Quick and Easy Tamale Casserole
I like quick and easy recipes because I am not good about meal planning and if I make a plan, we will end up having to go somewhere instead or I get caught up working and don’t have time to do what I had planned. I came up with this recipe one night when I needed something to take to a church potluck that I forgot about. I looked through my cabinets for ideas and decided to try making a tamale casserole. I use canned tamales which of course aren’t as good as the real homemade ones, but work in a pinch. My family love this and it is an easy quick dinner that can be thrown together in just a few minutes.
I use one can of chili with beans and one can of no bean chili because my son doesn’t like beans. I have tried several different brands of chili and tamales but my family prefers the Hormel brand and it usually goes on sale fairly frequently. When they go on sale I buy up extras so I have them ready whenever I need to get supper on the table quickly. I usually use a 2 qt glass casserole when I make this at home, but the other night I grabbed my 13″x9″ cake pan, which is what I use if I am making a larger amount for church or company. I start by opening all the cans. I pour the cans of chili in the bottom of the pan, I keep the two cans separate but you don’t have to worry about this if you don’t have a picky eater.
Then I unwrap each tamale and place on top of the chili, if using the glass pan 2 cans fit perfectly across the top. I sprinkle about 1/2 bag of cheese over the top if I am using 2 cans of tamales, but use the whole bag if I do a larger pan. I usually use regular cheddar cheese, but any kind of cheese can be used. I like using the triple cheddar on my salads, so it was the kind I had in the fridge when I got ready to cook this casserole. I pour the sauce from the cans of tamale over the top of the cheese so when it cooks it all mixes together.
I bake it about 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Everything is cooked already so it just needs to be warmed up and the cheese melted. My family likes to eat it with Chili Cheese Fritos.
Quick and Easy Tamale Casserole
Ingredients
2 cans chili
2 cans tamales in chili sauce
4 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread chili in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Unwrap the tamales and place on top of the chili. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and pour the chili sauce from the tamale cans over the cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with your favorite chips, rice or salad.
Did you try it? Change it up? Let me know, leave a comment below.
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