Chicken Tamale Casserole

This Chicken Tamale Casserole has a sweet cornbread crust topped with enchilada sauce and chicken. This Mexican dinner is a crowd pleaser! 

As you know I just got back from NYC for the first time. Here’s what I loved about it; I felt the city on the whole was driven, vibrant…everyone seemed like they were on their way to something important and life changing.

I’m sure that pace can get tiring after a while, but for the four days I was there I appreciated it.

Since I was there for my husband’s MBA program we visited the Google Headquarters, WeWork, Getty Images, NFL headquarters, and toured the United Nations.

Any chance we could find we found something good to chow on. For some reason, we didn’t find any good Mexican food.

I’m not saying it doesn’t exist but we didn’t find it. By the time I got home I was seriously craving Mexican food. We eat it at least twice a week and I was going through major withdrawls.

This Chicken Tamale Casserole is mild enough to feed to your kids and spicy enough to keep the adults interested.

You guys, the crust is a soft version of cornbread like this Corn Souffle cooked just enough so that it holds together but soft enough that you think you’re eating something incredibly indulgent.

I want to feed this to everyone I know. Fuh real. We cleaned the entire pan.

The crust comes together quickly with some Old El Paso green chiles, cornbread mix, creamed corn, sour cream, egg, and cumin.If you have a cornbread recipe you like meant for an 8×8 pan feel free to use it. We are using it for a 9×13 pan because we only want a thin layer.
Cook the mixture just until the edges start to turn golden brown. The mixture will continue to cook after the chicken is placed on top and baked.
Rotisserie chicken works great in this dish. Mix it with some Old El Paso red enchilada sauce.Top it with cheese…Some chopped cilantro adds color and flavor.You must top it with some sour cream, diced avocado, and chopped tomato.

You’ll want to make this for your family, for your friend who just had a baby, and for anyone you want to make happy!

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4.93 from 13 votes

Yield: 12

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (14 3/4-oz) can creamed corn
• 1 (8.5-oz) box corn muffin mix
• 1 (4.5-oz) can Old El Paso chopped green chiles
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese , divided
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works well here)
• 1 (10-oz) can Old El Paso red enchilada sauce
• Toppings: sour cream , diced avocado, diced tomatoes, cilantro

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 ° F and spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the creamed corn, muffin mix, chiles, sour cream, egg, cumin, and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown and the middle is set.
4. Use the back of a wooden spoon (or any other utensil) to make dents in the top of the surface.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and the enchilada sauce and pour over the top of the baked corn mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese.
6. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
7. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Slice into squares and top with sour cream, diced avocado, diced tomatoes, and cilantro if desired.

Recipe Notes

You can add black beans to the chicken mixture if you want.

Rotisserie chicken works great in this dish.

To spice it up a bit, add a finely diced jalapeno to the corn mixture.

Source: adapted from Food.com

Author: Christy Denney