Featured comment
Made this last week and it was so rediculously good! Even my 2 and 4 year olds gobbled it up and my husband made sure there was leftovers for his lunch the next day. Thanks for the great recipe!
steph
So I didn’t even know it was the Superbowl yesterday. These things happen when you live… far away.
Do you think Beyonce likes Mexican Polenta Pie?
Speaking of people liking Mexican Polenta Pie, guess who else likes it? My neighbors.
Except I’m not actually sure if they like-it-like-it, considering that I have yet to meet a Mexican-food-loving Filipino. Adding to the weirdness is that I’ve been told that it’s culturally appropriate to offer things multiple times even if someone initially declines (here, you can have it, yes, take it, no really, yep, that’s cheese, it’s for you, seriously, yes, it’s, um, like, pork?), but in the end they took it with a smile and who knows what they ever even thought of it. Thank you, neighbors, for making me feel better about myself. Because if it were me, I’d think I was weird.
On the other hand, if it were the real me, I’d eat the whole thing.
This was the best winter weeknight meal ever, because it’s a combination of three of my all-time favorite recipes: Crockpot Carnitas and Crockpot Chalupas and Chicken Tamale Pie.
One thing real quick. Shredded pork is the best meat in the world.
The meat is just like the juicy, tender, perfectly-flavored crockpot carnitas, except it has the added texture of the pinto beans which is like the chalupas, and it’s all baked with a thick corn-gritzy cheesy polenta top layer, which is awesomely like an inverted chicken tamale pie. Whoa.
And even though it looks like I dumped a bucket of cheese on top, it’s actually barely even one cup.
Annnnd one more time, right in your face.
A few other things.
- I bought 4 red bell peppers to saute and add to the mix because I’m trying to eat, like, more vegetables and other healthy things? I try. All the time. But they’re still sitting in my fridge. Wups. Now taking recipe ideas for red bell peppers.
- Speaking of ideas, your ideas for polenta toppings on Facebook were lovely. Truly lovely. I just love how much you all just love food. You are phenomenal and I wish we could real-life cook together, but Facebook is almost the same, right?
- I ALSO love how you can make my most worst vegetable enemy, the mushroom, sound delicious. Sneaky, guys. Reeeal sneaky.
- Bjork’s parents are flying in to Cebu tonight! I feel a family vacation coming on and I’m pretty happy about it.
Mexican Polenta Pie
- Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
This Mexican polenta pie is true comfort food! Made with pork and pinto beans in the crockpot and baked with polenta and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. pork butt or pork shoulder (a large semi-fatty cut of meat with no bones)
- 1 lb. dry pinto beans, soaked
- 12 oz. light beer + 12 oz. water (just refill the bottle)
- 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 16 oz. jar salsa
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 6–8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups polenta
- 6 cups water
- 1 14 oz. can corn, drained and rinsed
- salt and pepper to taste (be generous!)
- shredded cheese, cilantro, and salsa for topping
Instructions
- Place the pork, beans, beer, water, tomatoes, salsa, seasoning, and garlic in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-7 hours. When pork is cooked through and beans are tender, shred the pork in the slow cooker with two forks.
- Bring water to a boil in a large non-stick pan; add a pinch of salt. Add polenta and cook over medium low heat. It will splatter, so be careful! After a while the polenta should stop bubbling – stir in the corn. Continue stirring every once in a while to prevent it from sticking all over the bottom. It will thicken as it cooks – cook for about 20-25 minutes for a soft polenta, adding more water if necessary and seasoning it with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the broiler. Arrange the meat and bean mixture in the bottom of a large pie, casserole, or baking dish and spread the polenta over the top. Cover with cheese (I used about a cup of shredded Mozzarella). Place under a broiler for a few minutes until cheese is melted.
Notes
This would also be great with some roasted bell peppers added to it or some chopped chipotle peppers! I couldn’t even fit all the filling or polenta in the casserole dish that I used. It would easily fill a 9×13 or larger baking dish or two pie dishes.
Also, soaking the beans overnight will help ensure that they are fully cooked when the pork is ready.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: mexican polenta pie, polenta pie, pork and beans pie
My beans were tough, next time I will cook the dry beans separate, I did soak them overnight with some baking soda. But the acidity from the tomatoes and salsa didnāt allow them to soften after 4 hrs in the crockpot on high. But I liked the idea of the polenta. Will try again.
I’d been on the lookout for a recipe for tamale pie with a SOFT mask topping – looking fwd to trying this! š
I tried this recipe and it turned out really good. What else can I add to the recipe? Thanks for the recipe.
I really liked this recipe! I added green chilis to the polenta which gave it a lot of flavor.
Sounds delicious, Carli!
Ultimately this was tasty but I did have difficulties making it. There’s too much liquid so I highly recommend draining the tomatoes. The pork shoulder was impossible to shred with forks so it had to be cut with a knife. I quick cooked beans by simmering for an hour but had to finish the dish in the instant pot because the beans were too hard still. Next time I will use canned beans.
