This family friendly casserole recipe for Crock-Pot Tamale Bake brings all the delicious Mexican food flavors into a super easy one pot dish!
Crock-Pot Tamale Bake
My family LOVES Mexican food! And, while this recipe is not an authentic Mexican dish it is inspired by those delicious south of the border flavors we all love.
This yummy casserole type dish really hits the spot on a busy weeknight dinner. Filled with ground beef and seasoned with onions, garlic, tomatoes, black olives and seasonings then this casserole is topped with a homemade cornbread type topping and cooked in the slow cooker. Once everything is cooked add some cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of green onion for color.
This is one of my go-to recipes when I need something that I KNOW my kids will eat after a busy day of school and then evening after-school activities!
A note about ground beef:
In this recipe extra lean ground beef browned and crumbled on the stove-top. If you are short on time you can cook the hamburger meat ahead of time like the day before and just stash it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make this dish.
If you want to make meal prep even easier buy the big package of ground beef when it is on sale and cook it all up and freeze it. Then, you can just pull a bag of frozen pre-cooked hamburger out of the freezer and you area ready to cook any dish that calls for ground beef!
Ingredients Needed:
- Extra Lean Ground Beef – I prefer to use the leanest possible ground beef that I can purchase to save on fat and calories. This recipe also works fantastic however using ground turkey.
- Yellow Onion – You will need about 1/2 of a cup of onion that has been finely diced. Yellow onions are my preferred onion but a white onion will do too.
- Garlic – Grab one clove of garlic and mince it. If you like more garlic, feel free to add another clove or two. And if you are using pre-minced garlic from the store remember 1 teaspoon = 1 clove of fresh garlic.
- Yellow Cornmeal – This ingredient is going to act as the binder in your casserole. Be sure to use plain corn meal and not corn bread mix.
- Egg – Unless otherwise noted, large eggs are what I use in all of my recipes.
- Milk – I uses fat-free milk because that is the milk we drink. Feel free to use whole milk, 1% or 2% milk.
- Canned Corn – You will use one can and be sure to drain it. You can also use frozen corn in this recipe, about 1 to 2 cups.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes – One can of diced tomatoes is used in this recipe. Don’t drain off the liquid from the can. I like to use no-salt added canned tomatoes.
- Taco Seasoning Mix – 1 envelope/package of a low-sodium or no salt added taco seasoning mix OR make up your own Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix and use about 3 tablespoons of that.
- Canned Sliced Black Olives – This recipe uses a small can of pre-sliced black olives that have been drained. If you don’t like olives feel free to omit them.
- Cheddar Cheese – Whenever possible it is best to shred or grate your own cheddar cheese for the best flavor. However if you are in a pinch for time you can use the bags of pre-shredded cheddar cheese found at the grocery store.
- Green Onions – These are totally optional but I think adding a little sliced green onion to the top of the casserole adds a nice POP of color and flavor.
Directions:
- In a large skillet, brown and crumble the ground beef with the diced onion and garlic until the meat is no longer pink.
- Drain ground beef to remove excess fat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, egg and milk and mix until smooth.
- Add to the cornmeal mixture the corn, tomatoes, taco seasoning, olives and ground beef mixture and mix well.
- Dump mixture into the bottom of a 3.5 quart casserole slow cooker OR a 4 quart or larger oval or round slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or on LOW for 6 hours.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cover again and cook for an additional 15 minutes until cheese is melted.
- To serve, spoon into bowls or onto plate and garnish with chopped green onion if desired.
Products Needed:
- 3.5 Quart Casserole Slow Cooker OR 6 Quart Slow Cooker
- Wooden Spoon
- Can Opener
- Measuring Cups
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
More fantastic Mexican inspired recipes:
- Slow Cooker Taco Junk
- Crock-Pot Taco Chicken Bowls
- Slow Cooker Taco Bake
- Crock-Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Slow Cooker Southwest Tamale Pie
| Rating |
Rate this recipe!
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| Servings | 6Servings |
| Prep Time | 30Minutes |
| Cook Time | 3Hours |
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Extra Lean Ground Beef Or Ground Turkey
- 1/2 Cup Finely Diced Yellow Onion
- 1 Clove Garlic Minced
- 3/4 Cups Yellow Cornmeal
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 1/2 Cups Milk
- 15.25 Ounces Canned Corn Drained
- 14.5 Ounces Canned Diced Tomatoes Undrained
- 1.25 Ounces Taco Seasoning Mix Or Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
- 2.25 Ounces Canned Sliced Black Olives Drained
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1/4 Cups Sliced Green Onions For Garnish (Optional)
Servings: Servings
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Ingredients
Servings: Servings
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Instructions
- In a large skillet brown and crumble the ground beef with the diced onion and garlic until the meat is no longer pink.
- Drain ground beef to remove excess fat.
- In a large mixing bowl combine cornmeal, egg and milk and mix until smooth.
- Add to the cornmeal mixture the corn, tomatoes, taco seasoning, olives and ground beef mixture and mix well.
