Chili Cornbread Casserole
Do you like eating cornbread with your chili? Then you will love this Chili Cornbread Casserole! It’s cooks together for a hearty and comforting dinner!
Happy Friday, y’all! Today’s recipe is extra exciting because it’s part of a big secret I’ve been keeping for the past few weeks! Awhile back I got together with a big group of awesome food bloggers to participate in a fun “Freaky Friday” recipe swap. Each of us was secretly assigned another blog to read through and find a recipe to make and post about. We weren’t allowed to tell each other whose blog we had or what we were making from their site. Until today!
I was a lucky girl, because I got to choose from an variety of delicious recipes created by Sandra from The Foodie Affair. Sandra is a self-taught home cook who finds inspiration for her recipes from restaurants she’s gone to, magazines she’s read, and from her mother’s home cooking. She’s also a runner which allows her to fully enjoy all of the delicious meals and desserts she cooks. That’s something we have in common! 🙂
Picking a recipe of Sandra’s was not easy. She has SO many good ones! I spent a few hours on her site trying to narrow it down, and when I still couldn’t make a decision, I showed the options to my hubby and let him decide. He immediately chose her Turkey Chili Cornbread Pie, and I’m so glad he did because we love it!
A few of the close contenders were Sandra’s Butternut Squash Pasta, her Chocolate Chip S’mores Skillet Cookie, and this incredibly luscious-looking Pumpkin Delight Dessert. I don’t care if it’s February and pumpkin-everything season is over. I wanted that! If I would’ve had any pumpkin left over from my fall baking, that might have been the recipe you would be getting today! 🙂 I tell ya, the next can of pumpkin I get my hands on is going straight to that recipe!
It’s ok that I was out of pumpkin, though, because I got to make this yummy chili cornbread casserole instead! I didn’t make too many changes to Sandra’s recipe, aside from using ground beef in place of ground turkey, and I also added some cumin to the chili because I’m a cumin addict. 😉 I also decided to call mine a casserole because I baked the whole recipe in one large baking dish. If you’d rather make this into pies, this recipe is enough to make two. Just follow the same directions, but use two pie plates instead of one casserole dish.
If you’d like to see more of the recipes that were secretly swapped today by the other 15 bloggers, you can check them out below! Just click the pictures in the link-up to take you right to their page. 🙂

Chili Cornbread Casserole
Ingredients
Chili:
- 1½ pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion,, chopped
- 2½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves of garlic,, minced
- 1 (28 oz ) can crushed tomatoes
- 1½ cups frozen corn
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Cornbread topping:
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoons butter,, melted and cooled
- Sour cream and sliced jalapeños for topping,, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Brown ground beef with onion in a large skillet. Once meat is cooked and onion is soft, add in garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in crushed tomatoes and corn, then simmer for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in black beans and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together milk, eggs and butter. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Pour chili into prepared baking dish and top with cornbread batter. Bake for about 28-35 minutes or until cornbread is lightly golden.
Notes
“Freaky Friday” was brought to you by:
A Dish Of Daily Life || A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures || An Affair from the Heart || Aunt Bee’s Recipes || Belle of the Kitchen || Cooking on a Budget || Full Belly Sisters || Honey and Birch || LeMoine Family Kitchen || Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish ||Pic-Nic || The Flavor Bender || The Foodie Affair || The Magical Slow Cooker || Who Needs A Cape || Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen
Delish!
I used ground turkey, cup4cup GF AP flour and added a layer of Mexican cheese between the chilli and cornbread – came out great!
Made this tonight because I stumbled on your site. Yummy. I used what I had so improvised with canned southwestern corn, didn’t have 1 1/2 pounds of hamburger but worked out great with just 1 pound. Used Rotel diced tomatoes and pinto beans. I am not a great cook so your recipe got me going in the right direction. Not that you ever read anyone else’s blogs – your’s is so awesome, but I am a beginner and have one. http://www.mygrandmasrecipebox.blogspot.com. IF you ever get bored – check it out. Mostly OLD handwritten recipes.
Chili cornbread is a family fav. Easy and MAY have leftovers for lunch the next day.
Could you use canned Chili for this with some cheddar cheese on top before adding corn bread to avoid soggyness? Don’t hate me for using canned I just don’t have time and it makes it easier
Yes you can definitely do that!
I like your combinations of meat to veg. I have made this several times, but admit that I use Jiffy mix for topping to save time. And I recommend a layer of grated cheese before topping with the cornbread (Jack or cheddar).
Jiffy cornbread is a tried and true time saver I made this casserole, adding the cheese as you suggested… excellent addition to a comforting meal! I’m making it on a Saturday night in May, but I know I’ll be making this dish many times during fall/winter! Thanks!
I’m going to use Autry Hush Puppy Mix for my cornbread topping.
That is the way I make it and it’s wonderful. My husband is picky and he will have 2 servings of it. I brings me back to childhood without homemade cornbread.
yumm!! this looks super tasty!! so jelly I gotta make this.
Ooooh, I LOVE how easy this chili cornbread casserole looks. I can’t believe I never thought of this, it’s brilliant! Simple, easy, and is definitely going to be a crowd pleaser in my family!
Yes please, this looks amazing and so warming ahhaah it’s so cold today here, I need it
You just combined TWO of my favorite items — CHILI and cornbread! YUM!
Unsalted butter?
Thanks!
Yes!
I want this!! MInus the corn! haha – no corn; but I love CORN BREAD!! Yum!
This looks like a great comfort food meal! We might make it one of these rainy days coming up!
I am craving comfort food so much lately (thanks quarantine!) and this sounds absolutely delicious! And I bet fun for the entire family 🙂
A comfort food at its best. I could eat this all day on a cool fall day.
Love this! I made this with veggie ground (Yves) instead of beef and it was fantastic. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I will definitely be making this again.
It’s a great recipe, but make sure to let the chili sit for a few minutes which will let the liquid settle before putting the batter on it. This will keep the cornbread from being soggy.
Very good tip!!
Thanks!
Made this on a whim for dinner tonight. Used pinto instead of black beans. Family absolutely loved it!! This recipe will become a staple in the winter time at my house. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, what a great recipe for comfort food! This looks so robust and flavorful; excited to give this a try!
Cornbread falls into chili… definitely keep making the chili and cornbread on the side. Cornbread batter just sinks into chili and definitely will not come out like the pictures!!!
Good taste though
My family would LOVE this casserole!
I love this cornbread casserole. So so yummy. I made mine extra spicy.
Also added a small can of tomatoes with peppers! Son loved the spiciness! Yum.
Can I prepare this meal the night before and then bake it the next day?
I love this Hubby is a picky eater but he’ll eat it thank god
Taco and enchilada casseroles and hot bakes of all sorts are a favorite in my house, but we’d never made a turkey version until this recipe – I happened to have ground turkey so I subbed that back in instead of ground beef – It’s so good, all the kids (even my super pickiest child) ate it up and asked for more! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow. I love this idea. Chili and cornbread just belong together but I never thought of making it a casserole. This is going to be on the menu real soon.
This recipe was delicious once I upped the spices a lot. I added more cumin, some chili powder, and adobo It comes really close to a long lost recipe I used to make in the microwave. Son and hubby loved it but want less beans next time lol. Will definitely make it again!
So glad to hear that, Michelle!
I found the same thing, and simply because I had it on hand used an entire packet of McCormicks Original chili seasoning. That made it much better!