Do you want evidence that this recipe is good? How about the fact that I’ve been eating it for lunch AND dinner for the past three days straight, and I still wanted a piece for breakfast this morning. Seriously.
There are a million and two ways to make tamale pie, some being more like actual tamales than others. This one is not so much like a real tamale, but it’s amazing all the same. I decided to go with a cornbread crust instead of polenta because A) I’m in love with corn bread and B) I wanted something that could soak up yumminess from the bottom of the pan. It definitely worked.
I originally intended to make this a beef tamale pie, but I bullied myself into doing a vegetarian mix because I felt like I needed more beans and vegetables in my life. If you did want to do beef (or chicken or pork), simply switch it out for the sweet potatoes, beans, and peppers… or add them all in there together! It’s very flexible.
P.S. I know the ingredients list looks long, but it’s really quite simple to make. Promise!
Vegetable Tamale Pie
Servings 8Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.48)
- 2 cloves garlic ( $0.16)
- 1 sweet potato ($0.69)
- 1 15oz. black beans ($0.56)
- 1/2 bunch green onions ($0.25)
- 1 poblano pepper ($0.84)
- 1 jalapeño ($0.12)
- 1 10z. can red enchilada sauce ($1.53)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.07)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
CORNBREAD TOPPING
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal ($0.24)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.15)
- 1/4 cup sugar ($0.04)
- 4 tsp baking powder ($0.12)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 cup milk ($0.62)
- 1 large egg ($0.25)
- 1/4 cup cooking oil ($0.21)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar, optional ($1.00)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (optional) ($0.43)
Instructions
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Cook in a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. While onion and garlic are cooking, peel and dice the sweet potato. Add the diced sweet potato to the skillet and continue cooking.
- Remove the seeds from the poblano and jalapeno peppers, dice both, and add to the skillet. Also add the black beans (drained and rinsed), enchilada sauce, and sliced green onions. Stir and heat through. Taste the mixture and add the chili powder, cumin, and salt. Adjust to your liking.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. To make the cornbread topping, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder). Stir until evenly combined. Next, add the wet ingredients (milk, egg, oil, shredded cheese, and roughly chopped cilantro leaves). Stir these ingredients into the dry ingredients just until everything has become wet and the mixture looks even. Slightly beating the egg before adding it helps make this easier.
- To build the tamale pie, pour the vegetable mixture into a deep pie dish, cast iron skillet, or 8×8 inch casserole dish. Next, pour the cornbread mixture over top and smooth it out evenly. Bake the pie in the preheated 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the top of the cornbread is golden brown.
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Start by cooking those onions and garlic in olive oil.
While those are cooking, peel and dice your sweet potato. Add it to the skillet.
For those who are unfamiliar with poblano peppers, this is what they look like. Large, dark green, and a kind of like a deflated balloon. They have a very unique flavor. If they’re not available in your area, you can substitute with other vegetables or beans to make up for the volume.
Remove the seeds from the poblano and chop it up. Do the same with the jalapeno. Add both to the skillet, along with sliced green onions and black beans (drained and rinsed). I used black beans that I had cooked from dry, which is why they’re so inexpensive on the ingredient list. Freezing them after cooking makes them just as convenient as canned beans!
Next add the enchilada sauce and then heat everything through.
The enchilada sauce didn’t quite provide enough flavor for me, so I also added a little chili powder, cumin, and salt.
Next it’s time to make the cornbread topping. In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir until they’re well combined. Oh, also begin preheating your oven at this point – 425 degrees.
Then add the wet ingredients (milk, oil, egg, cheddar, roughly chopped cilantro). I like to slightly beat the egg before adding it because it helps it incorporate easier. The cheese and cilantro are completely optional.
When stirring the wet ingredients into the dry, only stir just until all of the mixture has moistened and everything looks even (about ten stirs). You want to try to avoid over stirring.
Next, pour the vegetable mixture into the bottom of your baking dish. I used my cast iron skillet because I knew it would make for some nice pictures, but you can also use a deep pie dish or an 8×8 inch casserole dish. My skillet is about 10 inches across.
Pour the cornbread topping over the vegetables and smooth it out. Make sure the oven has finished preheating, and then bake for about 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Begin checking it at 18-20 minutes because every oven is a little different.
And then it looks, smells, and tastes absolutely delicious! I cut mine into 8 pieces and had 8 very satisfying meals.
I’m verrryyy excited to get home from work and cook this tonight!!
Odd question… is it possible to freeze peppers? My grocery store only sold poblano peppers in 3-packs… and for $1.48 I decided it was worth it just to get them all rather than go search at another store. …now I’m at a loss of what to do with the other 2!
If they won’t freeze… what other types of dishes would they be good in? This is my first time cooking with this type of pepper!
This looks great and I plan on making it tonight! I do have a question, I am dairy free and was wondering if I replaced the milk with almond milk…would it work? I of course would leave out the cheese (even though it looks sooo good). Just wanted to know your thoughts even though I will be attempting it anyways!
I made this this weekend and am eating it for lunch as we speak. Yummy…I did leave out the peppers and put in meat. I already know what I would add moreof next time and there will be a next time as my whole family loved it (even my 2 year old and 4 year old)..Thanks again for another recipe going into my classic section.
It’s in the oven – so far, so good. First time I used any peppers other than Bell and my fingers are still kind of burning. I remember they used to say to wear gloves and maybe I should have cause I must be a wimp. It looks and smells great, but I’m almost afraid to taste it lol.
(PS: I tossed a few seeds from both the poblano and the jalapeno to give it an added kick – tasted great!)
I made this last night and it got rave reviews! My only problem was that I was too nervous to put it in a #8 skillet (was afraid it would go over and spill out), so I used a #12, which worked great, just a little “thinner” than in your pictures. Can you tell me what size cast iron skillet you used? I may keep an eye out for a #10. But seriously, this recipe was fantastic and I can see making it again in the future :)
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My first time here. This looks really good!
Thank you so much for this. It has everything I’ve been trying to eat more of (haha, except the cornbread, but I love it and don’t care!), and for once I’m not salivating over your wonderful pictures of MEAT! (newbie vegetarian)
This one makes up for the Taco Chicken Rice Bowl that I haven’t figured out how to “vegify” yet. :D
…although I did notice a price tag and empty shelf for “chickenless shreds” at Trader Joe’s, so that one may be getting close!
Wow this looks fantastic come and post some of your awesome recipes on this weeks recipe swap!
http://abpetite.blogspot.com/2012/08/blog-recipe-swap.html
Anon – It’s not a stupid question :) That’s actually just the reflection from the sun coming in the window in my kitchen. I didn’t bother roasting the poblano, but you certainly could if you wanted – it would really kick up the flavor! Roasted poblanos are one of my favorites!
Maybe this is a stupid question, but your poblano pepper looks like it has a silver sheen on the skin… is this just my computer screen or funky lighting int the picture? Did you roast the pepper over a flame or something before chopping it up, or are they supposed to look like that?
I made this last night, and it was so good! My boyfriend loved it too. I was nervous about making the cornbread topping, but it turned out perfectly. I will definitely be making this again and again.
Made this last night (but I cheated and used Mexican cornbread mix). Soooooooooo gooooooooodddddddddah. >____________< Having some for breakfast.