Easy Chicken Tamale Bake -

I ran across a recipe last week for a tamale bake and it sounded so good to me. I love tamales and the idea of a shortcut casserole type creation is more my style. Traditional tamales take quite a bit of effort and that’s just not going to happen on a weeknight at my house. I was able to bake up this Easy Chicken Tamale Bake last night and still make it to my son’s 6:00 baseball game.

The original recipe uses green chili enchilada sauce but my husband is NOT a fan of the green sauce. I decided to give the recipe a try with the standard red enchilada sauce. I always have my husband rate new recipes to see if there is any point in me making them again and he gave this one and 8 out of 10. That’s a keeper in my book.

Next time I make this one, I might split the recipe in half and do one with the red sauce and the other with the green sauce just to see which I prefer. I can’t say that my boys loved this one but Jake did say the “cornbread” and the chicken were good. He decided that he’d just rather have it without any sauce at all. I tell you trying to please all these picky people can be impossible – tee hee!

I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try if you need a one dish meal. Add in an avocado salad and some fruit and dinner is done without a ton of cleanup!

This recipe is part of the Publix Menu Plan – Week Of 9/18. Here are the other recipes to match the ad this week –

Easy Chicken Tamale Bake
Author: Michelle
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 – 10
Ingredients
  • 10 oz can of enchilada sauce (green or red)
  • 1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix
  • 1 egg + 1 egg white, beaten
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 14.5 oz can cream-style corn
  • 4.5 oz can green chills
  • 1 1/4 cup grated cheese, divided (Mexican blend or your favorite blend)
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons cumin, divided
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
  2. Generously spray a 13×9 or 14×9 baking dish with cooking spray.
  3. In a large bowl add the cornbread mix, eggs, milk, corn, green chills, 1/4 cup of cheese, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon of cumin – mix until just combined.
  4. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake at 400º F for 20 – 25 minutes – until the edges are set and golden brown.
  5. Use a fork to pork holes in the cooked cornbread.
  6. Evenly pour the enchilada sauce over top.
  7. Mix the chicken with the remaining spices (1 teaspoon cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and salt).
  8. Evenly distribute the chicken over the cornbread and top with the remaining cup of shredded cheese.
  9. Bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
  10. Serve with your favorite topping – sour cream, avocado, green onions, cilantro, etc
Notes
[i]If you prefer you can use a tablespoon of taco seasoning mix on the chicken. Adapted from [url href=”http://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/cooking-tips/green-chile-chicken-tamale-bake” target=”_blank”]Betty Crocker[/url][/i]