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Super Easy Taco Pie with Avocado Crema
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This super easy taco pie recipe by our friend Kyra Bussanich, Owner of Kyra’s Bake Shop in Portland, Oregon, is a fantastic and delicious way to add extra California Grown veggies into your meal. Made with spicy ground beef, fire-roasted tomatoes, olives and piles of spinach, it’s topped with a crisp cornbread layer and Avocado Crema. When served in individual jars, this taco pie is perfect to take along to potlucks, picnics or concerts in the park. You can also bake it in a larger dish for dinners at home.
You’ll want to put this Avocado Crema on everything (not just Taco Pie).
This creamy and spicy avocado crema can be made ahead of time and dolloped on the taco pie just before serving. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- 1 ripe, medium California Grown Haas Avocado
- 1/4 cup of sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon mild jalapeño green tabasco
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
It’s so easy to make avocado crema. Just place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine! Alternatively, mash it all up in a quart sized ziplock bag and mix until uniform in texture. If you make the crema in a ziplock bag, you can store any unused crema right in the same bag!
Want more easy & delicious South of the Border- inspired recipes? We’ve got you covered!
Easy Taco Bake
This fun, easy and vegetarian taco bake by Meg from This Mess is Ours is totally doable on a weeknight and feeds the whole family. Pre-loading the tacos with all of the condiments makes clean up a breeze!
Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos
Everybody loves nachos and this sheet pan version feeds a crowd! Tomatoes, avocado, radish, cilantro, jalapeños, olives, black beans, cheese and chicken are all included in this mouth-watering dish. This meal is ready to serve in less than 20 minutes. Winning!
Classic Tamale Pie with Sweet Potato Cornbread Crust
Tamale Pie has nothing to do with tamales or pie, but instead is wonderful Tex-Mex casserole of savory meat covered in a sweet potato-cornbread crust. We think you’ll love this spicy and delicious recipe from our friend Kate from Hola Jalapeño.
Share your creation with us by snapping a pic and tagging us on social using #CAGROWN.
Craving more CA Grown goodness? Follow us on Pinterest for fresh and fabulous recipe inspo!
Super Easy Taco Pie with Avocado Crema
Equipment
- 7, wide mouthed jars
Ingredients
For the Beef Layer
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil EVOO
- 2 cups diced white onion from on large, about 8 ounces
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 3.8 oz can sliced black olives
- 1 4 oz can hot diced green chiles
- 3 cups 12 oz chopped frozen spinach
For the Cornbread Batter
- 1 1/4 cups coarse stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 1/3 cup sweet white rice flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted (or rendered bacon fat for a smoky turn! Yum!)
- 1 egg
For the Avocado Crema
- 1 medium Hass avocado
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon mild jalapeño green tabasco
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- cilantro for garnish if you wish (I NEVER wish), or chopped scallions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Heat a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the EVOO, the diced onion, the minced garlic, all the spices, and the meat. Stir frequently to break up the meat and mix in the spices. Once the meat is evenly browned, stir in the fire roasted tomatoes, sliced olives, hatch chiles, and frozen spinach. Place your 14 ounce jam jars or 16 oz wide mouth mason jars on a baking pan (for easy transference into the oven).
- Evenly spoon the meat mixture, splitting it among the jars. Press down to make sure the meat mixture takes up as little room as possible. The jars should be 2/3 to 3/4 full.
Make the Cornbread batter:
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, cayenne pepper, baking powder and salt. Add the honey, buttermilk, melted butter or bacon fat and egg and stir together to combine.
- Dividing evenly between the jars, spoon the cornbread batter over the top of the meat mixture and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center just comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes.
- If saving these for later, let the jars cool completely before placing the lid over the top. These freeze extremely well when made in advance (just wait until the last minute to top with the avocado crema and cilantro or scallions). To reheat the jars from frozen, thaw the sealed jars in the refrigerator overnight. From refrigerated, remove any metal lids, if using, and microwave until hot, about 2 minutes.
Make the Avocado Crema:
- You can make the Avocado Crema ahead of time, and simply top the warm cornbread with a dollop of the cold crema at the last minute.
- To make: place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Alternatively, you can mash it in a quart sized zip lock bag and mix until uniform in texture. If you make the crema in a zip lock back, you can also store any unused crema right in the same bag!
- At the last minute, top the warm cornbread taco pies with a dollop of the avocado crema and garnish, and enjoy!