My husband grew up on casseroles and loves anytime I come up with a new one. This dinner combines his love of casseroles and my love of Mexican flavors! You can adjust the heat level to your liking, and either make the cornbread from scratch or use a box mix. This is an easy weeknight meal that your family will love!
PrintTaco Cornbread Casserole
Description
A delicious Mexican inspired casserole with cornbread.
Ingredients
Casserole:
Olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 ½ pounds ground beef
2 envelopes taco seasoning
8 oz green chilies
1 can whole kernel sweet corn
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 packages cornbread mix (Jiffy recommended) OR use the recipe below for homemade cornbread
Cornbread:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1/3 cup cheddar cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking dish and set it aside.
In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, jalapeno, and poblano pepper; and saute until soft and translucent. Add the ground beef and saute until cooked through. Stir in the taco seasoning, green chilies, corn, and tomato sauce; stirring well to combine. Cook until heated through.
Meanwhile, prepare the cornbread, by whisking together the cornmeal, milk, flour, sugar, paprika, salt, baking powder, eggs, and melted butter.
Pour 1/3 of the cornbread mixture in the baking dish, top with ½ the meat mixture and 1 ½ cups of cheese. Top with another 1/3 of the cornbread mixture, then the rest of the meat mixture, and the other 1 ½ cups of cheese. Top with remaining batter. Sprinkle the cheese over the top; place the baking dish on a sheet pan to catch any over flow, and bake, uncovered, until it is cooked through; about 20-30 minutes.
Serve with salsa, chopped scallions and onions, and cilantro.