As a busy mother of four (3 kids still at home), I love casseroles that you can prepare in the morning and pop in the oven right before dinner.   Today’s recipe, Cornbread Lentil Casserole (or Hot Tamale Pie as my family calls it) is a great weeknight meal for those busy days!  I usually serve mine with a large tossed salad.

Are you familiar with lentils?   I can honestly say before we adopted a plant based diet, I never, ever ate lentils.   Now, lentils are a staple in my pantry.  They are one of the easiest legumes to cook from scratch (no soaking required!) and they are inexpensive and loaded with protein.  When purchasing dried lentils, it’s important to buy the freshest lentils you can find and then use them within a few months. Older lentils take longer to cook and tend to shed their skins during cooking.

Today’s recipe contains another ingredient that you may not be familiar with unless you love Southwestern and Mexican food like I do!   Pablano peppers are mild chili peppers.  They have a smokey, earthy flavor and are low on the heat scale. There’s no need to wear gloves when handling them; handle them as you would a bell pepper.

Pablanos are not as mild as bell peppers so if you aren’t a fan of a little heat, you can substitute with green bell peppers, although the flavor will be quite different. Pablanos add a wonderful flavor to this casserole so I encourage you to give them a try!

Cornbread Lentil Casserole

Ingredients:

For the casserole base:

• 3 cups water

• 1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils

• 1 cup Pablano pepper, diced ( 2 small Pablanos)

• 1 cup salsa

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp ground Chipolte pepper (found in the spice section)

• 1 tsp sea salt

For the cornbread topping:

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal (preferably organic)

• 1/2 cup spelt flour, all purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend (I use this brand)

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup

Instructions:

For the casserole base:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Measure the lentils into a colander or strainer and sort through them, picking out any debris.   Rinse the lentils thoroughly with cold water.

2. In a large sauce pan, add water, lentils,  Pablano peppers, oregano and Chipolte pepper, reserving the sea salt until after the lentils are cooked.  Alternatively, you could cook the lentils in an Instant Pot or small pressure cooker in about 5 minutes, following the directions.

3. Bring the water to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer. You should only see a few small bubbles and some slight movement in the lentils.

4. Cook, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes until lentils are tender.  Add more water as needed.

5. Add salsa and salt to the cooked lentils and pour into a 8 X 11 1/2 casserole dish.

For the corn bread topping:

1. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of almond milk and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.  Set aside for 5 minutes.  You are making non-dairy buttermilk.

2. In a large, separate bowl,  combine the cornmeal, flour, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Stir to combine.

3. Add melted coconut oil and maple syrup to your small bowl of almond milk/buttermilk and stir to combine.

4. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix.

5. Pour and spread the cornbread mixture over the top of your casserole.

6. Bake at 350 degrees until the cornbread topping is lightly browned, around  30 minutes.

Enjoy!

–Jen

My Healthy Homemade Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Enjoy this post? Share & Like

Print Recipe

Cornbread Lentil Casserole

Course

Main Dish

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

60 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

For the Casserole Base

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils
• 1 cup Pablano pepper, diced approx. 2 small Pablanos
• 1 cup salsa
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp groun Chipolte pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt

For the Cornbread Topping

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal preferably organic
• 1/2 cup spelt, all purpose or gluten free flour blend
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp apple cider veingar

Course Main Dish Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 60 minutes Servings servings Ingredients For the Casserole Base 3 cups water 1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils 1 cup Pablano pepper, diced approx. 2 small Pablanos 1 cup salsa 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp groun Chipolte pepper 1 tsp sea salt For the Cornbread Topping 1 cup yellow cornmeal preferably organic 1/2 cup spelt, all purpose or gluten free flour blend 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/4 cup melted coconut oil 1 tbsp pure maple syrup 1 tsp apple cider veingar

Instructions

For the Casserole Base

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure the lentils into a colander or strainer and sort through them, picking out any debris. Rinse the lentils thoroughly with cold water.
2. In a large sauce pan, add water, lentils, Pablano peppers, oregano and Chipolte pepper, reserving the sea salt until after the lentils are cooked. Alternatively, you could cook the lentils in an Instant Pot or small pressure cooker in about 5 minutes, following the directions.
3. Bring the water to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer. You should only see a few small bubbles and some slight movement in the lentils.
4. Cook, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes until lentils are tender. Add more water as needed.
5. Add salsa and salt to the cooked lentils and pour into a 9 X 13 casserole dish.

For the Cornbread Topping

1. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of almond milk and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes. You are making non-dairy buttermilk.
2. In a large, separate bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir to combine.
3. Add melted coconut oil and maple syrup to your small bowl of almond milk/buttermilk and stir to combine.
4. Gently stir in the wet ingredients to your dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix.
5. Pour and spread the cornbread mixture over the top of your casserole.
6. Bake at 350 degrees until the cornbread topping is lightly browned, around 30 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Recipe by Jen @ www.myhealthyhomemadelife.com

Share this Recipe