Growing up in Southern California, I wound up eating at Mexican food restaurants a lot- they are everywhere…and it’s a good thing because it’s one of my all-time favorite foods to eat (and make). I used to always have a bowl of homemade salsa in the refrigerator and can whip up a MEAN guacamole on cue. Just ask me to do it the next time you see me. I’ll do it. Homemade refried beans? No prob. Easy peasy. Enchiladas? Simple. But tamales…oh no, they are WAY to time consuming for me to take on. That is why I came up with this super easy and delicious recipe.
I used to always eat the Green Corn Tamales at El Cholo in Los Angeles, they are DIVINE. This is my version of them in a casserole form- this obviously can’t be steamed like real tamales but this is a simple way to get that flavor.
These are a sweet corn version. You could certainly switch things up and omit the sugar and add chicken or beef…but I love them this way. I also love to pour chili over this and make it even heartier of a meal. This Cheesy Sweet Corn Tamale Pie could be a delicious side dish or even the main course. Olé!!
Cheesy Sweet Corn Tamale Pie

Ingredients
- 10 ears corn
- 3 1/3 cups cornmeal
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup half & half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 7-ounce cans diced green chiles (or whole green chiles, sliced), drained
- 2 ½ cups cheddar, shredded
- 2 ½ cups jack cheese, shredded
For the garnish:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 avocados, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Cut both ends of corn and remove husks. Cut corn kernels off the cob. In a food processor, grind the kernels with the cornmeal.
- Beat the shortening and butter together until creamy. Add the sugar, half & half, and salt. Add the corn mixture and mix well. Spread mixture over the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with chiles and cheese, then another layer of corn mixture.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the corn mixture has firmed. Top with sour cream, avocado, cilantro and tomatoes.
show comments 10 responses
When I tried to add this delicious sounding recipe to Zip list, it comes up with your chicken stroganoff recipe, not this one. Thought you might like to know!
That is SO weird- I am going to contact them right now! Thanks for letting me know!!
This looks really good and gooey!
I also devoured green corn tamales as a child in SoCal. Can’t wait to try this, but do you have a rough idea of how many cups of corn you ended up with? I’ll have to try this with frozen corn.
This looks fabulous!! Thanks
I read that an ear of corn is equal to 3/4 of a cup so that is 7 1/2 cups of corn, although I think I had less, maybe 6 cups- I didn’t measure this one out. Let me know how this turns out!
How did this turn out with frozen corn? Did you defrost it first or just put it straight in the food processor?
you state 1 lb cornmeal and 1/4 lb shortning- 1/4 lb butter can you please give the measurements such as 1-cup, etc. thank you so much.Sounds really good I am going to make
1/4 pound is 1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter.
Oh! and 3 1/3 cups cornmeal
I cut way back on the sugar and the cheese quantities. This is an amazing recipe. Also, substituted yogurt for the half and half.