Cornbread Chili casserole
If you love cornbread with your chili, you will LOVE this cornbread chili casserole! The most delicious chili is topped with buttery cornbread all in one hearty, comforting dish! It can be made vegan, paleo, and is gluten-free!
Ingredients
Chili
- 1 lb ground meat of choice (beef, bison, turkey)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 medium zucchini
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed & drained (I used a can of Siete Charro beans & it was delicious!)
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
- 1/2-3/4 cup bone broth or veggie broth
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp chipotle powder (optional)
- 1 nutritional yeast (optional!)
- 1 tsp sea salt & good pinch of black pepper
Paleo "Cornbread" (Feel free to use any cornbread recipe!)
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 5 tbsp ghee, vegan butter, melted (or avocado oil) (Butter will give the best flavor!)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar or monk fruit
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Toppings (optional)
- sour cream
- cheese, of choice
- cilantro, diced green onion & jalapeno
- sliced avocado
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Dice your onion, zucchini, garlic, and bell pepper.
- In a cast iron pan or large sauce pan, over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Add the onion, minced garlic, and ground meat, if using, and cook until no longer pink, breaking the meat up into small pieces as it cooks. Then add in the zucchini, bell pepper, spices, broth, canned tomatoes, and beans.
- Give everything a good stir, and bring it to a low simmer. Then place a lid over the pan, allowing it to cook for 20 minutes or so to allow the veggies to soften. After this, I like to taste the chili and adjust any seasonings!
- While the chili is cooking, make the cornbread batter. Simply combine everything in a bowl until no lumps remain. Remove the chili from the heat and carefully pour the batter over top. Using a spatula, gently spread the batter over top of the chili, trying not to mix it together.
- Place the cast iron skillet into the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until the cornbread topping is completely golden. Then remove from the oven. If you don't own a cast iron skillet or oven-safe pan, just dump the chili into a 9x13 casserole dish, then spread the cornbread batter over top, and bake!
- Let it cool a few minutes, then serve! We like to top ours with dairy-free cheese, sour cream, cilantro, jalapeno's, chives, and avocado!
Video
Notes
Try adding in a can of diced green chiles or jalapeños to your cornbread batter before adding it to the top of the chili for extra flavor!
Feel free to use a real cornbread recipe! However, this one is gluten-free, corn-free, and paleo friendly! Note: You need a mix of the flours to create the PERFECT texture. Do NOT try subbing any of them - it won't work out!
Leftovers are great stored in the fridge and reheated for up to 3 days.