A winning mixture of spices, savory beef, and green chiles combine in this keto tamale casserole that’ll leave you with midnight cravings only it can satisfy!
Looking for more keto dinners? Try this keto tuna casserole, this keto pizza casserole, and this keto chicken casserole.
Keto Tamale Casserole Video Tutorial
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My Favorite Casserole?
Maybe it’s the way the garlic plays off the onion… or how that tantalizing combo interacts with the bell peppers… or maybe it’s the blend of spices that makes this casserole so unforgettable… all I know is that I literally can’t get it off my mind.
It’s full of deliciously, mouth-wateringly well-seasoned ground turkey, bell peppers, green chile, spices, hot sauce, and onions. It’s the kind of casserole you crave after a cold winter day (or after a really hot summer day, you’ll take any excuse).
It’s immaculate, and complete on its own, but paired with the “corn pudding”? Absolutely. Ridiculous.
Whether you’re serving it to guests or making it for yourself, I guarantee you’ll find ways to work this baby into your menu over and over! Enjoyyy – Linds x
Important Ingredient Notes
Traditional tamale casserole has a zesty and delicious filling that’s covered by corn pudding and cheese. With a few modifications (all low carb kitchen staples), this keto tamale casserole is every bit as good. Here’s what you’ll need for the filling:
- Veggies – yellow onion, bell pepper, garlic
- Meat – ground beef or ground turkey (I always use turkey!)
- Sauce – petite diced tomatoes with green chilies, chicken stock, hot sauce, golden Swerve/Lakanto
- Spices – chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt
And for the “corn pudding” hack:
- Almond flour – fine grain products will give you the best texture results.
- Powdered psyllium husk – adds fluff to dense almond flour baked goods.
- Golden Swerve or Lakanto – sub for any golden sugar sub
- Corn extract – I buy this on Amazon. It adds the perfect amount of corn flavor, you won’t notice the difference!
- Baking staples – baking powder, eggs
Bonus Points: Optional Toppings…
This low carb tamale casserole is worthy of all your favorite toppings. So go wild:
- Cheddar cheese
- Green onion
- Cilantro
- Pico de gallo or salsa
- Sour cream
How to Make Keto Tamale Casserole:
- Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic in oil.
- Add beef and cook until no longer pink.
- Sop up extra grease.
- Add spices and toast.
- Add all remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the topping
- Add the water, corn extract, and whisked eggs and stir to combine.
- Spread evenly over the top of your filling with damp fingers.
- Sprinkle cheese on top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Top casserole slices with sliced green onions, sour cream, and tomatoes.
Variations? Why Not…
Keto casseroles like this one are easy to customize. Here are some ideas for you:
- Skip the “corn” pudding: For a simpler dish. You can also use mashed cauliflower, or cauliflower rice (ala cauliflower rice casserole) instead.
- Chicken tamale casserole: Use shredded chicken instead of beef for a keto chicken casserole. Just toss cooked and shredded chicken in after you toast the spices.
- Or go meat-free for a vegetarian tamale pie. I like adding extra veggies when I do this.
- Add some heat! Add diced jalapenos or extra hot sauce (like in my keto Mexican casserole).
- Add more veggies: Just be sure to saute first, so your veggies don’t water down the casserole.
More Low Carb Beef Recipes
Keto Tamale Casserole
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Casserole:
- 1 tablespoon avocado or vegetable oil
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 pound ground beef ground turkey works as well
- 1 15-ounces can petite diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons dried ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons golden erythritol
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
Topping:
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour fine grain!
- 1/4 cup NOW powdered psyllium husk
- 2 tablespoons golden Swerve or Lakanto
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons corn extract
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Serving suggestions:
- green onion
- sour cream
- tomatoes sliced
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Saute. In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (1 tablespoon) and saute the onion (1 cup) and bell pepper (1). Cook until soft (about 7 minutes). Add garlic (2) and cook until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes). Add the beef (1 pound) and cook until no longer pink, breaking the meat into small pieces with the back of your spoon as it browns. Tilt your pan to the side, and push meat and veggies to the opposite side, allowing excess grease to pool toward the titled side. Use paper towels and a set of tongs to soak up the pooled grease.
