Cinco de Mayo Turkey Tamale Bowls

These Cinco de Mayo Turkey Tamale Bowls takes no time to make, can be prepared ahead of time and baked when you’re ready for dinner. They’re a Mexican inspired favorite!

I can’t believe that in less than 10 days it’s already May!  May is a busy, busy holiday month, so since I am Little Miss Organized with my planner in my back pocket we need to prepare our menu for the holidays ahead. We start the month off with Cinco de Mayo, then we have Mother’s Day and we close out the month with my favorite, the kick-off to summer,  Memorial Day!!  Woot woot!  I also have three birthdays sprinkled in the month of May.  Like I said, it’s gonna be busy!  Of course, for each holiday there will be some special things on the menu at the beach house kitchen, so get ready guys!

Today, we will conquer the menu for Cinco de Mayo.  We love Mexican food at our house, so this one is going to be easy. Tacos, burritos, queso, enchiladas and my homemade empanadas are just a few regulars on our menu, but I wanted to try something different, not one of my usuals.  I wanted to create a “bowl” recipe and  I also wanted to incorporate masa harina into the recipe.  I decided to call this a “tamale bowl” because tamales are made with masa.  I had my first burrito bowl with my son Casey at every college kids favorite place, Chipotle. I love bowls because you can add in whatever ingredients you like,  plus they are simple to make and delicious. The flavors, the colors!  It’s like a fiesta in a bowl!

This recipe is so quick and easy because you cook the majority of the ingredients in one large pot, then transfer to individual ramekins. I used ground turkey to make these bowls a bit healthier, but you could also use ground beef or chicken. I also included some black beans, corn, a little onion and garlic, and some jalapenos to spice things up.  My favorite part of this bowl is definitely the addition of the masa.  I did not want to have a whole layer of the masa so I made the dough and just dropped a dollop in each bowl in a few spots. It’s just the right amount. I top each bowl with a little shredded Monterey jack cheese and then bake.  While they are baking I chopped up some green onions and some little grape tomatoes for garnish and that’s it. How easy is that?

I think these Turkey Tamale bowls are on point if you are craving something spicy and loaded with flavor.  They will be the perfect addition to your Cinco de Mayo menu!

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Cinco de Mayo Turkey Tamale Bowls

Course: 45 minutes

Servings: 7 - 8 ounce bowls

Author: Mary Ann Dwyer

Ingredients

• I Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 cup yellow onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 2 10 oz. cans mild enchilada sauce
• 1 5 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz. can black beans drained and rinsed
• 2 cups frozen corn yellow or white (no need to thaw)
• 2 tsp. chopped jalapenos with ribs and seeds if you like it hot, without if you like it mild
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
• 2 cups masa harina
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup one stick salted butter, cold and diced
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 8 oz. shredded Monterey jack cheese
• green onions and grape tomatoes chopped for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray seven 8 oz. ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add ground turkey and cook, stirring to break up the meat. After 2 minutes add the chopped onion. Continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Drain the fat from the meat. Set heat to medium and add the garlic, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, black beans, corn, jalapenos, paprika, cumin, 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the masa harina, 1/2 tsp. salt and baking powder. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the hot water.
4. Place about 1/3 cup turkey mixture into each ramekin. Top the turkey mixture with a few dollops of the masa dough mixture. I scooped the masa dough mixture out of the bowl with my fingers and put about three to four small dollops about the size of a quarter each of the mixture in each ramekin. Then top each ramekin with more of the turkey mixture. Sprinkle with the Monterey jack cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions and grape tomatoes.