Thanks for the tips, Janet! š
Update: after being in the oven it was still too much liquid, so I drained it. Taste was very good, but the leftovers the next day were perfect now with the right amount of liquid! Would make again using my suggestions.
Glad to hear that, Janet! š
Roasted red onion With Pork sounds wonderful! I love salad and itās versatility. This looks like a great recipe- congrats to your friend!
Wow that looks like such a great Pork Dish and thanks for the cookbook review. I have more books than time to read them š but am always in the market for a well-reviewed cookbook!
How would you modify to use canned beans?
Hi Rachael! I’d probably just wait to add them until the end and maybe cut the water in half. It’s tough to know how much liquid to reduce it by, so it may take some testing.
I’m making this tonight using last nights leftover taco meat, and I’m adding in some shredded zucchini along with diced peppers! I’m throwing some chopped fresh cilantro on top for a bit more color and that oh so fresh flavor!
Looks delicious – but how would I cook this without a slow cooker?
You could just cook it on the stove and let it simmer for a few hours until cooked through!
Because it’s currently hot and muggy here on Maui, I decided to make a Tamale Pie from some leftover black bean/beef chili. I loved reading your notes and then loved not following your recipes. I don’t follow any recipes, unfortunately, but I do garner necessary info and learned quite a bit. I was having trouble w the Polenta, so I opened a beer and everything was fine. It’s all in a giant cast iron skillet, so you don’t have the visuals, but we’ll be ok. We have plenny more beers. Aloha. T
Hello…
Could I use regular cornmeal to make the polenta?
Hi Margaret! It could work – here’s a resource on it from The Kitchn: https://www.thekitchn.com/good-question-what-is-polenta-88313
I love both bell peppers and mushrooms! I usually include both when I make chicken Alfredo like in this recipe: https://natashaskitchen.com/chicken-and-vegetable-penne-alfredo/
Also I add it to omelettes. And I don’t know if you’ve ever tried Ukrainian stuffed cabbage rolls but you can stuff bell peppers instead. I actually prefer it that way! AND cuts down on so much prep time (no cooking the cabbage and cutting and rolling each leaf). Just use the filling from this recipe https://natashaskitchen.com/golubtsi-recipe-a-classic-russian-food/ or this one http://grabandgorecipes.com/moms-cabbage-rolls-golubtsy-%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B1%D1%86%D1%8B-recipe/ , stuff bell peppers with the filling, and place in a large pot (in 1 layer) with enough water (or chicken broth) to almost cover them. Bring to a light boil, then simmer covered over medium heat for 40 minutes. I love these!
After 4 hours on Hi, it looks more like a soup, and the beans are not fully cooked. Is it normal? Should I drain it before putting it in the oven? Thank you.
Hi, Joelle. Did you soak the beans ahead of time? (Lindsay mentions this in the recipe notes) You shouldn’t put it in the oven until the beans are fully cooked. My guess is that it looked soupy because the beans still needed to soak up the liquid while they finished cooking.
Hi Kristin, I did soak the beans overnight. Maybe the cooking wasn’t right for my crockpot.
Interesting. I’m not sure what could’ve happened, unless your beans were older? I know older beans do take longer to cook. Sorry I can’t be of more assistance!
This recipe looks delicious and I am planning to make it this week. One question for ya: I don’t eat pork so I was wondering if you suggest substituting chicken or beef with this recipe? Thanks a million!
My gut feeling would be to sub in chicken, but it would probably be good with beef too! š Enjoy!
What is polenta? Would that be cornmeal?
Yes, the cornmeal is cooked to make the polenta.
i have no idea what polenta is but I love how delicious this looks and I’m gonna have to try it. š
I also tried this and had the same experience with the beans and liquid. Too much liquid in the slow cooker and my beans were not cooked after 12 hours of cooking on high even after soaking overnight. The broth was wonderful but I had to remove approximately 2 cups of it. It was like soup. It is now much better though after all that cooking my pork is a little dry. Still flavorful tho. I am cooking it now tonight with the polenta so will update after eating. I will omit the water next time or try it with canned beans. After all that cooking tho the meat and bean mixture does have a wonderful flavor. The polenta, in my opinion, can only make it tastier!
Thanks for your feedback Tracie!
Sadly I’m having the same experience with the uncooked beans. It would probably be wise to soak them in advance for people who are looking to prepare this recipe. I’m now 9+ hours into cooking and they are still not cooked through.
First Pinch of Yum recipe fail. š
Thanks for the comment Danielle. I didn’t soak mine for this, I promise, š but I’ll add a note to the recipe. I now do soak beans ahead of time whenever I use uncooked ones, so it’s probably best to just recommend that.
I put it back in to cook for most of the day today. Very delicious recipe once the beans were cooked š