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This green chile chicken tamale pie is a quick and easy dinner idea! Flavorful chicken with cheese and green chiles with a cornbread ‘crust’.  Prepare the chicken ahead of time to make it even quicker! Perfect for a weeknight meal. 

This green chile chicken tamale pie is a quick and easy dinner idea! Flavorful chicken with cheese and green chiles with a cornbread 'crust'. Prepare the chicken ahead of time to make it even quicker! Perfect for a weeknight meal.

Green Chile Chicken Tamale Pie. Tamales are the best right? Although it’s not really practical to make them for a quick weeknight meal.  Instead, we can make this tamale pie!  The hubs’ favorite tamale is the cheese and green chiles.  This is a little play on that.  With some chicken added in to give a little heartiness.

This green chile chicken tamale pie is a quick and easy dinner idea! Flavorful chicken with cheese and green chiles with a cornbread 'crust'. Prepare the chicken ahead of time to make it even quicker! Perfect for a weeknight meal.

The chicken is my new favorite way to cook chicken.  And it’s how I made the chicken in the Zucchini Boat Chicken Enchiladas.  Super easy.  To make this meal even easier on a busy weekday, just make the chicken ahead of time.

Can I be honest?  I never really thought that cornbread created a realistic substitution for a tamale.  But then I made a tamale pie.

Leaving leftovers for a day in the fridge really made the cornbread take on the texture of a tamale.

This green chile chicken tamale pie is a quick and easy dinner idea! Flavorful chicken with cheese and green chiles with a cornbread 'crust'. Prepare the chicken ahead of time to make it even quicker! Perfect for a weeknight meal.

The best part about tamale pie?  You can load it up with all your favorite toppings.  I think we all know my love for tossing tomatoes, cilantro, and sour cream on things.  And by things I mean my tex mex food.

This green chile chicken tamale pie is a quick and easy dinner idea! Flavorful chicken with cheese and green chiles with a cornbread 'crust'. Prepare the chicken ahead of time to make it even quicker! Perfect for a weeknight meal.

Green Chile Chicken Tamale Pie

5 from 2 votes
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Serene
This green chile chicken tamale pie is a quick and easy dinner idea! Flavorful chicken with cheese and green chiles with a cornbread ‘crust’. Prepare the chicken ahead of time to make it even quicker! Perfect for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients  

Green Chile Chicken Filling

  • lbs chicken breast
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ cup yellow onion diced
  • 1 (4 ounce can) diced green chiles
  • 2 cups Monterey jack cheese shredded

Cornbread Crust

  • ¾ cup cornmeal
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 tbsp butter melted
  • ½ cup corn kernels

Optional Toppings

  • tomatoes
  • green onion
  • cilantro
  • sour cream

Instructions 

Green Chile Chicken Filling

  • In a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add the chicken. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Cook about 7 minutes on each side until chicken is fully cooked. Remove from the skillet and place on cutting board.
  • Add the chopped onion to the skillet and allow to cook for a few minutes until the onion is softened and translucent. Remove from heat.
  • Shred the chicken and place in a bowl. Add the garlic powder, cumin, cooked onion, green chiles, and 1 cup of the jack cheese. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Cornbread Crust

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 9 inch cast iron skillet with butter or baking spray.
  • In a medium size mixing bowl add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a fork to combine.
  • Pour in the hot water and melted butter. Stir until mixed. Fold in the corn kernels.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared cast iron skillet. Spoon the chicken filling into the center of the skillet on top of the cornbread batter. Leave about a 1/4 of an inch around the edge as a crust. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
  • Bake for about 25-28 minutes. Until cheese is melted and the cornbread is cooked through and golden on the edges.
  • Serve warm and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 55g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 174mg | Sodium: 1235mg | Potassium: 829mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 663IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 468mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Welcome to my kitchen!

Welcome to the House of Yumm!! My name is Serene. I’m the food photographer, recipe developer, and official taste tester around these parts.

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2 Comments

  1. I made this for dinner today. The batter came out very thin and watery. I went ahead and made more of the flour recipe and added it to the batter till it look more like a batter. It’s in the oven now. We shall see how it goes.

    1. I’m getting ready to make this recipe. Just wondering why only one comment? Any updates? I’m concerned with batter being soggy. I think I’ll make bread first and add to top later. Thank you.
      Gina