Chicken Tamale Bake

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Chicken Tamale Bake is an easy and delicious twist on classic Chicken Tamales. This stuff is so crazy good that I even licked my plate clean! With just a handful of ingredients this can be on your dinner table in no time tonight!

Chicken Tamale Bake

A couple’a weeks ago I had such’a hankerin’ for chicken tamales that I didn’t even know what to do with myself and unfortunately, we don’t really have a place in town here that has real good tamales. I’ve never made tamales on my own and the whole process sounded a bit intimidating for even me, especially on a Tuesday afternoon an hour before I had to pick up Pepper from preschool.

So what’s a girl to do? I saw this recipe on delish.com and knew I needed it in my belly! Changed it up a bit to do my own thing, made it skinny-ish, used chicken breast, etc. I hoped to make a lil somethin’ that kinda sorta reminded me of tamales. So, I crossed my fingers n’ toes and threw it in the oven.

Oh lawdy, it was good. AND SO EASY, almost too easy. The only thing that would have made this Chicken Tamale Bake better is if I would have had some homemade enchilada sauce on hand. The canned stuff does the trick, but if you like to make your own. Do it! I’m actually going to make a batch up next time I make this bake. I’ll share that recipe with y’all sometime soon too!

Chicken Tamale Bake

This Chicken Tamale Bake makes for the BEST weeknight dinner, friends. You know those nights you have no idea what you’re doing, don’t want to eat out, and it’s 6 o’clock? I feel like that’s my actual life lately. Yeah, this was made for one of those nights with the help from a box of Jiffy, rotisserie chicken breast, and a few pantry staples. You can have this on the table in under an hour with mostly hands off time!

Let’s get in the kitchen and make this Chicken Tamale Bake!

Chicken Tamale Bake mixing bowl with ingredients ready to be mixed

First things first, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Then, grab yourself a mixing bowl and add one box of Jiffy Cornbread mix, 1 can of sweet corn, 1 egg, taco seasoning, 1/2 cup skim milk, and 1 can fire roasted chopped green chiles (mild or hot depending on spice preference).

Chicken Tamale Bake Ingredients being mixed together

Stir it up until then ingredients are combined.

cornbread Ingredients in a baking dish

Add cornbread mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish that’s been sprayed well with cooking spray. Pop it into the oven for 25 minutes.

*While the cornbread is baking. Stir together two cups of rotisserie chicken breast or diced cooked chicken breast (my Easy Baked Chicken recipe would also be perfect for this!) 1 can pinto beans (drained, but not rinsed), 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch or two of cayenne pepper (for heat, optional!)

cornbread after being pulled from the oven

When the “cornbread” is done remove from the oven and poke a bunch’a holes into it.

Enchilada sauce over cornbread


Drizzle a can of enchilada sauce on top of the cornbread.

Enchilada sauce being poured over pinto beans and chicken breast

Add chicken and beans then drizzle a whole can over that.

Chicken Tamale Bake before going into the oven

Add cheese, naturally.

I’ve got about 1/2 cup here of Colby Jack made with 2% milk. Place it back into the oven for about 15 minutes, uncovered.

chicken tamale bake after coming out of the oven

Drrrrrrrrrrroooool. Add fresh cilantro, especially if you aren’t one of those folks who thinks it tastes like soap. Ha!

I’m also going to say that we enjoyed leftovers EVEN more with a dollop of light sour cream (not greek yogurt), diced tomatoes, and lettuce on top. This reheats really well in the microwave or in the oven which makes it a good one for meal prep!

Chicken Tamale Bake on a plate

It’s not the most photogenic and it’s kind of a mess once it goes on a plate, but man it’s good eatin’ so who even cares!?

Chicken Tamale Bake Finished out of the oven with chopped cilantro

I hope y’all love this Chicken Tamale Bake as much as we did! Be sure to leave me comment and let me know it went or post a photo on Instagram and tag @theskinnyishdish!

With lots’a love from my kitchen to yours,

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Chicken Tamale Bake
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4.74 from 154 votes

Chicken Tamale Bake

Chicken Tamale Bake is a easy and delicious twist on classic chicken tamales.
Prep Time5 minutes
Active Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: chicken, Chicken Tamale Bake
Yield: 6
Author: Star @ the skinny-ish dish

Materials

  • 1- 8.5 oz box Jiffy Cornbread mix
  • ½ cup skim milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1- 4 ounce can green chiles
  • 1- 15.5 ounce can Pinto Beans drained, but not rinsed
  • 1- 15 ounce can corn drained
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 2 cups shredded chicken breast I used Rotisserie chicken breast
  • tsp cayenne pepper optional for an extra kick
  • 2- 10 ounce cans red enchilada sauce
  • ½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese made with 2% milk
  • cooking spray

Optional goodies to top it off with

  • chopped cilantro
  • light sour cream
  • pickled Jalapeños
  • chopped tomatoes
  • lettuce

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a bowl add cornbread mix, milk, egg, taco seasoning, corn, and green chiles. Stir together. Pour mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish that's been sprayed well with cooking spray.
  • Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. While the cornbread mixture is baking. Season the chicken and pinto beans with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and cayenne pepper (if using).
  • When the cornbread mixture is done baking poke a bunch of holes into it and pour one can of the enchiladas sauce on top then add the chicken and beans on top followed by the second can of enchilada sauce and cheese.
  • Place bake into the oven, uncovered, for about 12-15 minutes. Slice into 6 servings and top each serving with whatever toppings you desire. Enjoy!

Notes

Serving size 1/6 of pan
355 Calories, 8.5g fat, 4g saturated fat, 46g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 11g sugar, 0g added sugar, 22.5g protein. 
WeightWatchers Points: 9 Points
 
Please note if you are calculating the WW points you will need to use the recipe builder in the app or on their website. If you calculate the nutritional information then it will not add up the same because the nutritional information includes all ingredients including those that WW says are zero points. 

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137 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    10 out 10! I made it with ground chicken but next time I’ll try it with the shredded chicken. Someone on here said they tried it with green sauce and loved it. That sounds fun too lol. Thank you for this yummy recipe!

  2. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Used roasted corn and added black olives. I’ll definitely be making this over and over again! Thank you!

    1. Oh yum! Great additions =) So happy you enjoyed it, Jennifer! Thank you so much for letting me know!

  3. 5 stars
    This recipe is amazing!!
    Super easy and delicious.
    I topped the dish with cilantro and then added shredded lettuce and sour cream to my serving.
    My husband went back for thirds!!!
    Thank you for creating and sharing this recipe, it’s great for busy nights as well.

  4. 5 stars
    I’ve made this numerous times. We made it for dinner this week and we ate it for dinner again on the second night. My husband finished it off on the 4th night and said “It just gets better every time I eat it!”.

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