Mexican Pot Pie Recipe
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Mexican Pot Pie Recipe
I make this Mexican pot pie recipe at my house, that the kids love. I started making it because when I was growing up I had a favorite Mexican restaurant that made these amazing baked smothered burritos, that came out with broiled cheese, crisp shredded lettuce and all of my favorite toppings. The restaurant has been gone for years, but I can still taste that burrito. To keep things really simple when I am serving it, I love to make them each in their own baking dish. I have a couple of different ones I use, but once you start assembling them in the baking dishes, it felt like we were making pot pies – so that is what we started calling them. You start with a tortilla on the bottom, add the filling, and then top it with a tortilla on top.
In all honesty though, it really is nothing like a traditional pot pie, but more like a baked wet burrito or enchilada, depending on how you make yours. . We just call them Mexican pot pies, because we toss together many of our favorite Mexican food flavors in ramekins and stuff a tortilla in a similar way that you do with a pot pie. That is really the only similarity though.
One thing I love about this recipe, is how flexible it is. You can use any of your favorite recipes to put them together. The fun part is cooking each persons portion in their own dish (verses serving out of a family size dish), and then providing a toppings bar to let them add what they want to the top of theirs.
It is also a fun recipe to serve for company, as it is pretty simple to make, but shows really nice. Your guests will be impressed, when you serve them their own dish stuffed full of delicious flavors. Then put out some toppings, for them to make it even better!
Here is how we like to make them, but adapt this to your families tastes and make it your own.
Ingredients to make a Mexican Pot Pie –
- 2 Tortillas for each Mexican Pot Pie (can use flour or corn, we have used flour in this version). Note that the size of tortilla you will want to use depends on the size of dish you are using to bake it in. I have these round ramekin pots I love to use, and so these work perfect for the street taco tortilla size.
- Chicken, Beef or Pork (we used chicken in this recipe).
- Sauce to cook your meat in (ideas below)
- Enchilada sauce (ingredients below)
- Mexican Blend Cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Other toppings (salsa, source cream, guac – we have lots more ideas listed below)
Ingredients for the Sauce to Cook Chicken In:
You can simply cook your meat in a canned enchilada sauce, or your favorite wet burrito sauce (or even salsa). Here are the ingredients that I like to use to make my own sauce though.
- I can diced Rotel with Green Chili
- 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 garlic clove finely diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbls taco seasoning
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
Ingredients for the Enchilada Sauce to top it with:
- 1/4 cup of tomato paste
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 tbls chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning (or just Oregano)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Mix all of the ingredients together well in a bowl, until fully blended, then it is ready to use!
How to Make the Mexican Pot Pies
You can use a family size pie pan, and make a family size one, but the draw to this recipe for me is to make each person their own individual dish. That means that you will need enough ramekins of mini baking dishes (I use mini loaf pans too), for each person you are serving (it needs to be a dish that can be put inside the oven. Once you have decide what dish you will be baking it in, here is how to make them.
Start by cooking your meat mixture. I like to do this in the crock pot, as it cuts out a lot of the work. I will dump approximately a pound of meat (chicken, beef or pork your choice) into the crock pot with the ingredients for the sauce listed above. Then let it cook on low for 6 hours. Shred the meat and stir in well with the sauce it has been cooking in, and it is ready to use.
You can do this step a day ahead or start it early in the day that you want to make this meal. One of the things that makes this dish so good is that the filling (the meat cooked in sauce) is tender and flavorful, and that comes from cooking it long and slow. You can cook it on the stove just before you assemble the pies, but you might lose some of that.
Start by lining the bottom of your baking dish with one tortilla, and pushing it down until it forms to the bottom of the dish and up the sides.
You can spray the bottom of your pan first, lightly with some cooking spray, if you are worried about them sticking. I never do, but it is probably a good idea.
Next step is to fill with the meat mixture you made. I like to fill my just over half full, as you will need to leave room for other things still.
Add a generous layer of the Mexican Cheese blend to the top of your meat mixture, leaving room to top it off with another tortilla and more cheese.
Take your second tortilla and cover the top of your mixture, I like to gently tuck my sides in while using it to top, so it really does look like the top of a pot pie.
The next step is to top it with some enchilada sauce (or if you have a favorite wet burrito sauce you could use that, or even just salsa if you want to keep things simple.
You can use canned enchilada sauce, but honestly it is so easy to make your own, and really tasty that way too. We have listed our enchilada sauce recipe above, and that is what I use here. You could also top with some salsa instead, or if you have a favorite wet burrito sauce recipe, at this step.
