Instant Pot Cornbread Chili Casserole–taco seasoned ground turkey (or beef) combined with sweet corn and picante sauce and topped with a cheesy cornbread.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below
Instant Pot Cornbread Chili Casserole
This recipe is inspired by a Trisha Yearwood recipe I found on Food Network. It reminds me of an easier version of my Instant Pot tamale casserole. It was a delicious dinner that had no leftovers.
This recipe uses the pot-in-pot method. The Instant Pot pot-in-pot (PIP) cooking method is simply cooking food in a separate dish that’s placed on a trivet inside your Instant Pot liner. Steam is created from water below the trivet and builds pressure to cook the food.
The reason we use this method is because this casserole recipe doesn’t contain thin liquid that would allow the pot to come to pressure. If you tried to cook this recipe in the bottom of the Instant Pot liner you would definitely get the infamous burn error message.
Other options for cooking this recipe include slow cooking it (instructions are listed in the recipe card below) or baking it in a 9×9 inch pan in the oven for 40 minutes at 375˚ F.
Try these other Instant Pot Recipes…
Instant Pot 5 Ingredient Beef Enchiladas Casserole–Elisa said, “Fabulous and I don’t even usually like enchiladas! My husband loved it too.”
Instant Pot King Ranch Chicken–Natalie said, “Very easy to make and very tasty! I crumbled some lime flavored tortilla chips on top to give it some texture and added flavor. The leftovers held up well too.“
Instant Pot Tamale Casserole–Mimi said, “I made it tonight, and it was outstanding. It is my new favorite IP recipe.“
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Instant Pot Cornbread Chili Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- Equipment needed–pan for pot in pot cooking, sling or trivet, Instant Pot
- 1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 Tbsp taco seasoning
- 2 cups frozen white sweet corn
- 1 cup Pace Picante Sauce (I used mild)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 (8.5 oz) box Jiffy corn muffin mix
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Sour cream and diced green onions, for topping
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- In a pan on the stove or using the sauté setting on your Instant Pot brown the ground turkey, onions and taco seasoning together for about 5 minutes. Stir in the frozen corn and heat through for 2 minutes.
- Turn off heat. Stir in the picante sauce and cumin. Transfer the mixture to a pan for pot in pot cooking (I used Fat Daddios 7×3 inch pan*). Clean out Instant Pot and pour 1 ½ cups water into the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir the corn muffin mix, milk and cheddar cheese together. Spoon the mixture over the top of the meat mixture and spread evenly.
- Cover pan with foil. Place pan on top of a trivet/sling*. Lower the pan into the Instant Pot.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 35 minutes. When time is up perform a quick release by moving the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Remove the foil and check the cornbread for doneness. If it’s not cooked through pressure cook without the foil for another 5 minutes (or with your air fryer lid).
- Scoop onto plates and serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and diced green onions.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- In a pan on the stove brown the ground turkey, onions and taco seasoning together for about 5 minutes. Stir in the frozen corn and heat through for 2 minutes.
- Turn off heat. Stir in the picante sauce and cumin. Transfer the mixture your slow cooker.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir the corn muffin mix, milk and cheddar cheese together. Spoon the mixture over the top of the meat mixture and spread evenly.
- Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours, or until cornbread is cooked through.
- Scoop onto plates and serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and diced green onions.
- Category: Turkey
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen 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.
I have made this a few times and we love it but the cornbread never seems to fully cook and I have to cook it longer or put it under the broiler.
I will continue to make it but maybe cook it longer.
★★★★
Thanks for letting us know your experience!
Just made this tonight. I have made quite a few of your recipes but this was the first pot in pot one so I was a bit nervous. It turned out fantastic! Next time I make it I’ll tweek it a little bit and add rice as a side. Highly recommend for a first time “pot in potter”!
★★★★★
hooray! good job Jamie! 🙌
Is there any reason why the corn needs to be frozen?
nope you can use whatever corn you have
I made this last night and loved it! I set my time for 40 minutes because, for some reason, nothing ever gets done going strictly by your recipes, I always have to add maybe 20% of time to each recipe.
I finished it off with a little more cheese on top, then the crisper lid for 3 minutes.
I had to be watchful that the cheese didn’t fly around and into the crisper lid coil but everything stayed put.
Thanks for this recipe Karen!
I’m glad you are finding a way to make the recipes work for you! That is interesting about the time. I just got a comment from a lady saying everything I write for her is overcooked. So I am not sure why. But I’m glad people are making it work.
My husband made this dish and it was great, He will be making this again.
★★★★★
What a husband! I love it!
I really want to try this and am wondering about the pot in pot for an 8 qt insta pot. What do I look for as the only thing I see is a set that is for all sizes pots and currently unavailabe.
★★★★★
you can use any of the same pot-in-pot dishes that work in the 6 quart pot. They’ll work perfectly. I would maybe get the 7×4 inch fat daddios pan.
Thanks so much I’ll check it out.
I’m making this right now, and I have a question: If using a slow cooker, will it need additional liquid?
nope! Should be fine
Thanks!
Can’t wait to try this.
Looks so good.
I love that you show videos of each step in the recipe.
Thanks! I am glad it is helpful!
Awesome!
★★★★★
😊
I have a gluten problem so will want to make my own homemade cornbread using Gluten free flour – approximately how much should I make? Not sure how much the Jiffy mix makes (1 cup? 1 1/2 cups?) Sounds delish.
It’s a pretty small box. I would make 1 cup
This turned out exceptionally well. I added a small can of chopped green chilies (Ortega) to the meat mixture. I didn’t hear the IP beep at 35 minutes so it worked out on natural release. The cornbread was done perfectly. So all told it cooked for 40 minutes and 17 minutes natural release. Wouldn’t change anything. I couldn’t believe the cornbread mix worked without egg.
I will definitely be making this recipe again! I specifically bought the pot-in-pot and trivet for this recipe. Nothing beats tamale pie!
★★★★★
YESSSSS. Love hearing this Diana! and green chilies is brilliant!
Hi Karen – do you think it would work to leave out the cheese? I used to make baked beans with cornbread in the oven similarly – the cornbread mixture poured onto the beans – no sauce or cheese. (Come to think of it, II wonder if that would work in the IP using a pot-in-pot method too. It’s very simple but delicious. I’ll have to find the recipe.) Thanks!
Yes I think it would be great!
I have an almost identical recipe that is called “Tamale Pie.” The difference is that you bake the cornbread first in a cast iron skillet or 9X9 deep casserole dish. You then top the cornbread with the meat mixture and cheese and bake it in the oven. I also put some of the corn in the cornbread along with some diced green chilies. It is delicious!
★★★★★
I love recipes like this! So good!