Tamale Casserole

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As the weather calls down and thoughts turn to cozy comfort food, casseroles top my list of warm hug food.

This easy tamale base casserole uses some great short cut ingredients for maximum flavor with minimum effort.

Creamy, slightly spicy corn tamale style base that is reminiscent of the best cornbread soaking up enchilada sauce & laden with shredded chicken and oodles of cheese. What's not to love?

Even better.  You get to top it all with your favorite things.  Sweet, last of summer tomatoes, silky crema, velvety avocado, punchy black olives, bright cilantro.  It all works and it's per your preference so setting up a toppings bar for the family is a great way to make sure this is on your favorites list.

SHORTCUT INGREDIENTS LIKE CANNED CREAMED CORN & GREEN CHILIS PLUS CORNMEAL MIX MAKE THIS SO EASY

THE SIMPLE BASE BAKES FOR 15 MINUTES

ONCE OUT OF THE OVEN, YOU POKE HOLES IN THE BASE & POUR OVER THE ENCHILADA SAUCE

While purchasing & shredding a rotisserie chicken is about as easy as it gets, I made my chicken in my indispensable Ninja Foodi and it took no time at all.  Just follow directions for pressure cooking chicken breast & you'll have chicken ready to shred in no time at all.  You can also use chicken thighs if you prefer & they do tend to be less expensive.

TOP WITH CHICKEN & CHEESE & BAKE ANOTHER 15 MINUTES

I have made the base in advance the day before & just refrigerated it after adding the enchilada sauce.  You can pull it out the next day, add the chicken & cheese and bake for about 25 minutes. 

ONCE OUT OF THE OVEN, IT'S READY FOR ALL YOUR TOPPINGS

Try this super easy comforting casserole.  You family will gobble it up.

READY FOR THE TOPPINGS

Some of my favorite affiliate items used for this recipe:

Tamale Casserole


1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese (more if you like it cheesy)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili flake, optional (I love Aleppo chili flake)
1 14 ounce can cream style corn
1 box (8.5 ounces) cornmeal/cornbread mix, such as Jiffy or Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free
1 4 ounce can chopped green chilis
1 10 ounce can or pouch enchilada sauce, such as old El Paso or Frontera (red or green)
2 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken works great for this, but I made used my Ninja Foodi which is available on my SHOP page.


Toppings:
Sour cream or Mexican crema
Chopped tomato
Cilantro
Sliced black olives
Diced avocado



Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


Spray a 13 x 9 baking pan or similar sized casserole dish with cooking spray (I like olive oil or avocado oil cooking spray).


In a mixing bowl stir together 1/4 cup of the cheese and all ingredients except chicken, enchilada sauce & toppings.  Pour into the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.


Pull out of the oven and poke holes in the hot tamale base.  I use chopsticks to make short work of this.


Pour over the enchilada sauce, then pile on the chicken and cheese (use extra cheese if you want this to be super cheesy).


Bake an additional 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted & starts to bubble.  Remove from oven, then serve & adorn with your toppings of choice. (I like mine loaded!)