This grain free cornbread chili skillet pie is the ultimate healthy comfort food! A quick hearty beef chili is topped with paleo “cornbread” and baked to bubbly perfection. It’s gluten free, dairy free, grain free and paleo friendly. This family favorite is perfect to add a little cozy warmth to cold winter nights!
I recently made the perfect grain free and paleo cornbread, and it totally reminded me to make this “cornbread” chili skillet pie!
I made sure to tweak the cornbread recipe to make it simpler (fewer flours) and the perfect amount to top the chili. Plus a little bit less sweet to better complement the hearty, savory chili.
The result was even better than I imagined! A super simple paleo skillet chili recipe topped with a one-bowl faux-cornbread topping that will WOW everyone you serve it to!
What You Need to Make Cornbread Chili Skillet Pie
Don’t let the long ingredient list intimidate you! I divided the ingredients into two parts – the chili and the topping.
Here’s everything you’ll need to prepare the chili skillet pie:
Chili:
- avocado oil or olive oil
- medium onion
- red bell pepper
- green bell pepper
- jalapeno pepper
- garlic
- ground beef, grass fed
- cumin
- smoked paprika
- chili powder
- chipotle powder
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- tomato paste
Cornbread Topping:
- eggs
- full fat coconut milk
- fresh lemon juice
- raw honey (melted)
- ghee (or vegan butter, for dairy free)
- blanched almond flour
- coconut flour
- aluminum free baking powder (homemade paleo baking powder, see below)
- sea salt
- Minced cilantro, for garnish
How to Make Paleo “Cornbread” Chili Skillet Pie
Preheat your oven to 375° F. Heat a large (12”) oven proof skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent, then add all the peppers and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until softened.
Push the veggies over to one side of the skillet and add the beef, breaking up lumps to brown evenly. Add the spices and cook, stirring with the veggies until browned. Pour in the tomatoes and tomato paste, stir, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the chili to simmer while you prepare the cornbread topping.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, lemon juice, honey and ghee until smooth. Stir in the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt until a thick batter forms.
Allow the batter to sit for a minute, then remove the chili from the heat.
Spread all the cornbread batter over the top of the chili and bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until the top of the cornbread is golden brown and it’s cooked through. Allow the skillet to cool and set for 10 minutes. Garnish with minced cilantro and serve hot.
How to Make Your Own Grain Free and Paleo Baking Powder
For the “cornbread” topping in this recipe I used homemade baking powder, which I finally started making myself!
Since store bought baking powder contains cornstarch, it’s not technically grain free and paleo.
While this doesn’t bother me really since we’re talking about a really small amount, I’ve been meaning to start making my own paleo baking powder to use to test my baking recipes.
I found a recipe at Delightful Mom Food and it works really well for me, plus I have plenty (but not too much) to store away for recipe testing.
All you need to do is mix together 3 ingredients – 1/4 cup cream of tartar, 2 tablespoons baking soda and 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour. In the past I only used the first two ingredients and I find that adding the arrowroot flour helps!
I hope you’re ready for a seriously crave-worthy dinner that’s going to impress even the pickiest eaters!
Grab all your ingredients and your favorite big skillet because it’s time to cook – let’s go!
Cornbread Chili Skillet Pie {Grain Free, Paleo}
Cornbread Chili Skillet Pie {Paleo}
Ingredients
Chili:
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground beef grass fed
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp chipotle powder
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
Cornbread Topping:
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp raw honey melted
- 1/3 cup ghee or vegan butter, melted
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder or make your own paleo baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- Minced cilantro for garnish
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 375° F. Heat a large (12”) oven proof skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent, then add all the peppers and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until softened.
-
Push the veggies over to one side of the skillet and add the beef, breaking up lumps to brown evenly. Add the spices and cook, stirring with the veggies until browned. Pour in the tomatoes and tomato paste, stir, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the chili to simmer while you prepare the cornbread topping.
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, lemon juice, honey and ghee until smooth. Stir in the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt until a thick batter forms.
-
Allow the batter to sit for a minute, then remove the chili from heat.
-
Spread all the cornbread batter over the top of the chili and bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until the top of the cornbread is golden brown and it’s cooked through. Allow the skillet to cool and set for 10 minutes. Garnish with minced cilantro and serve hot. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Mix 1/4 cup cream of tartar with 2 Tbsp of baking soda and 2 tbsp of arrowroot flour. Save this mixture in an airtight container and use in place of store bought baking powder.
Nutrition
Want More Paleo Chili Recipes? Try One of These!
Butternut Squash Chicken Chili
Instant Pot Beef and Bacon Chili
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili with Sweet Potatoes
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This sounds delectable! But, I was wondering how I could make it a little more keto friendly? Possibly subbing erythritol for the honey? Thanks!!
This looks absolutely delicious- Pinning! So glad you used the paleo baking powder- thank you for sharing that!
This was enjoyed by my family! Easy to put together. Thank you for the recipe!
I have been looking for a new idea for making our stuffing this year! I absolutely love this recipe! The presentation is gorgeous and looks so delicious!
SO good! Loved this!
Another delicious dinner, thanks to you. I do think I would partially drain my tomatoes next time and more salt.
This is absolutely delicious! Perfect amount of spice and the cornbread is sweet! I made with ground turkey, but followed the rest of the recipe. I have been making SO many of your dinner recipes! I would love to buy a cookbook with meals of yours!
Is there a substantial for the coconut flour?
I don’t usually comment on recipes, but wow! This was excellent. Thanks for making paleo easy and delicious!
LOVED this chili
My husband is not a chili person at all and as so as he had some he said i needed to make it again.
The cornbread on top is a GREAT sweet addition. And I love the Smoked Paprika in it.
I have a ton of dietary restrictions and have tried soo many paleo recipes over the past 5 years. This is only the second one I have left a review for because it is so amazing! Seriously so delicious. I used liquid coconut oil instead of butter and arrowroot instead of coconut flour but I left everything else like you have it listed. What I love about this is that I can use any meat and veggies I have in the fridge and top it with this “cornbread” for a fast meal without much thinking. The crust tastes a lot like cornbread (but more moist) which was pleasantly surprising.
phenomenal!! I’m just now getting around the writing a review, but we have already made this like 5 times and it never ceases to be gobbled up by the whole family.
Will it work fine, I will try it for my work, waiting for more posts from you.
Can you substitute coconut flour for almond?
Yum! Definitely a “keeper”- aka a recipe you make again! Another delicious recipe from your site!
This dish was sooo good. It’s rare that I find a meal that everyone in my family loves, and this one was a hit all around. Even my picky eater thought it was delicious. Can’t wait to make it again!
Thanks for this post
Made this tonight and it was delicious!! It’s so nice to have a dairy free and gluten free cozy and filling meal on a cold November night. We added black beans for some extra protein. This is definitely going in the rotation!
This was so freaking good, omg my family and I cannot get enough! Thank you!
My husband and I absolutely LOVE this recipe. It’s on our monthly rotation.
I never leave comments on recipes. 😬 But this one was too good not to comment on. It was absolutely delicious. My entire family raved about it and everyone got seconds! It was also quite filling as an entire skillet fed my family of 6 with leftovers! I added more salt than recommended and would definitely do so to taste! Pair with avocado, cheese, and sour cream (if you tolerate dairy)! Amazing recipe and a fun variation of chili!