Chicken Tamale Casserole

This easy Mexican-inspired Chicken Tamale Casserole recipe includes ingredients you can easily stock for a no-sweat meal on a busy day.

When I look back on the years when my four boys were all in school and heavily involved in sports and other activities, I remember those fun times so fondly. But, as a mom who got up everyday and headed to my office, I also remember the struggle to feed those guys every . single . day.  And, man can those guys eat! I know that so many of you are in that place right now and the struggle is real!

I had this beautiful misconception when we made the move from California to Oregon that somehow I’d be leaving that fast pace behind. Well, same boat, different state. But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We are blessed with a house full here and I pretty much wake up every day with an impossible list of things I have to accomplish.

That’s where recipes like this easy-peasy Chicken Tamale Casserole come in. This is not gourmet cuisine. This is a down home, old school casserole. The type of dish you’d bring to the potluck at the school or take to the neighbors down the street who just had a new baby, or in my case – throw together for your family on a crazy, busy day.

The Grocery List

Recipes with easy to stock ingredients are such an important part of a busy cooks collection.

• Rotisserie chicken (hello Costco!)
• Boxed cornbread or corn muffin mix (I use Jiffy brand)
• A can of cream-style corn
• Some milk and an egg
• Cumin and black pepper
• A can of diced green chiles
• A can of red enchilada sauce (I love Hatch brand)
• Sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese (you can use a packaged blend if you like but I’m all about shredding my own)
• Sliced black olives
• Green onions
• Sour cream, for serving

Rotisserie Chicken to the Rescue!

Every time I’m at Costco I pick up two rotisserie chickens. They are big, plump, juicy and so cheap! The price is less than an uncooked bird and all the work is done for you. I’m at the point in my life where I get excited by these kinds of things.

As soon as I get my groceries put away, I immediately turn to the task of those chickens. If you deal with them while they are still warm, the meat just literally falls off the bone. So much easier than if you refrigerate them whole. I package up the meat in 3-cup portions and vacuum seal them with my handy-dandy vacuum sealer. About once a week I defrost one of these 3-cup packages of beautiful cooked, shredded chicken to pull together any of my easy rotisserie chicken recipes.

Don’t want to invest in a vaccum sealer? Check out this great article for information on How to Seal Foods Without a Vaccum Sealer.

How to Make Chicken Tamale Casserole

Low prep, easy cleanup, tasty result. Let’s do it!

The base cornbread layer consists of boxed cornbread mix combined with some cheese, a can of cream-style corn, a little milk, and egg, some cumin and black pepper. This mixture is baked in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish for about 20 minutes. Pull the dish out of the oven and use a fork to liberally pierce the surface.

Top the cornbread layer with red enchilada sauce and use the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly.

The next layer is your shredded rotisserie chicken and then the whole she-bang is topped with a good amount of shredded sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.

Return the dish to the oven to bake it through and get that cheese melted and glorious.

Garnish the dish with some sliced black olives and green onions. I like to return the dish to the oven one last time for just a couple of minutes to warm those toppings a bit.

Time to serve it up with sour cream on the side and some tortilla chips.

Fast and easy, warm and delicious. Now go kick your feet up and let someone else do the dishes.

This post was originally published on December 13, 2011. It has been updated with new text and images.

Adapted from Cooking Light