# Tamale pie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949 "2016-03-14T04:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/21 "2016-03-15T00:52:30Z")
I suppose you can call it chili cornbread casserole, but tamale pie is nicer and, at least to me, pretty much what I would expect a dish named that way to be, or at least one of a couple possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/22 "2016-03-15T01:04:41Z")
Meh. Just bein’ provincial. In south Texas, such dishes are called “chili pie,” or “Frito pie” when topped with corn chips. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/23 "2016-03-15T02:12:13Z")
Tamal, please, not tamale. One tamal, two tamales. Mighty Girl League of Bilingual Pedants ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/24 "2016-03-15T02:37:19Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > Meh. Just bein’ provincial. In south Texas, such dishes are called “chili pie,” or “Frito pie” when topped with corn chips. No, a Frito pie is made by ladling chili into a slightly crushed open individual-size bag of Fritos and squishing it around a bit. I learned about their existence from Andy’s Chili at MIT, but I’m sure they exist elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/25 "2016-03-15T03:52:53Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > What I see is a ground beef chili casserole thing. That’s what tamle pie is. > [@ENugent](#): > > No, a Frito pie is made by ladling chili into a slightly crushed open individual-size bag of Fritos and squishing it around a bit. I learned about their existence from Andy’s Chili at MIT, but I’m sure they exist elsewhere. Frito pies were called ‘pepper bellies’ at the high school snack window in the late-'70s. The chips weren’t crushed at all, and the chili wasn’t mixed. Open bag, put in a ladle of chili, put in some shredded cheese, and top with chopped onions. ---
**Author:** ![cardinal\_fang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal_fang/32/15316_2.png) [@cardinal\_fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cardinal_fang)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/26 "2016-03-15T05:10:04Z")
[Another candidate](http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/120988127-boxes-of-tamale-pie-tostadas-and-taco-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=xxy%2B%2FZxL89AmJnOkaiH1C6WjfSJ8D%2Bi4XkkD6bI%2Bae85PHw6pVs5Fv3zsTTuPhe7PpZoq4liow%2Bph2dfx5u4aA%3D%3D). ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/27 "2016-03-15T05:46:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Frito pies were called ‘pepper bellies’ at the high school snack window in the late-'70s. The chips weren’t crushed at all, and the chili wasn’t mixed. Open bag, put in a ladle of chili, put in some shredded cheese, and top with chopped onions. That is a staple at every concession stand for any youth sport in the mid-west (probably not limited just there) and called a Walking Taco for some odd reason. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/28 "2016-03-15T14:06:49Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > That is a staple at every concession stand for any youth sport in the mid-west (probably not limited just there) and called a Walking Taco for some odd reason. They’re called ‘walking tacos’ because you can eat them while you walk, unlike an actual taco that you… Wait a minute… 😕😛 As for distribution, I think they’re available in most places. Lunchables makes [a version you can get at the store](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lunchables-Uploaded-Nacho-Walking-Taco-Snack-Combination-4.5-oz/47094187). I saw one last Saturday. ‘Frito pie’ and ‘walking taco’ seem to be pretty widespread. The only place I’ve heard them called ‘pepper bellies’ is in the Antelope Valley area of the Mojave Desert. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/29 "2016-03-17T02:21:22Z")
ATK has a tamale pie recipe that is actually worth eating, but even their recipe isn’t pretty. I think tamale pie doesn’t do a good job of describing the dish. It would better be called cornbread casserole. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949/30 "2016-03-17T13:23:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’m a huge fan of tamale pie, made with my mom’s recipe. She didn’t object to Hamburger Helper on principle, but she never would have served that variety. > > Hers had a can of pitted black olives, a can of diced tomatoes, the canned corn, onions and ground beef, of course, chili powder, and she mixed in two cups of cornmeal that had been soaked in milk for an hour. Then she cooked it on top of the stove until it thickened, turned it out into a greased casserole, and topped it with shredded cheddar before baking it for an hour. > > Maybe that doesn’t count as a “pie”-type casserole, on account of the top “crust” was a layer of melted cheese instead of some sort of starch, but boy, was it ever good! I used your mom’s recipe other than soaking cornmeal in milk (I have a lactose intolerant son… so I used Jiffy Cornbread Muffin mix with water instead) and my family liked it. I did put the cheese on top because if the boy can manage to take his pills and eat cheese pizzas he could either scoop out some of the casserole sans cheese or take a couple of his pills. Toppings of green sauce, taco sauce or sour cream helped moisten the casserole up. It wasn’t as good as the homemade tamales the church ladies sell but it was good. It’s going into my “once in a while” recipe list. Right next to lasagna, fried liver, and enchiladas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tamale-pie/748949.md?page=1)