini
Chicken Chimichanga Recipe
White Chicken Enchiladas
Coconut Curry Chicken
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Chicken Tamale Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1 (14.75 oz) can cream style corn
- 1 (8.5 oz) box corn muffin mix
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground chili powder
- 1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
- 2 cups cooked shredded or diced chicken
- Sour cream and cilantro for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the cheese with the corn, muffin mix, green chiles, milk, eggs, cumin, and chili powder. Stir just until combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or just until set. Remove from the oven.
- Pierce the top with a fork or with a skewer liberally. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle the chicken over the top, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Return the dish to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and let the casserole sit for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.
Suz’Ana says
This is so delicious! I will put it in my favorite recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Windy says
This is delicious!!!! If you enjoy the combination of cornbread, cheese, chicken and red sauce…you will want seconds!
Deborah says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Brandi says
Made this tonight and my family LOVED IT!!!!
I made some changes simply because I didn’t have some ingredients. I used green enchilada sauce and I didn’t have creamed corn so I mixed frozen corn with cream of chicken soup. Huge hit with the family. I’ll make it per the recipe next time to see if we like it just the same.
asfre fgorgh says
Made this tonight and the only things I changed were: green enchilada sauce because that’s what I prefer, and no canned chilis because they would have been too spicy for my 5&6 year olds. This tasted nothing at all like actual tamales, but I didn’t really expect it too. It was OK in taste, not fantastic. My husband and I liked it well enough, my 6 year old LOVED it and my 5 year old cried and threw it up – I did not expect my 5 year old to like this whatsoever, and was surprised that my 6 year old liked it. I will probably make this again but also make a sandwich for my 5 year old. It was really easy to make, tasted fine, and a great way to use left over chicken. I packed up and froze the left overs (half the tray) for a night of ‘screw you I’m not making dinner’ – probably happening in a week or 2. Overall a good recipe for people to try, and I’m glad I tried it even though I was skeptical.
Christina says
I made something really similar to this tonight (based on your recipe) but I didn’t measure and made homemade guajillo chile sauce to stand in for the canned ench sauce. I also had roasted hatch peppers in the chicken (I made it two days ago for tacos and was specifically looking for a recipe to use it in. It was SO good. My hub was a biiig fan. Thanks for the inspiration!
Deborah says
Awesome! It sounds wonderful, and I’m so happy I could provide the outline!!
Carla says
I like this recipe, except I like my cornbread mixture on top. Delicious.
Ada Howe says
I have made this dish so many times… My whole family LOVES IT! and my 4 year old gets seconds everytime, which says ALOT! I’ve also made this for big get-togethers and people always ask for the recipe! Thank YOU for such a quick and easy recipe that is also DELISH! I was wondering if you’ve ever frozen this? either before baking or after? I was hoping to make it a freezer meal for my family when i’m out of town but wasn’t sure if it’d work. Let me know if you (or anyone else) have any tips!
THanks!
Deborah says
I’m so glad it’s such a hit with your family!! I haven’t tried freezing it, so I’m not sure how it would work. I must add it to my list to try freezing. If you try, please let me know how it goes!
IndianaAnna says
I made this dish this evening for dinner and my family loved it. I used a Hodgson Mills whole grain corn muffin mix rather than the Jiffy mix other people seemed to have used. (It is only 7.5 ounces, but that didn’t seem to matter) The result was not at all too sweet and was very delicious. I made Joy the Baker’s charred Mexican zucchini for the vegetable side dish and it made for an awesome meal!
Deborah says
I’m so glad it was a hit! And I’ll have to look for the Hodgson Mills brand!
Rebecca {foodie with family} says
Helloooooo. This would leave me happy and speechless at the table. How perfect and filling!
Nicole de B. says
My husband is a novice in the kitchen (he had to look up a recipe for how to boil eggs. SRSLY). He wants to learn how to cook so that he can make dinner on his days off so I don’t have to. He requested that I find some simple recipes for him. I gave this to him for his first attempt at making dinner on his own. IT turned out fantastic, despite the fact he dumped the enchilada sauce into the mix, instead of on top. IT still worked! And it tasted great. HE wanted me to write and let you know he appreciates the recipe and it’s a keeper! Thanks for a great recipe and for helping my husband gain a little bit of confidence in the kitchen!!
Chels R. says
Looks fabulous! And probably right up my alley since I can’t handle any kind of heat, lol!
Charlotte says
I hear you about the extra mild salsa! I’m down here in El Paso. I don’t think I could bring myself to ever purchase it.
Sarah says
Thanks for a great recipe. I make this often. My husband loves it!
Sarah ~ http://www.stickyphrases.com
J says
This dish is good, but doesn't produce the true taste of a tamale. It was too sweet, not spicy enouth and needed that traditonal masa taste that makes a tamale a tamale. Has anyone experimented with revising this recipe to accommodate these things?Would love to hear revised recipes!
Camille says
Hi there!!! New to your blog and I just LOVE IT!!!!! Made this for dinner the other night and my hubby and kids all loved it!!! My daughter wanted the leftovers for breakfast the next morning?!?! LOL!!!! I let her have them for lunch!!! Great recipe!!!
ashley says
we made this too after seeing it in your blog, it was pretty good but the sweet was strange. I had moments where I liked the sweetness but overall, I think it was too sweet too. We used jiffy as well. it was so easy to make though!