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Hey, hi! Happy Thanksgiving week!
And Happy 19th Birthday to my brother, who is closest in age to me, Kai (Malachi)!!
I can already tell it’s going to be a pretty awesome week. For one, it’s a super short week, so we have that going for us (hello four-day weekend!). Two, Thursday we get to eat till we just can’t eat anymore (bring on all the butternut squash, pomegranate salad and um pies!) and then Friday is the official start to the Christmas season.
I mean, over here we have officially been going hard-core Christmas since Saturday when we cut down the Christmas tree. But that’s just us, or the girls of the family anyway. I mean, it’s been like a winter wonderland here so it’s pretty hard NOT to get in the spirit. All the boys are disgusted in us, if it where up to them they’d put the tree up on Christmas Eve. They are all a bunch of Scrooges if you ask me.
But whatever, this week is still all about Thanksgiving… ok, maybe a little Christmas talk, but then back to Thanksgiving!!
Some years, our house is full of people for Thanksgiving and some years it is super small. Of course the year I do not even have a working oven, our table is pretty full. Not huge or anything, but still full. All of my siblings will be here so that’s nine of us, plus Blake who should probably just change his last name to Gerard by now and then three guests. There could definitely be more added on, but as of right now this is the head count.
Guaranteed there will be a handful of last-minute people who show up needing a good meal though. It happens every year. Especially since we eat dinner pretty late in the day. Like 7:30pm or 8:00pm. This gives people time to finds us, get comfy and stay a while. Mom and I always shoot for seven, but then gravy happens and well we honestly both suck at gravy so we never end up eating till like eight. But it’s ok because we kind of like late meals over here.
Also, it’s gonna be a crockpot Thanksgiving….should be interesting.
I wasn’t really sure I’d have a ton of turkey leftovers this year because I honestly never do, so I made some turkey breast the other week for the sole purpose of making this tamale pie. I have been thinking about it ever since October 31st. Waiting till Thanksgiving for this was not an option.
When cheesy polenta is involved you know it’s going to be good. Just sayin.
This pie could not be more perfect for the day after Thanksgiving dinner. It feeds all those lingering guests and it’s so easy to make. Plus, it’s saucy, creamy, cheesy and delicious. Perfect cozy, family comfort food.
It’s like a tamale, but better if you ask me, because well, you don’t have to do all the work of real tamales. FYI – if you’ve never made tamales before – they are work. I tried a few Christmases ago to make them for twenty plus people and I have regretted it ever since. So I now make tamale burrito bowls and tamale pies to get my tamale fix. It’s brilliant. <–Been watching too many Jamie Oliver you tube videos apparently.
I made this two ways, one family style and one, in cute little individual skillets. The mini skillets make such a fun presentation, but for some reason they didn’t seem to be as saucy as the big family style pie. Either way is good, but if you are only serving four, the skillets are always a crowd pleaser.
If you’re not cooking a turkey this year or you just don’t have any turkey leftovers, use chicken. Don’t let a lack of leftovers stop you from making this. This One-Pot Cheesy Turkey Tamale Pie is too good, and way too easy. You just need one-pot, one mixing bowl and an oven. Oh what I would do for an oven! Did I mention that if one of you guys somehow manages to get me an oven (by Thanksgiving) I will send you cookies in the mail for like a year? I really will.
And with that I am done. I need to go buy some crockpots or mini ovens or something to cook all my sides in. The turkey’s getting cooked in this thing. OMG. Someone send help (or ovens!).
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ok, now let’s grab some forks already!
I made this last night for dinner and it was a hit! My husband wants to put the leftovers over french fries to make chili cheese fries. A big thank you from our family for the awesome new recipe for leftover turkey!
I am so glad you all loved this! Thank you Michelle!
This was a very easy meal to put together and extremely tasty!!! We were trying to think of something different to do with our leftover turkey. Five stars from me!!!
That is so great! Thank you Mike!
