Tex-Mex Cornbread Bake

Time :1 25

Yield :8 servings

Recipe Background

Beefy, spicy taco meat sandwiched between fluffy cornbread? Sign us up! Tex-Mex Cornbread Bake has plenty of the classic zest and heat with green chiles, bright tomatoes, and melty Mexican cheese, with the crunch of tortilla chips thrown in for extra texture. It's got the tang! It's got the toppings! It's got the taste! It's Tex-Mex Cornbread Bake!

Ingredients

For the cornbread bake:

2 pounds ground beef
2 (1-ounce) envelopes taco seasoning
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes drained
1 cup water
1 cup rice cooked
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
2 (8.5-ounce) packages cornbread/muffin mix plus the ingredients called for on the package
1 (8.75-ounce) can whole kernel corn drained
1 cup sour cream
2 cups corn chips divided
2 cups Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese shredded and divided
1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced ripe olives drained

Optional toppings:

lettuce shredded, to taste
tomatoes chopped, to taste
red onion chopped, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
In a Dutch oven, cook and break up the beef over medium heat until no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes.
Drain the fat from the pot.
Stir in the taco seasoning.
Add the diced tomatoes, the water, the rice, and the green chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 4-5 minutes.
Prepare the cornbread mix according to the package instructions.
Stir the corn into the batter.
Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Layer with 1/2 of the meat mixture, the sour cream, 1/2 of the corn chips, and 1 cup of the cheese.
Layer on the remaining batter, the remaining meat mixture, and the olives.
Bake, uncovered, until the cornbread is cooked through, about 45-50 minutes.
Sprinkle the bake with the remaining corn chips and the remaining cheese.
Bake until the cheese is melted, about 3-5 minutes.
Serve with the lettuce, the fresh chopped tomatoes, and the red onion.