CHEDDAR CHILI CORNBREAD PIE – My favorite chili baked with a crusty cheddar cornbread topping! A happy marriage.
There’s ground beef, beans, corn, onions, peppers, tomatoes and lots of lovely warm spices to round out the chili. You can make it red pepper hot or not, it’s up to you.
The cornbread has cheddar cheese in the batter and on top too. There’s also fresh chopped onions and sour cream to help keep it moist. Not that it needs it, because baking the chili underneath it is the best way I know to keep it from being dry and crumbly. It soaks up some of the flavorful chili sauce as it bakes.
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You can make it even cheesier by sprinkling extra cheese on top of the chili before you add the cornbread batter.
Everyone knows chili and cornbread belong together. This is just a different means to an end.
No need for dunking because it’s already dunked.
CHEDDAR CHILI CORNBREAD PIE
Ingredients
- Chili:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 roasted red pepper or fresh bell pepper diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- salt and fresh black pepper
- 1 + 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper optional
- 1 can 14.5 ounces petite diced tomatoes
- 1 can 14 ounces cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 + 1/2 cups corn
- Cornbread:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided (*plus another cup if you want it extra cheesy)
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1/2 cup sour cream plus more for serving
Instructions
Make the Chili:
- In a large Dutch oven or soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, pepper and garlic plus a couple pinches salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the ground beef to the pot and break it apart as it cooks. When the beef is cooked add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Mix it through and let cook 2 more minutes.
- Mix in the tomatoes, beans and corn. Turn the heat up a little and bring to a simmer. Cook 25 minutes, stirring often.
Make the Cornbread/Assemble the Pie:
- Butter a deep-sided 9x13-inch lasagna or casserole pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt together. Mix in 1 cup of the cheddar and the onion.
- In a separate medium bowl whisk the eggs, milk, butter and sour cream together. Add this mixture to the dry mix and stir together just until combined.
- Spoon the chili into the baking pan (*for the extra cheesy version sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese). Drop spoonfuls of the cornbread mixture over top and gently spread it out. Sprinkle with the remaining cup of cheese.
- Bake 20 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of cornbread. Let set for 5 -10 minutes before slicing. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.