Description
This Chili Cornbread Casserole is a comforting one-dish meal featuring a hearty, veggie-packed chili base topped with sweet, fluffy cornbread. It combines ground beef, fire-roasted tomatoes, beans, and spices, baked to perfection with a cheesy cornbread topping for a filling family dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Chili Base
- Cooking spray
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (1 small onion)
- 1 cup diced bell pepper, any color (1 small bell pepper)
- 1 small jalapeno, diced (seeds and membranes removed for less heat)
- Additional 2 tablespoons sliced jalapeno for topping (optional)
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup frozen corn
Cornbread Topping
- ¾ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (or 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ cup milk of choice (e.g., 2% milk)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- ¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Optional Garnishes
- Sour cream
- Fresh cilantro
- Diced avocado
- Sliced jalapeño
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 400℉ to prepare for baking the casserole.
- Cook the chili base: Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat and mist with cooking spray. Add the ground beef, diced onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and minced garlic. Stir occasionally, and cook for 8-9 minutes until the beef is fully browned and onions are softened, breaking up meat with a spatula as it cooks.
- Add spices: Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and black pepper to season the chili mixture evenly.
- Combine tomatoes and beans: Add the tomato sauce, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained beans, tomato paste, and frozen corn. Stir well and bring the mixture close to a boil.
- Simmer the chili: Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the skillet with a lid, and let it simmer for 8 minutes. Then remove the lid and cook for an additional 4 minutes uncovered to thicken the mixture.
- Prepare the cornbread batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add milk, egg, avocado oil, and vinegar, stirring until the batter is smooth and well combined.
- Top the chili with cornbread: Drop 6-8 mounds of the cornbread batter evenly over the chili in the skillet. Optionally top each mound with a slice of jalapeno.
- Bake the casserole: Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the cornbread, then return to oven and bake for another 8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cornbread topping comes out clean.
- Rest and serve: Remove the skillet from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, diced avocado, sliced jalapeño, and lime wedges if desired.
Notes
- Use a large oven-proof skillet to seamlessly move the casserole from stove to oven.
- Removing seeds and membranes from jalapeno reduces heat for a milder dish.
- Substitute dairy milk with plant-based milk to make the dish dairy-free if desired.
- To make gluten-free, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour.
- Allowing the casserole to rest after baking helps the flavors meld and makes serving easier.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 336 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 970 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 21 g
- Cholesterol: 57 mg