Then the final step before cooking is to add one last top layer of cheese.
Now it is ready to put in the oven at 350, until the cheese is golden and bubbly (approximately 20 minutes but keep an eye on it).
Note that you will want to make sure the inside is fully heated through. If you are taking the meat from the crockpot this will not be an issue. If you pre-made your meat (the day before for example) and are using it cold from the fridge you will either want to microwave it first, or cover your pies for a bit until the inside has had time to warm through. They you can brown your cheese topping.
You will know it is ready to take out when the cheese is this beautiful golden color and bubbling.
Once you remove it from the oven, give it a few minutes to cool before serving, as the dishes will be hot coming out of the oven. I like to put it on a plate to serve it (and warn your guests that they are hot).
My favorite toppings to put out for this Mexican Pot Pie Recipe –
- Salsa – I like to quickly blend together a batch of my favorite salsa before I make this. I love the fresh flavors it adds to the recipe, but you can use any of your favorite jar recipes too.
To make this salsa quickly, I use all the ingredients from the Pico De Gallo recipe below (seed the jalapeno and coarsely chop everything), except I use one can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles and one can of crushed tomatoes instead of the fresh tomatoes, Through everything in the blender (minus the crushed tomatoes) and blend until chopped to the consistency you like. Then mix in with the crushed tomatoes. Season with salt to taste and chill.
- Pica De Gallo – this will be nice and chunky, but takes a little more work than the salsa
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
- Tortilla Strips
- Mexican Relish (onions and cilantro)
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Lime Slices
Mexican Pot Pie Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Description
This Mexican Pot Pie is really more like a wet burrito, but put together like a pot pie. It is comfort food, but also is fun to serve for company too, as each dish is made individually!
Ingredients
Ingredients to make a Mexican Pot Pie –
- 2 Tortillas for each Mexican Pot Pie (can use flour or corn, we have used flour in this version). Note that the size of tortilla you will want to use depends on the size of dish you are using to bake it in. I have these round ramekin pots I love to use, and so these work perfect for the street taco tortilla size.
- Chicken, Beef or Pork (we used chicken in this recipe).
- Sauce to cook your meat in (ideas below)
- Enchilada sauce (ingredients below)
- Mexican Blend Cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Other toppings (salsa, source cream, guac – we have lots more ideas listed below)
Ingredients for the Sauce to Cook Chicken In:
- I can diced Rotel with Green Chili
- 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 garlic clove finely diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbls taco seasoning
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
Ingredients for the Enchilada Sauce to top it with:
- 1/4 cup of tomato paste
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 tbls chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning (or just Oregano)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Start by cooking your meat mixture. I like to do this in the crock pot, as it cuts out a lot of the work. I will dump approximately a pound of meat (chicken, beef or pork your choice) into the crock pot with the ingredients for the sauce listed above. Then let it cook on low for 6 hours. Shred the meat and stir in well with the sauce it has been cooking in, and it is ready to use.
Next line the bottom of your baking dish with one tortilla, and pushing it down until it forms to the bottom of the dish and up the sides (you can spray the bottom of your pan first, lightly with some cooking spray, if you are worried about them sticking)
Fill with the meat mixture you made. I like to fill my just over half full, as you will need to leave room for other things still.
Add a generous layer of the Mexican Cheese blend to the top of your meat mixture, leaving room to top it off with another tortilla and more cheese.
Take your second tortilla and cover the top of your mixture, I like to gently tuck my sides in while using it to top, so it really does look like the top of a pot pie.
The next step is to top it with some enchilada sauce (or if you have a favorite wet burrito sauce you could use that, or even just salsa if you want to keep things simple.
Then the final step before cooking is to add one last top layer of cheese.
Now it is ready to put in the oven at 350, until the cheese is golden and bubbly (approximately 20 minutes but keep an eye on it).
Notes
This recipe is very forgiving. We have provided details on how we like to make it, but there are a number of ways it can be modified for your families tastes, or based on what ingredients you have on hand. This is one of my favorite things about it!
Also note that you will want to make sure the inside is fully heated through. If you are taking the meat from the crockpot this will not be an issue. If you pre-made your meat (the day before for example) and are using it cold from the fridge you will either want to microwave it first, or cover your pies for a bit until the inside has had time to warm through. They you can brown your cheese topping.
Pre Time takes into consideration making the meat, assembling your pies, and making your own sauces and salsas. You can shorten this by using any premade sauces or salsas too.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican
