Mexican Chorizo Cornbread Casserole

A super flavorful Mexican-inspired casserole, this family-friendly Mexican Chorizo Cornbread Casserole is easy to whip up with fresh chorizo pork sausage, Jiffy cornbread mix, and a handful of pantry staples. Serve it up with sour cream, hot sauce, sliced avocado and lime for a weeknight meal everyone will love!

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Easy, cheesy cornbread casserole- great for weeknights!

When you're looking for an easy weeknight meal, a one-skillet dinner is always a win. This Mexican Chorizo Cornbread Casserole starts off on the stove and finishes in the oven for a truly one pan southwest-inspired meal.

Looking for more great dinner recipes?

Why not try my Marinated Pork Chop Bánh mì Ciabatta Sandwiches,  Slow Cooker Italian Shredded Pork, Spicy Muffuletta Oven Panini, or Great Grandma’s Sloppy Joe!

Making the Mexican Cornbread Casserole

To make this quick and easy casserole, you will need;

• A bit of neutral oil, such as avocado oil or canola oil.
• Ground, uncooked, Mexican chorizo sausage. If you want to maker this dish vegetarian, you could also use soy chorizo!
• A red onion, and some fresh garlic.
• A small can of diced green chilis.
• 2 cups of grated/shredded smoked gouda cheese or sharp cheddar cheese.
• Smoked paprika. There is no substitute for the delicious smokey flavor this brings to the dish. I love Frontier Co-Op.
• Dried oregano.
• A couple boxes of good ol' Jiffy cornbread mix. See below for tips on substitutions for the cornbread. But Jiffy is my favorite!
• A can creamed corn, and some frozen corn. You could also use fresh corn in place of the frozen if that's what you have on hand.
• A couple of large eggs.
• Sour cream. You could also substitute with light sour cream.

To make the casserole, you'll start by cooking up the aromatics and sausage to make the base of the filling. The chorizo sausage is super flavorful, so you won't need much, and the filling cooks up VERY quickly. All the winning signs of a great weeknight casserole.

Layering the casserole

Once your meaty filling is ready to go, you'll transfer it to a bowl (briefly) while you stir up the Jiffy cornbread mixture. Once the cornbread is ready to go, pour half into the same skillet you cooked the sausage in, and spread it into an even layer. At this point, you'll add the sausage back in over top.

Once the bottom layer of cornbread and chorizo mixture are in, you'll add a bunch of shredded cheese. Either smoked gouda or sharp cheddar are great options here. Monterey jack would also be great. For this step- be sure to hold back half the cheese. I know it's hard, but that cheese will still make it into the dish. Promise.

Baking the chorizo cornbread casserole

Once your cheese is evenly layered over the chorizo mixture, you'll top it with the remaining half of the cornbread mixture, and spread it evenly over top. Now (as promised) comes the rest of the cheese! Once the casserole is all assembled, it needs to bake for a mere 20 minutes- then it's time to dive in!

Serving suggestions

While you could just grab a spoon and go to town, I love to add a little flair to the casserole by serving it with some sliced avocado sour cream, cilantro and hot sauce. Other great options would be salsa, pico de gallo and lime. Dressed up or as-is- this casserole is always a hit!

Substitutions

This casserole can be easily updated and modified to your tastes. Below are some great add ins and substitutions for the recipe:

• If you don’t have chorizo on hand, you could use ground beef or pork and season with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic and chili powder for a flavor boost. 
• Ground hot or mild Italian sausage (chicken or pork) would also work great here!
• To make this dish vegetarian, you could use soy chorizo!
• Any of your favorite cornbread mixes will do the trick, or even a from-scratch version. Just make sure it’s still around the same amount of batter as the 2 (8,5 oz) boxes of Jiffy make. 
• A white onion will work in a pinch if you don’t have a red onion. Shallots would also be nice in this dish. 
• If you wanted to do a spicy twist, you could replace the smoked gouda or cheddar with some grated Monterey Jack. You could also mix all 3! 
• If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you could prep the filling in a nonstick pan, then transfer to a greased baking dish and top with cornbread and cheese layers. 

Storing leftovers

If you manage to have any leftovers of this casserole, scoop them out and store in a n airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days! To reheat, just microwave for a minute or 2 and serve with some more fresh cilantro and sour cream.

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