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An easy skillet chili recipe topped with a quick jalapeño cheddar cornbread crust baked right on top! This tamale pie is warm and hearty and comes together in one pan. No one’s going to be mad that there are fewer dishes to clean!
Sweet Skillet Chili!
Chili demands to be made in the skillet topped with an addicting slightly sweet and spicy jalapeño cornbread crust. So I guess this skillet chili is then technically a tamale pie.
You’ll want to keep eating more with each bite because that cornbread has a hint of sweetness that balances out the heat from the chili. Not only is it hearty, but it’s also quick to pull together. Best of all, you don’t need to make individual corn muffins. Dollop and spread the cornbread batter right on top of your chili and pop this bad boy in the oven until it’s golden brown and bubbly.
Top your bowl with your favorite chili toppings – chopped scallions, sour cream, or fresh cilantro. My personal preference at the moment? Just a big dollop of guacamole! Don’t knock it till you try it; it has that same creaminess of sour cream only much much better.
2 words… life changing! The family (including teenager) LOVES this!
Ingredients for Skillet Chili
- ground beef: I like to keep things lean with anything that about 90-95% ground beef. If you use something like hamburger meat (80-85%) you’ll want to drain the excess grease once you’ve browned the beef before carrying on.
- onions: helps flavor the chili
- peppers: for this recipe I use both bell pepper and jalapeños with the ribs and seeds removed. If you’re worried about the spice, feel free to swap the jalapeños for green bell pepper or a mild hatch chili pepper or something similar!
- garlic: how could I not?
- seasonings: We’re using ground cumin, chili powder, paprika, and chipotle chili powder to help season our chili
- brown sugar: helps add a bit of sweetness to the chili and balances out the umami from Worcestershire and the salt
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds a nice bit of depth to the chili and gives it umami flavor.
- Tomatoes: we’re using a can of fire roasted and a can of tomato sauce
- boxed cornbread mix: Take shortcuts where you can!
- an egg: room temperature if and when possible
- sour cream: use room temperature sour cream so that it stirs and combines quickly.
- chopped jalapeños: again, you can swap the chopped jalapenos for a few tablespoons of drained can of diced hatch chili peppers if you’re worried about the spice here.
- garlic powder: garlic powder goes to well with the melted butter chedd and jalapeños!
- Cheddar cheese: you can use Mexican cheddar, sharp cheddar, white cheddar, mild cheddar – and pretty much any other kind of cheese that melts well here!
- melted butter: to bring flavor and moisten the cornbread
- milk or water: I prefer to use milk but water would also work here.
FAQs about this recipe
replace the ground beef with ground turkey or chicken, both would work equally well here. I do suggest using ground chicken thighs though, and the chicken breast may not hold up to well to the longer cooking time.
Yes, often times, I’ll make the chili portion a day or two ahead and then just pop the cornbread mixture on top right before baking – easy peasy!
They do, but it’s nothing that we can’t handle. To make this mild, I suggest swapping out the jalapeños for ½ a green bell pepper. If you’re still worried, use mild chili powder, and swap that chipotle chili powder or more paprika.
You can simply replace all thereat with 3 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, pinto beans, and red kidney beans. Just be sure to rinse and drain the cans before using.
To make it so that the chili still fits in a 10-inch cat iron skillet, you’ll want to swap ¼ pound of ground beef for 1 can of rinsed and drained beans.
Maybe! But there’s no way for me to know for sure. For best results, I suggest using a box mix the first time and then making any changes you’d like.
Leftover chili can be zapped in the microwave until warm.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Slow Cooker Taco Chili
- Spicy Mexican Chili with Black Beans
- Texas Chili Con Carne
- Chipotle Butternut Squash Chili
- Pumpkin Chili
Skillet Chili with Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Crust
Ingredients
Skillet Chili
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 lb. ground beef 85:15, or ground chicken thighs or turkey
- ½ large onion chopped
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper chopped
- 2 jalapeños deseeded and diced (see notes)
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder or ancho, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 15 ounce fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
Cornbread Crust
- 8.5 ounce box cornbread mix
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup cheddar shredded cheese
- 1 jalapeno deseeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 tablespoons water or milk
Instructions
- BROWN: Heat the oil in a large, oven-safe, 10-inch skillet, such as a cast iron skillet, over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and crumble as needed, allow to cook for 5-7 minutes or until the beef browns. Drain any excess grease, leaving just a tablespoon in the pan. Add the onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños and continue to sauté for 5-6 minutes or until the veggies cook down a bit.
- SKILLET CHILI: Add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, and all the remaining ingredients for the chili, stir to combine. Let it come to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and allow it to cook for 20-25 minutes. If the chili starts drying out too much, add a few tablespoons of water and allow it to continue simmering. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. While the chili is simmering, prepare the cornbread mix.
- CORNBREAD: Combine all the ingredients for the cornbread in a large bowl. When the chili is done simmering, remove from heat. Drop the mixture in dollops and then spread over the chili. You want it to be evenly distributed across the whole skillet.
- BAKE: Place the skillet on a large baking sheet so if the juices overflow they don’t ruin the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Notes
- If you would like to use beans in your chili recipe, reduce the ground beef to ¾ pound and use 1 (15-ounce) can of beans that are drained and rinsed. I highly suggest using black beans!
- Replace the jalepeños in the skillet chili with green bell peppers (about ½ a pepper in the chili) to make this milder!
- To make this even quicker on a weeknight. Prepare the chili mixture over the weekend and refrigerate until ready to use (chili mixture can be made up to two days in advance).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Its so delicious
Could you make this in a cast iron Dutch oven then add all the meat and beans?
Hi Kelli! Yes, if your dutch oven is 3-quart or larger, you can certainly do that!
I made this last night for dinner and it is delicious! My husband said it is one of the best meals I have ever made.
Hi Carol! I’m so glad you decided to give this recipe a try! It really is ‘man food’ was a big hit for us as well! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Can I transfer the chili to a baking dish and then top with the cornbread in order to serve in a prettier dish?
Absolutely!
I have made this 4 times both with and without the cornbread crust. My husband loves chili, but I am not a huge fan, and I LOVE this chili! The only recipe we eat in this house! Thank you so much!
We call this Tamale Pie. I add a bit of creamed corn to the cornbread mixture. It’s delicious!
Made this for friendsgiving and everyone LOVED IT!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Absolutely amazing! The flavor is wonderful!!! Y’all must make this now!!!!! It’s addicting!
2 words… life changing! The family (including teenager) LOVES this!
That’s great! Happy to hear it, Krystal!
Sounds good. A couple questions:
1. Sounds like it would be real spicy – where would you rate it on a scale of 1-5?
2. Would the consistency be okay if I substitute 2 cans of beans for the meat to make it vegetarian?
Hmm… I think this was pretty mild for us.. maybe a 1 or 2 on the scale. You can play around with the jalapenos if you want it to be spicier (leave the seeds in or add more peppers). Yes, a couple cans of beans in place of the meat should be fine, I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t think it should be a problem 🙂
Is the cornbread batter supposed to be really really really thick (prior to cooking)? I didn’t have a boxed mix so I used 8oz of homemade mix. It needed double the liquid. Otherwise everything tasted amazing.
Mine was pretty thick, the way cookie dough is right after you finish mixing it if I remember correctly. Glad to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
I made this today with the black beans and a whole pound of turkey chopmeat. We took out a bit of the chili and had it with tortilla chips for lunch. Reheated the rest and added the cornbread for our football party. We loved it!! I am famous for my chili but hands down this will be my new go-to chili recipe!
Like a 10″ skillet, or bigger?
Yes, a 10 inch skillet is perfect.