Food is a huge part of our family’s holiday traditions. Back in Guatemala, I used to eat tamales every Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) but tamales take so much effort and time to make. In the search for an alternative to the traditional Guatemalan tamales I came up with the idea of creating a tamale casserole. This Green Chile Turkey Tamale Casserole brings together all of those flavors from my childhood yet takes less than 30 minutes to prepare!
To make this recipe I used a couple of cans of Rio Luna diced green chiles, which I added to tomatillo sauce to make the turkey tamale filling which turned it from good to amazing! This green chile turkey tamale casserole brings bold Southwestern flavor to your table, especially when made with fresh hatch green chile for an authentic touch. This recipe is the perfect addition to any holiday get together and a great dish for bringing to any holiday potluck party and the turkey with green chile sauce makes for a great dish all on it’s own too!
Green Chile Turkey Tamale Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked turkey, shredded
- 2 cups green tomatillo sauce, I used storebought
- 1 cup Rio Luna organic diced chiles
- 1 fresh hatch green chile, diced
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 cups masa harina flour (corn tortilla flour)
- 1 1/2 cups of chicken
- 1 cup of shortening, melted
- 2 cups of shredded cheese, I used Mexican blend
- chopped red onion
- chopped chives
- Queso fresco (crumbling Mexican cheese)
- Mexican crema
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375F.
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Mix masa harina flour, chicken broth and melted shortening with your hands until you have masa with a sticky consistency.
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Coat a medium casserole dish with cooking spray.
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Put the masa on the bottom of the casserole and spread evenly with a spatula.
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Combine shredded turkey, green tomatillo sauce, 1/2 cup of the Rio Luna organic diced chiles,hatch green chile and cilantro. You want the turkey to be well coated but do not want the mixture to have too much sauce or be too watery.
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Using a slotted spoon add turkey mixture over the layer of masa and spread evenly.
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Sprinkle with the cheese.
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Place casserole on the lowest rack of the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble.
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Serve topped with diced onion, chives, queso fresco, crema, and more Rio Luna organic diced chiles.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
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This sounds like a tasty meal! I need to make it for dinner one night. I love spicy foods.
Perfect recepie for the season. Cant wait to try makin it
Oooooh, this is an interesting combo! I want to try this!
This dish looks amazing. I will make it someday and replace the turkey and chicken with sweetcorn and vegetables.
Oh this looks delicious! I love casseroles like this and the idea of using turkey is really intriguing!
This is making my mouth water! This looks absolutely delicious and I think I need to go out and buy some turkey.
This Green Chile Turkey Tamale Casserole looks really yummy and it doesn’t seem to be very difficult to prepare! Can’t wait to cook it at the weekend for my family and friends! Yummm! 🙂
What a delicious recipe! I was in Guatemala last year actually during Christmas time and did try tamale – so good! Your recipe sounds very do-able!
I haven’t made a casserole in a while. I bet my family would love this one. I’ll have to try it out.
What a cool idea! I live for tamales, so I bet I would really like this one. It would be a nice change in my house from the usual tacos.
This looks like it would taste absolutely amazing. I can not wait to make it for myself.
This sounds so yummy! Sign me up ASAP! I feel like I could eat this entire dish myself!
I LOVE green chiles! I put them in artichoke dip nad it was game changer for sure! This look so good and I love using turkey!
Sounds good 🙂 Anyone who likes chili or turkey will be a fan.
This looks like a very tasty, spicy dish – and super easy to make! Can’t wait to try it!
This is such an amazing dish. It has that look that makes you hungry in an instant. I cannot wait to try this.
I love the color and overall appearance of the dish. It looks absolutely full of mouth watering taste. This is something to try during special occassions.
Been checking out of some new recipes to try out and glad I came over this post. Not sure if this is available in the nearby store but I will take note of this and see if I can try.