This Crockpot Tamale Pie is the perfect frugal family crockpot meal! It’s hearty, filling and best of all, a quick and easy recipe.
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When I was in third grade, my teacher had a pet hamster that she kept in our classroom. We had so much fun feeding that little guy and taking care of him, but the thing I remember the most about little Mr. Hamster was how he would jump on his hamster wheel and run, making that thing spin like crazy! It always intrigued me and I remember wishing for my own wheel to run on because it looked like so much fun!
The last couple of weeks I felt a lot like that hamster running on his wheel- the biggest difference was that all my spinning did actually accomplish things.
My husband’s sister got married and we were out of town for 4 days for the wedding, both our boys had birthdays and of course birthday parties too, I put 2 bushels of peaches in the freezer, we had numerous guests here for meals and well, you get the picture.
It was all good, fun stuff, but whew, it was exhausting and hard to keep up with everything!
Anyway, one of those hectic days last week I was trying to think of something simple to make for dinner and suddenly remembered this frugal family friendly crockpot recipe! We first enjoyed this years ago when we were visiting my husband’s sister and her family.
His sister is one of those people that is super efficient and organized and makes raising 5 kids that are 7 years apart in age look easy! So when we’re at their place, I always enjoy observing how she does things and like to see what foods she makes.
That night for dinner she made this Crockpot Tamale Pie. I had never even heard of Tamale Pie before and was intrigued. Cornbread with Mexican type food ingredients? It sounded delicious and it was. I fell in love with it instantly!
And unless you hate cornbread, this is one of those recipes that you really can’t go wrong making! The ground beef and beans make it a hearty dish, the tomatoes and taco seasoning give it lots of juicy flavor and the corn bread tops it all off perfectly and makes it super filling!
And to top it all off, it’s ready with just 10 to 15 minutes prep time! Give it a try yourself- it’s a great frugal family meal that you’ll love!
How to Make Tamale Pie in the Crockpot
Crockpot Tamale Pie
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
- 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained*
- 2 cups whole kernel corn (if using canned, drain)
- 1 med. onion, sliced
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 1 package cornbread (see Notes below)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese optional
- 1 bunch cilantro optional
- Sour cream
- Salsa optional
- Tortilla chips optional
Instructions
- In bowl, combine cooked beef, black beans, tomatoes, corn, onion and taco seasoning. Mix well and pour into greased slow cooker.
- Prepare cornbread according to package directions and spoon over beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro if desired.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. (Once corn bread is set in center, it's ready to eat.)
- Serve with sour cream and salsa and tortilla chips, depending on your preferences.
Notes
You can still make this recipe! Just mix up the bottom part in a big pot and let it simmer for 20 min. or so on the stovetop. Then make your favorite cornbread, bake it and when you are ready to eat, either top the cornbread with the bottom mixture or top the bottom mixture with the cornbread. Requires a bit more work, but it's just as delicious!
OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
Lisa
What size crockpot do you recommend? I have a 5 qt and a 7 qt. Thank you for a yummy-looking new recipe!
Lydia Beiler
I use a 6 qt. I think the 5 qt would be big enough, but I’m not totally sure. So since you have the 7 qt. I’d say go ahead and use that one!
Lori Denton
I love your honesty and recipes. I got so excited to see everything that I lost your basic pantry entry. Would you please send me that if you have time? I started reading it then got distracted by a recipe and then another and now I can’t seem to find pantry basic items again. Thank you for sharing. I really appreciate it.
Lydia Beiler
Thanks for your kind words, Lori! Knowing that you are enjoying my content enough to “get lost” in it is a huge compliment. 🙂 I think this Cheap Pantry Staples post is the one you are looking for? If not, let me know and I’ll help you figure out which post it was.
Jamie
I don’t use my slow cooker nearly enough. Thanks for this simple and delicious sound meal idea! I’ll be dusting off the slow cooker and making this soon!
ThriftyFrugalMom
It’d definitely worth dusting off the slow cooker for! 🙂