Tamale Pie Burritos Recipe —It's Whats for Dinner!

Tamale Pie Burritos? Yes! Flavorful ground beef, salsa and corn wrapped in a warm flour tortilla spread with creamy masa or polenta is a great new twist to this Retro Recipe favorite.

If you are looking for an "out of the box" dinner idea, this Burrito Recipe is for you! Traditional tamale pie in a fun new way. Did I say it is easy to customize the ingredients? It is so easy to make this with pulled pork, chicken or any leftovers... even a meatless vegetarian meal.

Ingredients for Tamale Pie Burritos

Here is a list of the ingredient you will need for this recipe. Keep in mind that it is so easy to mix up the flavors or change the protein to fit your diet.

Flour Tortillas - You will need great flour tortillas. Choose your favorite large flour tortilla that is flexible and fresh or make your own. Heat them gently so they willl wrap without cracking.

Creamy Masa (fresh masa for tamales or easy masa from Masa Harina for Tamales )or Creamy Polenta (used in this recipe). Prepare according to recipe or package directions.

Ground Beef Taco Meat- or any protein of your choice. I like to mix it up with pork tamale meat or crockpot shredded chicken. You can even go vegetarian by adding ground tofu taco meat filling or our Award Winning Vegetarian Chili recipe.

Diced Vegetables - minced or small diced onion and garlic are a must as well as diced tomatoes or salsa. My family loves black olives (it's an Arizona thing) and a great corn recipe like this garlic butter skillet corn.

How to Assemble Your Burritos

Assemble the individual Tamale Pie Burritos much the same way that you do this Layered Taco Dip.

First, lay the warm, soft tortilla flat on the counter or cutting board. Spread masa or polenta in the center of the tortilla in the shape of a rectangle leaving plenty of room around the borders to roll the burrito.

Layer the taco meat or protein on top of the masa or polenta. Then, add your vegetables and, if you would like, grated cheese.

Tips for Adding Vegetables to Tamale Pie Burritos

I love sneaking vegetables into unexpected places like ground beef for burritos and tacos. Here is how.

• Add vegetables like grated carrots or butternut squash or event grated broccoli stems. Cauliflower is great too and does not add the sweetness that carrots do.
• If you kids are not into veggies, grate the vegetables so that the are very small pieces and sauté them until very, very soft.
• For firm root vegetables and other crunchy veggies, add them to the sauté pan before you add the onion and garlic so they have a head start cooking and they will be very tender. Add the ground beef as seasonings.
• Corn does not take long to cook. Add corn just before the ground beef is done. Only a two to three minutes is all it takes.

Pro Tip: if your children are very good at detecting hidden veggies, choose white (like cauliflower or peeled broccoli stems) or very light colored vegetables like yellow carrots.

You can order my BURRITOS! Cookbook on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel and from many other online book sellers

Sometimes, you just need to try something different for dinner. If your family and friends are anything like mine, you may not want to stray too far from everyone's favorite Southwest flavors.

BURRITOS! are the answer. We wrap everything in a tortilla around here and make new and exciting burrito recipes all the time.

Tamale Pie Burritos are one of our favorite creations. It takes the quick and easy ground beef burrito and mixed it up with the flavors of classic tamales then, turned them into one of our favorite weeknight meals.

My kids love burritos because they are individual servings that we often "take on the road" with us to picnics or the ball park. I love them because they make it so easy to have tamale flavor any day of the week.

PLUS they are easy to wrap in foil and reheat later which is great for leftovers or keeping dinner warm if someone is coming home late for dinner.

Our BURRITOS Cookbook is filled with fun and interesting ways to "spice up" your average burrito.

Of course, there plenty of recipes for classic Southwest burritos, as well.

 Do you have a favorite recipe that you you think would be terrific in a burrito?

I'd love to hear about your ideas. Please leave a comment here on the Everyday Southwest OR you can always find me on Everyday Southwest's Facebook Page, follow me and leave a comment there.

See you soon!

—Sandy

Tamale Pie Burritos

Sandy

Tamale Pie Burritos are a new way to serve this Retro Recipe favorite!  Flavorful ground beef wrapped in warm flour tortillas with creamy corn polenta make a great weeknight meal or lunch "on the go."

5 from 2 votes

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American, American Southwest

Ingredients

  

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 16 ounces lean ground beef
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 ⁄2 onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 ⁄2 cup sliced black olives
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup coarse cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 to 6 12-inch flour tortillas, warmed
• 2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese grated

Instructions

 

• Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, pork, paprika, and cumin. Cook, breaking up meat into small pieces, until lightly browned, 3–5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook, another 2 minutes.
• Stir into skillet tomatoes, tomato paste, and cayenne pepper sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer until most of liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes. Add corn and olives and cook another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Slowly whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Stir in butter. Add salt and pepper.
• Assemble burritos by spooning about 1⁄4 cup of cornmeal mixture on tortillas. Add skillet mixture and sprinkle on cheese. Roll burritos as desired.

Notes

Try topping this burrito with Enchilada Sauce and grated cheese or Tomatillo Cream Sauce for a fresh tart touch. Makes 4 to 6 burritos