Gluten free cornbread is topped with a savory meat filling to make this one-pan meal that is reminiscent of the taste and texture of tamales. All the goodness of a classic tamale but without all the effort!
Once again I’m bringing you a classic dish made into a quick and easy, one pan meal because…that’s how we roll! A few years after gfHubs and I were married (and pre-food allergies), I stumbled on a recipe for tamale pie and knew I had to try it. I’ve always loved a good tamale, and making it into a one-dish meal certainly sounded appealing. It was a good one and we made it several times, but it was forgotten after gfHubs was diagnosed with food allergies.
A few months ago I was sorting through all my old recipes and came across that one. Now that I feel we’ve gotten this gluten free thing down, I was so excited to whip up a gluten free version of it! I made a few tweaks to get just the right combination of meat and cornbread and the perfect flavor. I think you’ll love it!
You’ll notice I use my cast iron skillet A LOT. I love it because it is easy to clean, cooks evenly, and browns the edges just perfectly. Plus it doesn’t have all the chemicals that traditional non-stick cookware is coated with and it cleans up easily. That’s a lot of wins in my book! Here’s a link to the one I use
You can customize this dish by piling on your favorite toppings. Think sour cream, chopped avocados or guac, green chiles, fresh cilantro, a little squeeze of lime or even refried beans. It’s a fun dish the kids will love as much as the parents. You could even make individual ones by baking in well-greased muffin tins and scooping out with a spoon.
Technically speaking, gfHubs is the only person in our family who has to eat gluten free. But about a year after his diagnosis I realized it wasn’t practical to make two separate dishes of everything for dinner. The worries of cross contamination further complicated things so I decided to throw out all the wheat flour and just make the same thing for everyone. Our kids still eat wheat bread and sometimes pasta and snacks (they have their own “gluten” area), but I haven’t baked with wheat flour in years.
You might expect that our kids complained or have been begging for ‘regular’ food again, but they’ve actually done the opposite! Our oldest has repeatedly told me that I’m a better cook since we started eating gluten free, and they often say how much better the gluten free food tastes. That’s why I love dishes like this. They taste great to everyone, and everyone can eat the same meal, together. You can find the printable below-enjoy!
~Celeste
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Gluten free cornbread is topped with a savory meat filling to make this one-pan meal that is reminiscent of the taste and texture of tamales. All the goodness of a classic tamale but without all the effort!
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean hamburger
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T finely chopped jalapenos (I removed the seeds)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 1/4 tsp chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 T sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup gluten free flour (I used Mama's Almond Blend)
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using a flour blend that contains xanthan)
- 3/4 cup gluten free cornmeal (I used Arrowhead Mills)
- 1/2 T baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup frozen corn, optional
Instructions
- Brown hamburger in a skillet for 5 minutes.
- Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, chili, salt and pepper and cook until done.
- Add tomato sauce and simmer 15-20 minutes until thickened.
- Meanwhile, make the cornbread by whisking together melted butter, sugar, egg, sour cream, and milk.
- Add flour, xanthan gum, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and corn and whisk gently just until combined.
- Preheat oven to 425. While oven is preheating, put a 10" cast iron skillet in the oven with 1 T butter. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can use a casserole dish but only heat it in the oven for a minute or 2. Either way, pull the pan out as soon as the butter is melted. Watch it closely so the butter doesn't burn.
- When oven and pan are preheated, pour cornbread batter into pan.
- Top with meat mixture. The meat won't completely cover the cornbread and that's ok :)
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, top with cheese, and broil for 2 minutes. If using a casserole dish instead of cast iron, continue baking for a few minutes instead of broiling.
- Serve with sour cream, fresh cilantro, chopped avocados or guacamole, refried beans, and/or green chiles.
Notes
***Please be sure all ingredients you use are gluten free.
4 Comments
jules shepard
November 30, -0001 at 12:00 amYou could use nearly any fillings in this recipe – so versatile! And looks delish!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com
November 30, -0001 at 12:00 amAbsolutely Jules, it would be fun to switch it up! Thank you
Raia
November 30, -0001 at 12:00 amMm… Basically cornbread with chili on top, right? Looks delicious!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com
November 30, -0001 at 12:00 amIt’s more like a tamale filling, but you could definitely switch things up and use Chili instead, yum!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
April 25, 2016 at 2:14 pmCast iron meals are the BEST haha! Love love love mine 😉
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com
April 25, 2016 at 2:20 pmYes! I don’t know how I ever cooked without one
Brianna H (@FlippinDelish)
April 27, 2016 at 2:41 pmI grew up eating Tamale Pie! It has been ages since I made it though. My family would make it with the cornbread on top of the filling instead of the filling on top of the cornbread. Either way, it make a great filling meal!
thereislifeafterwheat@gmail.com
April 28, 2016 at 9:12 amWe used to make it that way too, but I changed things up a little this time 😉 It’s such a fun meal, isn’t it?