This tastes just like your favorite homemade tamales, minus the hours of preparation that homemade tamales require. It's a great way to use up leftover meat from grilling too! Serve with Fresh Homemade Guacamole and Restaurant-Style Mexican Fried Rice for a delicious meal!
3cups rotisserie chicken or, any leftover meat such as beef or pork
2cupsgreen salsa
2cupsshredded pepper jack cheesedivided
Tamale Crust
2cupsinstant corn masa mix
1 ½teaspooncumin
½teaspoonsmoked paprika
½teaspoonbaking powder
1teaspoon salt
2cupswater
¼cupunsalted buttersoftened
Sauce and Garnish, Optional
1, 19ouncecan red enchilada sauce
fresh cilantro
Instructions
Roast Red Peppers, Prep Meat
Preheat oven to 425.° Slice and dice 3-4 red peppers, toss with olive oil.
Place diced red peppers on a baking sheet lined with parachment paper and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, until peppers are softened. While red peppers are roasting, shred or dice three cups of cooked meat, use any meat you like. I use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or leftovers from grilling.
Spray a 13" x 9" pan with Pam or grease with shortening and set aside.
Make Filling, Mix Dough
Combine meat, salsa, 1 ½ cup shredded cheese and oven-roasted peppers in a medium bowl and set aside. Mix dry ingredients for the crust, add wet ingredients and combine to form a thick, sturdy dough.
Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Make the crust about ½ inch thick and about 2 inches up the side of the dish. Add the filling. Be careful not to overfill the crust, you'll want the filling to fit under the rim of the tamale crust.
Bake Casserole
Adjust oven to 350° Bake for 50 minutes, covered. Add remaining ½ cup of cheese to the top and bake uncovered for 20 additional minutes. While casserole bakes, warm the enchilada sauce on the stove.
Serve
Let casserole rest for 10 minutes, before serving. I cover it lightly with foil to help keep it warm.
Spoon a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce onto each serving plate. Cut the casserole in squares or wedges and place each serving on top of the sauce. Serve with a few sprigs of cilantro.
Notes
Note: If you are using leftover meat or beef that has been heavily seasoned or marinated (such as tri-tip or carne asada) it may impact how spicy or salty the tamale casserole tastes. When that's the case, I recommend adjusting the salt and only use about half what the recipe calls for in the tamale dough. The nutritional information was calculated without including the enchilada sauce. Homemade Creamed Corn is a delicious side dish with this casserole.