I would like to say that I made this recipe today and the Polenta (corn meal mush) was the star of the show. The dry seasonings in the above quantities are a bit much for my taste and leave a bitter finish to an other wise tasty sauce. I would suggest using only 1/2 of the amount for each seasoning listed and then add to your desired taste. I made the Polenta using Quaker corn meal. A 15 oz can of chicken broth,
2 cups milk and 8 oz frozen corn to 1 cup of cornmeal and 2 tsp salt plus 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic. Add all ingredients to gether cold in your 3qt pot and whisk gently until combined. Takes about 30 seconds. Turn on burner to high heat and continually whisk until thicken and combined about 5 min. This will ensure no lumps and will make creamy as well. Reduce heat to low and cover. Stir every 10 minutes while cooking an additional 20 min. In the final 10 min stir in 1/2 stick butter until melted and add 1/2 cup ( 4 oz) of your preferred cheese. At the end of 10 min stir to combine and serve. Keep pot covered and remove lid to stir only.
I promise they are amazing!!!! (You can substitute 1 ear of fresh cut corn or 1/2 can of cream corn for the frozen) Enjoy!
Glad you enjoyed the dish Jason! Thanks!
Thanks for answering so fast! So it didn’t turn out as I think it was supposed to…given that the polenta sort of just melded into the meat mixture? I will try again in the future with the right polenta so it’s a thick mixture. Just so I know…when it’s finished is it supposed to be the consistency of masa in a tamale? cake or bread like?
Hey Linda! So when finished, it should be more like masa in a tamale. Hope it goes better the second time! Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you!
Going to have to try this one. Looks delish! Your recipes never disappoint. ☺
Thank you!! Hope you love it!!
Where does the cayenne go????
Also the instructions are not well written and hard to follow.
The cayenne goes in with the other spices, the recipe has been fixed. What is hard to follow? Let me know how I can help.
As someone who has never used polenta before this recipe confused me. I ended up buying the little sausage like shaped package of polenta. I had no idea how thick this should have gotten but after cooking 20 min it was thickened to the consistency of cream of wheat. After this baked it looks watery. I’m hoping it tastes good. I have a feeling something is off. Also it says one red pepper. Is this a bell pepper? Because that’s what I had to assume. I’m sorry if these things should be common knowledge to people but perhaps a little more detail world have helped. Can you give me an idea…for the future…how thick is the polenta mixture supposed to be?
Hey Linda! I am so sorry for the confusion. When I say polenta, I actually mean dry polenta. You cook it like you would rice. once it it finished cooking it should be the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. I am sure what you have is fine though and it should still taste good. And yes, I do mean a bell pepper. Again, so sorry for the confession. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you end loving this!
I’m sorry if you already stated this somewhere, but would a 10 inch cast iron skillet work well for this? Or what size do you recommend? Thanks!
Hey Amanda! A 10 or 12 inch skillet will both work great. Hope you love this and let me know if you have other questions. Thanks!
Just made this for dinner, with leftover turkey. Incredible recipe! Thank you! Saucy, creamy, spicy. Just awesome!
so happy you loved this! Thanks!!
I made this tonight turned out super good, I used trader joes enchilada sauce and also added corn and black olives, just because we love them, it turned out really good.
you may want to consider less milk or chicken broth. i did this recipe, added 1/2 cup extra polenta, and it was still soupy. tasted amazing. had to use nachos to spoon out.
I’m not super experienced with polenta. I have seen the tube like things of polenta though. Can that be sliced and used instead of cooking it? What is the difference?
Yes, sliced polenta will be fine, but it will not be creamy like you see in the photos…still delicious though. Homemade polenta is creamy like grits. Let me know if you have any other questions! Hope you love this!
Fantastic recipe!!!!!!! I used chicken since I did a rotisserie last night and had a ton of left overs. Social media was a downer for me this time since somehow word got around of the food I cooked and people just kept dropping in inquiring about the wonderful smell coming from the stove.
Haha! So happy this was a hit! THANKS!
What other variations to The One-Pot Cheesy Turkey Tamale Pie are there. For example; could I replace beef for the turkey. It looks and sounds delicious.
Hey Gabriel!
beef would work great. You could also use pulled pork or short ribs. Hope you love this!
This looks so yummy and good use of left over turkey! Love, love love the mini cast iron skillets!
Thanks so much, Amanda!