Chicken Enchilada Tamale Bake

8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.
Homemade Chicken Enchilada Tamale Bake made with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper saute, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING. 

About eight years ago I was on a new diet (Weight Watchers) and I had the pleasure of having a job that was … well, not something that would keep my attention. Luckily I also had the internet and an IT department that didn’t seem to mind my internet searches! So every opportunity I had I would research new healthier recipes and one day I came across a recipe for a Chicken Tamale Casserole from Cooking Light that sounded remarkably indulgent for a really low amount of points. So of course I went out and bought the ingredients. It was good, but so much of it had the vibe of a cake mix cake. You know what I mean, the cake is good but it tastes like it is clearly from a box mix? Would you gorge yourself on it while stress/drunk eating? YES. Would you choose it over a homemade dish? Nope.

So just like with my Five Ingredient Asian Peanut Noodles that were a revision of a ramen recipe, this dish was reimagined. I ditched the Jiffy mix in favor of homemade cornbread, ditched the can of enchilada sauce for my Best Homemade Enchilada Sauce and replaced the egg substitute with…..well… an egg? I’m all about using ingredients that I can pronounce and resemble what they started out as (unless they are Oreos. Don’t change Oreo, I love you just as you are 🙂 ) often as I can. So this version may have more ingredients, and it may take a little bit longer, but I can assure you there won’t even be a hint of “cake mix” to the dish.

Oh, and it is GOOOOOOOOD. I mean hoard it for yourself good. Made this for my clients all the time and had one that would request it every other week good. Both times I was pregnant I made this recipe in triplicate and put pans of it in our deep freeze. Served up with some delicious green rice (you can tune back in tomorrow for that recipe!) and you have a fantastic meal. Or maybe don’t double up on the starch. I have also served this dish pretty regularly with my Pico de Gallo Salad which is fat free and a nice bright flavor to cancel out all the heaviness of the cornbread and cheese.
Preheat oven to 400°. Combine the cumin, cayenne, cream style corn, flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, 2 tablespoons canola oil, egg, milk and chiles in a bowl together. Whisk to combine. Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.Pour into greased/nonstick 9×13 pan and bake for 15 minutes. While the cornbread is baking, put the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, a teaspoon of cumin and a pinch of salt, oregano and cayenne in a saucepan with the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno on medium-high heat. Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.Cook until just caramelized but still crisp. Poke holes in the top of the spicy cornbread and pour one cup of the sauce over it. Ditch the can, feel like you're at your favorite Mexican restaurant in ten minutes! Homemade Enchilada sauce that is so good you'll top it on everything, even your eggs!Top with shredded chicken, the onion pepper mixture and the cup of cheese. Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.All natural and AMAZING. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.Use the remaining cup of enchilada sauce and sour cream as a garnish. Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.

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Chicken Fajita Tamale Bake

Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper saute, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne red pepper
  • 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
  • 2 cups Homemade Quick & Easy Enchilada Sauce
  • 1/2 onion sliced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper sliced
  • 1 jalapeno sliced
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 pinch cayenne
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch oregano
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup sharp white cheddar , grated

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Combine the cumin, cayenne, cream style corn, flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, 2 tablespoons canola oil, egg, milk and chiles in a bowl together.
  • Whisk to combine.
  • Pour into greased/nonstick 9x13 pan and bake for 15 minutes.
  • While the cornbread is baking, put the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, a teaspoon of cumin and a pinch of salt, oregano and cayenne in a saucepan with the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno on medium-high heat.
  • Cook until just caramelized but still crisp.
  • Poke holes in the top of the spicy cornbread and pour one cup of the sauce over it.
  • Top with shredded chicken, the onion pepper mixture and the cup of cheese.
  • Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
  • Use the remaining cup of enchilada sauce and sour cream as a garnish.

Notes

Recipe significantly adapted from Cooking Light.

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 735mg | Potassium: 368mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 825IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 214mg | Iron: 2mg
Keyword: Chicken Enchilada Tamale Bake

Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.

Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.
Homemade Chicken Tamale Bake with from scratch spicy cornbread, spicy pepper sautee, chicken and cheese topped with homemade enchilada sauce. All natural and AMAZING.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Family loved this! What a great recipe my grandson gave both thumbs up and declared it a hit. He was hoping that there would be leftovers so that’s always a good sign. Thankyou

  2. I really loved it!!!!!
    Just made it myself, as a side I cooked a green pepper sofrito rice!
    Me encantó! La recomiendo!

  3. Made this tonight just as written and it was fantastic!!! A definite do over in this household. You made reference to WW so wondered if you had the Smartpoint value or nutritional values so I can figure out points. Thank you!!!

    1. Sorry this comment took so long to get to, it ended up in my spam filter somehow! Sorry I don’t have smart point values, it has been a while since I was in the WW world so it is not something I am up to speed on since I think they make yearly changes right?

  4. This is brilliant! I love the ease of how you put everything together. Pinning to make later for my family!

  5. We adore Mexican food and this one combines all the best. I love that it is in BAKE form for easy serving.

    1. Seriously with two really little kids if I can put it in the oven, set a timer and forget about it I am all in.

  6. ommggg this reminds me of home. my mom used to always sauteed onion and bell pepper and we totally loved it. sometimes she would even add mushrooms. #yummy

    1. Homemade tamales totally are. I have a tried and true recipe for some I use when the mood strikes. They take two days so I usually make 100 at a time. But this is a nice quick fix alternative, haha!

  7. Oh yum, this is the perfect recipe to try your homemade enchilada sauce on. If this is as spicy as it looks, my boyfriend will love it.

  8. I will have to get the ingredients i need so i can make this for dinner this week. It looks so delicious and easy to make.

  9. Chicken is my favorite meat to cook with. I am always looking for new chicken recipes. I will have to get what i need to try this on the weekend.

  10. The Homemade Chicken Enchilada Tamale Bake looks so delicious. I love trying new recipes. I know this will be a big hit with my family.

  11. I totally know what you mean about tasting like a cake bake. Glad you came up with your own twist and that it came out great. Thanks for sharing.

  12. That whole plate looks delicious. I’ve never had an enchilada or tamale. So this would be a great choice, yes?

  13. What a great idea! I love how it combines two of my favorite foods – tamale and fajitas! Totally making this!

  14. That looks outstanding! I am trying to revamp our menu a lot to be a little more healthy. This would be PERFECT for a new meal that is not terrible for us!

  15. Yummo! I love this. I’m a huge fan of Mexican food, and I’ve tried a few recipes before. I can’t wait to try this one, too.

  16. I really should learn how to make corn bread and your recipe makes it sound so simple! I love this recipe! The flavours of everything sound so delicious!!