The Easiest Chicken Tamale Casserole

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The other day I came across this recipe on Pinterest. It was a delicious looking homemade tamale casserole. My mouth salivated.

“Self,” I said. I always call myself self. Unless I don’t. “Self, why don’t we make this recipe?”

“Let me see it.” Self is pretty demanding.

Self looked over the ingredients. Then she looked at me. You would be surprised how difficult that last part is.

“Girl, we are too lazy to make this.”

I looked the recipe over and was sad to see that she was right. But I happen to be a bit smarter than Self. And a bit more lazy. It is funny how that works.

“Why don’t we just use store bought tamales?”

I think Self agreed because she proceeded to drive us to the grocery store to get them.

Here is the easy recipe we came up with:

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Ingredients:

1 package of green chile and cheese tamales (mine came with six for our family of four)
1 10 oz. can of green enchilada sauce
2 cups of diced cooked chicken breast (Self bought us a rotisserie chicken)
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (1 8 oz. package)

Optional toppings:

Sour cream
Chopped cilantro
Salsa

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“Self, can we really call this a recipe? All we did was throw some ingredients into a pan. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Calm down. Move over. Let me give the directions.”

Directions:

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“Sorry about Jenni. She’s too theatrical. Let’s just get to the recipe with no more shenanigans.”

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour a small amount of enchilada sauce into the pan. Unwrap tamales from corn husks. Place tamales in a line in the pan. I would use an 11 X 7 pan next time. My 9 X 13 was too big. Place diced chicken on top of tamales. Pour enchilada sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake twenty minutes. Uncover and bake another 5-10. You want the cheese melted but not brown.

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Top with toppings of your choice. We served ours with rice, tortilla chips and homemade salsa. It was a good quick meal and we will definitely be making it again.

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I hope one of yous makes this. Then all of yous will be happy.

12 thoughts on “The Easiest Chicken Tamale Casserole

  1. Good morning! Of course I’m in love with your top! Pretty, colored embroidery AND eyelet…..that’s perfection in a blouse I think! So pretty on you! I would have taken the same short cut to the recipe! Just finished catching up on some of your posts & commenting. How did it become October already & where has my time gone? It’s been hijacked by work & Grace’s softball!
    Happy day to you & your family!
    :)rebecca

    • Thank you Rebecca! I was happy to snag it on sale a few months ago. I have worn it a few times but it never made it to an outfit post. Yes, how is it October all ready? Time is flying by!

      I hope you have a great week!

      Jenni

  2. I do this too. Trader Joe’s has really good tamales: cheese & green chilie, beef & chicken, in the freezer dept. An easy, good dinner!

    • Thank you Jo! I had forgotten about Trader Joe’s tamales. Thank you for mentioning those! I have never tried them but I am going there tomorrow. I will pick some up! I love an easy dinner! : )

      Have a lovely week!

      Jenni

    • Thank you! : ). I love tamales, too. If you ever head our way, I will take you to our favorite restaurant. It is a little nothing of a place, but I love their sopapillas and bean burritos. They have tamales I love, too, but they have meat. I always get a bean and cheese burrito. Now I want one tomorrow. Of course, I want a hamburger now, too. I think I am hungry.

      Self says, “sweet dreams!”

      Jenni

    • Thank you Melodee! I like an easy meal. I do not know if it will ever cool off. I keep looking at the weather calendar and it is hot weather for as far as it can forecast. I want some cool temperatures. Maybe November?

      Have a fabulous week!

      Jenni

  3. I’m actually so glad you shared this recipe and that it’s so easy! I’ve seen the frozen tamales at Trader Joe’s but never bought them because they seemed boring. I needed some inspiration for sprucing them up a bit. This is perfect! Looks like a super delicious, easy-peasy recipe that’ll save us some money and keep us from going out when the craving for Mexican food hits!

    <3 Liz
    http://www.withwonderandwhimsy.com

    • Oh! I am so glad you like this. And thank you! I almost didn’t post it because it is so easy, but then I did on a whim. Thank you for making me feel good about my decision.

      Have a happy week!

      Jenni

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