- Dump mixture into the bottom of a 3.5 quart casserole slow cooker OR a 4 quart or larger oval or round slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or on LOW for 6 hours.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cover again and cook for an additional 15 minutes until cheese is melted.
- To serve, spoon into bowls or onto plate and garnish with chopped green onion if desired.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 506kcal, Total Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 1024mg, Potassium: 422mg, Carbohydrates: 50g, Dietary Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 8g, Protein: 33g, Vitamin A: 16%, Vitamin C: 27%, Calcium: 11%, Iron: 23%
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Recipe Collections:
| Beef Crock-Pot Recipes | Ground Beef Slow Cooker Recipes |
| Mexican Slow Cooker Recipes | Entree Crock-Pot Recipes |
| 3.5 Quart Casserole Crock-Pot Recipes | Frugal Slow Cooker Recipes |
I love tamales so I know I will be trying this recipe. I have a Wolfgang Puck Versa slowcooker. ( kind of sort of like the ninja slowcooker) so I can brown the meat right in it. Then add the other ingredients. Thanks for share your recipe.
I made this last night but ran late. I didn’t get any of it till lunch today. Wow, is it good! I couldn’t wait to get home from work to have seconds! Thank you!
I am used to cooking Mexican food from scratch and don’t use taco seasoning. I have a molcajete ( a Mexican blender) and grind my spices, such as cumin, garlic, peppercorns .I use a paste made of Ancho chillies. The taste is terrific and it smells great cooking.
Sorry if this comes across the wrong way Marcia, but what’s your point?
Tamales are one of my most favorite things in the world.This recipe caught me by surprise as the cornmeal mix was super liquidy. I thought I had done something wrong! But in the end it turned out super delicious. I think the next time I make it, I will put in more olives as there seemed to be only a few per serving. Thanks for this idea!
Can this be assembled the night before , refrigerated and cook in the morning?
I don’t see why not!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I just wanted to ask if there were any good sides to go with this or is the recipe itself full enough without sides?
You could do a simple side of rice to add to it. But it is a meal in itself.
Made this today and used the 3 hours on high. Wasn’t soupy or anything perfect thickness. It was good but not what I expected. Real Tamales are way different. There wasn’t enough spice in it. A little on the sweet side because of the corn. It was good, but not what I was looking for. Thanks for the recipe though!
Will it ruin it if cooked longer than what the recipe says? Sounds good with some sour cream and even tostitos for the kids.
Hi Sarah, I would not cook it much longer than the recipe calls for as it may dry out. If you really must bump up the cooking time I would try adding some extra liquid. But I cannot guarantee the results on that suggestion.
can this be frozen in advance?
This one cannot be frozen in advance since the corn bread part would not freeze well.
Any way to make this in the oven?
Hi Cindy,
While I am sure you can convert this into an oven recipe this recipe was tested and developed as a Crock-Pot recipe and without really testing it myself in an oven I am unable to advise on cooking temperatures and time. However you are willing to experiment and see if you can make it work. Experimenting is part of the fun in cooking!
I made this tonight but it was very mushy. I followed the recipe to the T. What did I do wrong or is it supposed to be that way?
The texture is semi mushy…like a casserole.
I’m going to try this in the oven, I’ll post my results! I can’t wait to try this!!
Let us know how it goes Debbie!
Turned out great! I mixed all together like the recipe says, then put it in a sprayed 9×13 pan and baked about 30 minutes at 350. Might have to go s little longer, was cooking other things at the same time.
Awesome, glad that came out OK for you. We don’t normally test our recipes in the oven since this is a Crock-Pot site but many of them can be converted.
Yummy! We need to be trying out different recipes in our slow cooker as we tend to stick to ones we know we will eat!
This is a fantastic one to try Paula!
I’d love to try this, any way to alternate recipe if I don’t have cornmeal? I do have corn tortillas?
You could try layering the corn tortillas between the rest of the ingredients Tamara. I have never tried it but if you do let us know how it works for you!
I have made a taco bake with corn tortillas and basically all other ingredients are the same. I layer it like lasagna. It turns out great!
No offense but this is without a doubt the worst recipe I have ever made in a crockpot! it was dry, there was no noticeable corn “Bread”, just grainy texture to this dish and tasted primarily of corn. As the first recipe I have tried from this site I am skeptical about trying the others!
Hi Peggy! I’m sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! We do have lots of amazing recipes on our site. Hopefully you’ll try them out. Have a great day!
I do not have corn meal. Why do you recommend NOT using cornbread mix? I need to eat gluten free and I do have GF Krusteaz honey cornbread mix that I was going to use but a little apprehensive now that your recipe says “do not use a cornbread mix.
The reason we suggest not to use cornbread mix is because boxed cornbread mix contains all sorts of other ingredients such as Leaveners (such as baking soda or baking powder) which make the cornbread rise and be fluffy. Also they usually contain some sort of sweetener which would change the flavor profile of this tamale bake. Plain corn meal however would still be gluten free and is what we recommend for this recipe.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share these wonderful recipes! It’s very much appreciated.
So glad you’re enjoying them!
Need alternative for the olives pls. My wife hates olives. Tia
Hi Don, you can just omit the olives if your wife is not a fan.