- Toast + simmer. Add the chili powder (2 tablespoons), cumin (2 teaspoons), and oregano (1 tablespoon), and toast until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add all remaining casserole ingredients and simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Topping. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the almond flour (2 1/2 cups), psyllium husk (1/4 cup), Swerve or Lakanto (2 tablespoons), baking powder (4 teaspoons), and salt (1 teaspoon). Add the water (3/4 cup), corn extract (2 teaspoons), and whisked eggs (2). Stir to combine. Use a large spoon to drop the batter over the top of your filling, then spread evenly using damp fingers. Sprinkle shredded cheese (1/2 cup) over the top.
- Bake pie in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. Allow it to cool slightly before dishing up. Top casserole slices with sliced green onions, sour cream, and tomatoes. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
This is a genius hack! All the tamale flavor I love with none of the guilt.
Can’t agree with you more!
This Keto Tamale Casserole looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
Can’t agree with you more!
Wow! So many amazing flavors in this dish!! Can’t wait to try this!
Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you think, Katerina!
This is incredibly delicious! My family loved every bite! Can’t wait to make this again and again!
Yahoo! SO glad everybody loved it! 🥰
I love how comforting this is! So easy to make too and delish!
Right?! SO glad you loved it, Toni! 🥰
Love the idea of casserole for dinner! My family will love it!
Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you all think, Catalina! Hope you all enjoy.
That looks out of this world good. I can not wait to try it. I just have to order the corn extract.
Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you think, Beth!
Hi, your recipes look amazing, but I have a question. The listed carb count is very high on each recipe. Is the carb count for the whole recipe for just for an individual serving. 33 carbs for one serving is very high. It’s more than I eat in the whole day. Am I miscalculating the numbers. All of your recipes are amazing and I think I would cook all of them, but the carb numbers scare me. I’m trying really hard to lose weight. Please help me understand. I love, love, love every recipe and want to enjoy them. I’m looking forward to your response. Thank you so much.!
Hi Evelyn! Thank you so much for your kind words, and I hope you get to enjoy them all! The carb count for each of my recipes is per serving, you can see the number of servings just below the recipe title, for example, this recipe has 6 servings. This particular recipe is definitely higher in carbs than most because of the topping. Most users on my site count their NET carbs vs. TOTAL carbs, so, this recipe has 33g total carbs per serving and 13g net carbs.
A helpful tip for finding the lowest carb recipes on the site: check out this section for recipes under 10g net carbs per serving, and this section for under 5g net carbs per serving. You’ll find loads of recipes that may be a better fit with your eating plan.
Enjoy! And thank you so much for the support!
So very disappointed your first ingredient is vegetable oil. Credibility goes out the window for me when such harmful ingredients, like this, are introduced as being ok.
Sorry to hear that Cheryl — it’s actually avocado or vegetable oil. I always use avocado oil, but many readers prefer vegetable oil because it’s easier to find. The goal is a mild-tasting oil with a high smoke point. Either way, both contain zero carbs.
Hi, curious why the sweetener? My stepmom made tamale pie with masa and I don’t recall her adding any sugar or other sweetener. Thanks!
Hi there! It’s totally optional, and definitely not necessary. Corn has a natural sweetness I wanted to emulate with the topping, I always add a touch of sweetener to get my masa/corn recipes a little closer in flavor. Let me know what you think, and if you keep it out. Enjoy!
The meat portion was extremely delicious but the topping was odd. It was dense and chewy. I think 1/4 cup of psyllium husk fiber might be too much. I followed the recipe exactly but the dough bound up so tightly that I had to add almost another cup of water to get it to even mix properly. The flavor was wonderful though. I think I’ll keep the recipe for the near mixture and try a regular keto cornbread recipe for the top.
Hey Jo! Sorry to hear that! What brand of psyllium husk did you use? Each product absorbs liquid differently, and NOW is the only product that I’ve tested this recipe with. Your cornbread topping should be super fluffy, as the 1/4 cup of psyllium will absorb the 3/4 of water and become fluffy. Happy to continue troubleshooting!