This easy, hearty Chili Cornbread Pot Pie uses kitchen staples and is a dinner the whole family will love!
This Chili Cornbread Pot Pie was born out of necessity, but it turned out to be a real treat. I made it after a long day of taking my boys plus two other kids to a busy pumpkin patch, lunch, and a playground. We were out from morning until late afternoon, and by the time we got home the boys were filthy and tired. I bathed them and got them in PJs, then let them relax with a movie until dinner time.
That plan sounds pretty great except, somewhere between the car and the bathtub, I realized that I had forgotten to pick up groceries for dinner. Not willing to drag us all shopping at that point, I decided to scavenge through our kitchen and come up with something. As it turns out, that something was meaty, cheesy, bready, and wonderful. If I had everything I needed on hand to make this dish, you might too! Even if you don’t, this Chili Cornbread Pot Pie is worth a trip to the grocery store!

Prep Time | 5 minutes |
Cook Time | 45 minutes |
Servings |
-8
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- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper optional
- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes drained
- 15 oz. can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 c. cornmeal
- 1/2 c. flour
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 c. shredded Mexican cheese
- 1 slices jalapeño thinly sliced, or 1/4 c. pickled jalapeno (optional)
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray.
- Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Saute onion for 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Add meat, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir together, and brown and crumble meat until almost cooked through.
- Stir in tomatoes and beans, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vegetable oil. Add cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda, and stir together until combined.
- Transfer meat mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Pour cornbread batter evenly over meat, and arrange jalapeno slices over the top (if desired).
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until cornbread topping is evenly browned.
Would this work with any cornbread batter? We are gluten free, so I would have to modify your recipe.
Nice recipe I got here. Thanks for it!
Good Morning Andi, what kind of oregano did you use for this recipe? I usually purchasing my spices at a Penzey’s store in my area. Right now I have Turkish and Mexican oregano in my spice cabinet
Hi, Esteban :) I only have one kind of dried oregano, and I would assume it’s Mexican. I would choose that. Thank you!
This was so good! I have to admit, I was a little worried about making it, cause I just didnt know how cornbread mixed with chili would be.(Iam one of those that doesnt like things touching each other on my plate), but i had made a batch of chili and we were tired of eating it plain. I did cheat and use a packet of cornbread mix, and I only made a small pan. HUGE MISTAKE! I now have another pan in the oven so we can finish dinner. Everyone loved it. Thanks for a great recipe
So glad you liked it, Titan! Maybe this will help you turn over a new leaf and start putting more foods together :) Have a good evening!
Love this site
Thank you so much, Jean!!
just curious if you still have to add the baking soda if you use self rising corn meal and self rising flour? I thought that may be something I could omit if using both of those. :)
Gonna try it tonight for supper! Can’t wait!!!
Hi, Christie! I’m sorry I didn’t see your question before you made this tonight. I hope you had a good result with omitting the baking soda. Generally, if you use self rising corn meal or flour, you can leave out the added baking soda, baking powder, and/or salt. Let me know how it turned out!
This was fantastic, the whole family loved it! Thanks Andi
I’m so happy to hear it, Josie! Thank you!
Do you think I could just use a box of jippy cornbread mix instead of making the topping? Thanks….I love recipes like this!
Yes for sure! The Jiffy mix will work fine. It will just be sweeter than this version. Hope you like it!