Craving Comfort Food? Make this Cornbread Chili Casserole!
Jiffy chili cornbread casserole uses pantry staples and transforms chili into a dinner worth looking forward to.
Do you love warm cornbread and chili as a comforting meal?
If chili night and cornbread night had a baby, this would be it! It’s the ultimate comfort food shortcut, made with Jiffy mix for a fluffy golden topping and a hearty chili base that bakes together into one cozy, scoopable meal.
I first made chili and cornbread bake years ago, adapted from Mr.Food.com and it’s a longtime family favorite. It’s warm, filling, and perfect for busy weeknights, game days, or anytime you want big flavor with minimal effort.
This tasty chili and cornbread bake is everything we love about comfort food.
It’s easy, budget-friendly, and feeds a crowd without extra dishes. The chili bubbles underneath while the cornbread topping bakes up soft inside with crisp golden edges on top.
Consider adding sour cream and shredded cheese to the top for serving to take this casserole to the next level! This casserole is pretty large, so for a smaller portion, feel free to cut it in half. The leftovers do reheat well in the microwave.
Cornbread Chili Casserole
yield: 8 SERVINGS
prep time: 15 MINUTES
cook time: 35 MINUTES
total time: 50 MINUTES
Hearty chili with a fluffy Jiffy cornbread topping for a cozy, oven baked comfort meal that’s simple, filling, and family friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 -16 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2-8.5oz. packages of cornbread mix (Such as Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix)
- Plus milk and eggs for batter
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2
In a large skillet over med/high heat add a little olive oil and cook onions and garlic for a couple of minutes until tender.
3
Add ground meat and brown 8-10 minutes until cooked. Drain off any excess liquid.
4
Add beans, crushed tomatoes, and seasonings and let simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.
5
Transfer chili to a large 9×13 casserole dish.
6
Make cornbread batter and pour over the top of chili. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until cornbread is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
7
Serve with sour cream and cheese if desired.
Extra tips for making chili casserole with cornbread topping:
- I used my favorite Caraway nonstick 9×13 pan. You could also use a Cast Iron Dutch Oven pot to make it a one-pan meal.
- Some recipes use one box of muffin mix, but we use two boxes so the bread top is thicker. If you’d like less cornbread, just use one box and decrease baking time to around 20 minutes.
- If you like spicy chili, add more chili powder, cayenne pepper, or Tabasco.
When chili meets cornbread, magic happens.
This dish tastes amazing… Comfort food at its BEST! We love chili, and this is a great, quick, and basic recipe. You could also substitute your own favorite chili recipe and use the same idea for those times you have leftover chili to use up.
Next time, I’d like to experiment with adding corn, chilies, and cheese to the cornbread batter. Yum!
Try this easy chicken zucchini casserole next as a delicious, comforting meal.
I’ve been making this for years but doing it the cheater’s way 😊 with Stagg Steak House chili and Marie Callendar’s corn bread mix. 13×9 pan 3 cans of chili on the bottom, pour prepared corn bread mix on top, bake, and voila! It’s great for potlucks and it reheats really well, too. Yum!!
Nice! Great idea
Thx so much for this recipe.!! And all of your recipes .This will b perfect with the cold weather on the way.And I can always keep the ingredients on hand in case we r snowed in.
Sure- thanks for stopping by!
I make a simolar recipe but use salsa instead of the tomatoes & add 1/2 cup cheese to cornbread mix & also top it with cheese. So yummy!
Oh yum! Great idea
I make taco meat and put cornbread on top and bake. My son loves it.
Yummy! Great idea
Yummy! I want to try this on the first chilly evening of fall. Thank you and great pictures!
I use to have this as a child and totally forgot about it til I saw this post! Now I can make it for my kids. Thanks Collin!
This recipe is so yummy. I used to buy Jiffy cornbread mix until I discovered Krusteaz honey cornbread mix.
I used to love watching Mr Food… RIP.
Me too! “Ooh, it’s sooo gooood!”
Love this. I do add creamed corn to the cornbread mix too. Easy to tailor to your family’s preferences and freezes well. Can bake from frozen or thawed.
Great idea!
This is called corn pone pie where I’m from:) my favorite meal!
Yummy! Thanks!
Sure- enjoy!
I make this regularly but I like to mix corn into my chili and put cheese on top of chili before pouring the cornbread mix. I also sprinkle some cheese on top of the cornbread or mix it in. If I want it spicy I mix jalapeños and cheese into the cornbread mix .
Sounds great! Thanks Cori 😀
This is exactly how we do it too. 🙂
We make something similar and add hot dog slices to it. It’s a huge hit! We’ve done it with cornbread on the bottom and top as well. With a cool morning like today, this might be on our menu tonight…
One of my favorite dishes! Thanks for sharing!
Yes, you’ll def want to add chopped green chilies & cheese to the cornbread mixture. Really ups the flavor!! I also prefer to use Quaker Corn meal mix to make the cornbread topping. IDK if it’s just me, but I find Jiffy tastes weird.
Jiffy has a sweet taste to it like cake IMO. I’m going to use Mexican cornbread mix and your idea to add the chilies
Sounds yummy!
Yum! Such a great easy one pot dinner I might try making corn bread from scratch for the top:)
Thanks for the fun new dinner ideas!
We’re still in the 90s here, but when the cool weather comes, this will be awesome! Thanks!
Thanks so much ! Sounds delicious!
Sure- thanks for stopping by!
If I use minced garlic in a jar how much do you use? I’m not sure how that figures out to a clove of garlic. Any ideas?? Thank you
1/2 teaspoon minced typically equals a clove of garlic. 😀
Made this tonight! Excellent. Any ideas on how this will freeze????
Do you think I could cook this in two small dishes instead of one big one? If so what size dishes would I use? I thought I could drop one off to my grandmother since there is only my husband and me. Thanks.
Yes! Great idea ❤️
Grt recipe and thanks for sharing 😊
Thanks for stopping by!! 👍
Could I do this recipe without the beans? Kids and hubby dislike beans. Would I need to substitute it somehow?
I think you could omit and/or maybe add more veggies like corn.
My kids won’t eat tomato chunks of any kind. I have to make my chili with tomato juice. Wonder if that would make the cornbread too soggy?
Hey Amanda! You could swap out the crushed tomatoes for a blend of tomato paste and sauce to have a similar consistency. I’ve done this before in recipes! Hope that helps. 🤗
I make something similar but with polenta on top instead of cornbread. I add bell peppers and olives to the chili part. I add extra beans and no meat to accommodate vegetarians in our family.
YUM! Thanks for sharing how you make yours!