Tamale casserole is a variation of the traditional Mexican dish made with a cornmeal-based dough and a filling of meat, beans, or vegetables. It can be made with prepared tamales or by mimicking the flavors of traditional tamales. The dish is cooked in one pot and usually served hot or at room temperature with optional toppings.
Tamales are a Mexican dish consisting of a filling, such as meat, beans or vegetables, that is stuffed into pieces of a cornmeal-based dough. The separate pieces are then traditionally wrapped with corn husks to form bundles and steamed until the dough is firm and the filling is cooked through. Tamale casserole is a variation of the traditional Mexican dish. Some versions of the casserole use prepared tamales and combine them with other ingredients and cook it, while other versions mix the ingredients together to mimic the flavors of traditional tamales without actually using them in the casserole.
Frozen tamales, commonly filled with chicken or beef, form the basis of casserole recipes that call for whole tamales. To add moisture and flavor, melted cheese, chopped tomatoes, or peppers are also often used in the dish. Other tamale casserole recipes tend to call for cooking chicken, beef, or any other favorite filling ingredient, with cream or broth, and combining it with chopped tomatoes or peppers. Some cooks may choose to use prepared salsa or enchilada sauce to flavor and moisten the filling instead of creating their own base. To mimic the flavor of traditional tamales if no prepared tamales are used, casserole recipes often call for the use of a cornmeal-based ingredient, such as prepared polenta or cornbread muffin pieces, as a topping.
Tamale casserole is usually made and cooked in one pot. If frozen prepared tamales are being used, it is usually recommended that they be thawed and then cut in half before being topped with cheese, chopped greens, or salsa. Other recipes may call for spreading the filling ingredients on the bottom of a roasting pan and filling with your favorite cornmeal-based topping.
Since tamale casserole recipes usually use ingredients that have already been cooked, they don’t tend to have long cooking times. The dish is generally only required to cook until the ingredients are heated through and the cheese is melted. If polenta or another cornmeal-based concoction is used as the topping, the dish is cooked until the topping is no longer golden brown and no longer wet. While cooking times vary, the casserole tends to take about 20 minutes at approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176.67 degrees Celsius) to cook.
Tamale casserole is usually served hot or at room temperature. It can be eaten as an appetizer or side dish. While it can be served as-is, recipes may recommend optional toppings, such as sour cream, salsa, or avocado slices, for additional flavor.
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