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Pilar's Chilean Food & Garden

A recipe blog by a Chilean living in the USA

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Corn and Beef Chilean Pastel de Choclo

June 20, 2019 by Pilar Hernandez 42 Comments

Versión en español

Corn and Beef Pie, Pastel de Choclo

Chilean Pastel de Choclo is an iconic dish. A classic during the summertime. If living in the countryside, the Pastel de Choclo is usually cooked in a clay dish inside a wood-burning oven, if residing in the city a standard oven and a baking pan is enough. The flavors of the meat and corn mingle delightfully in this casserole.

Chilean corn is different from the varieties available in the USA. You will need to thicken the mash with cornstarch.

Proper sides for Chilean Pastel de Choclo are:

  • Pebre sauce
  • Salsa verde sauce
  • Ensalada chilena
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Corn and Beef Chilean “Pastel de Choclo”

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Pilar Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6
  • Category: Savory
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Chilean
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Description

The Chilean version of Sheperd’s pie with a twist: corn pudding on top.


Ingredients

For the corn mixture,

•    2 tablespoons butter
•    4 bags of frozen corn (454 grams each) or 10 cups
•    1/2 cup whole milk
•    1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold milk or water
•    1 bunch basil, about 10 leaves, Sweet basil preferably
•    salt, pepper and Merkén or paprika

For the meat,

•    2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
•    2 pounds ground beef
•    1 cup water or beef broth
•     3 onions, diced small
•    Merkén or 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
•    1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
•    salt, pepper
•    2 tablespoons flour

Optional: cooked chicken, hard-boiled eggs, olives, and raisins


Instructions

For the meat, can be done the day before,

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot, saute the beef until lightly browned, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, add the paprika, salt, pepper, and cumin, sauté 2 minutes more.
  2. Add the broth and simmer 30 minutes over low heat.
  3. Add the onion and mix well and cook over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Turn off heat and add the flour and stir well, adjust seasoning if necessary. Cool and refrigerate or use inmediatly.

For the corn mixture,

  1. In a large pot with a thick bottom, I use my cast iron, melt the butter over medium-high heat, add the frozen corn and occasionally stir about 8 minutes.
  2. Add milk, basil, salt, pepper, and Merquén or paprika and continue to cook occasionally stirring for about 10 minutes longer.
  3. With a hand blender, blend the corn trying to not to go uniform, leave some chunky parts, when happy with the consistency, add the dissolved cornstarch and continue cooking over medium heat 5 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning, it will thicken slightly.

To assemble the pie,

  1. On a clay or baking dish, put one layer of the prepared meat filling. Add cooked chicken, quartered hard-boiled eggs, olives and raisins on top of the meat.
  2. Cover with the corn mixture, sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake at 400F or 200C in a preheated oven for 45-60 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Keywords: Corn pie, Chilean cuisine, Pastel de choclo

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @chileanfoodandgarden on Instagram and hashtag it #chileanfoodandgarden

Corn and Beef Pie, Pastel de ChocloCorn and Beef Pie, Pastel de Choclo Corn and Beef Pie, Pastel de Choclo Corn and Beef Pie, Pastel de Choclo

Corn Meat Pie "Pastel de Choclo"

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Filed Under: Beef, Chilean Meat, Chilean recipes, Entrees, Home Page - Highlight, Popular Posts, Savory things

About Pilar Hernandez

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  1. Val McKeever says

    August 12, 2014 at 12:24 pm

    Hi Pilar,

    Glad you had a good trip to Chile! Pictures were wonderful! Welcome back….. Sorry about the tree!

    What size dish do you use for the corn pie recipe? I want to try it this weekend.
    Thanks, Val

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      August 12, 2014 at 4:12 pm

      Hi Val,
      For this recipe you can use a casserole dish close to 9″x 9″ or similar.
      Good luck!

      Reply
  2. Cooking Rookie says

    April 30, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    Thank you for the recipe! I tried several versions of Pastel de Chocolo since my trip to Chile and in all of them the corn layer was thin and runny. Your recipe worked really well. I made it for guests last night and everyone loved it. Muchas gracias 🙂

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      May 1, 2018 at 7:51 am

      Exciting!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.

      Reply
  3. Ricky Torres says

    July 26, 2018 at 9:51 am

    Muchisimas gracias por compartir tus recetas chilenas con nosotros! My grandmother would make all these typical recipes but I’m afraid she died suddenly and without sharing her recipes with us.

    Yo naci en USA, pero vivi en Chile por 8 anos, y mi ninez fue fundada con estas excelentes comidas.

    I just want you to know that finding these recipes that you’ve provided, means SO MUCH to me. It fills my heart with joy and nostalgia. I cant wait to get started on these!!!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      July 26, 2018 at 2:13 pm

      Wonderful, it makes me happy too that they will be enjoyed. Let me know if you have any questions.

      Reply
  4. paulina Arias says

    December 4, 2018 at 6:46 am

    Hello,
    Have you ever used can corn? If So, could you tell me for how long shall I cool it before i place it in the oven.
    Warm reagrds

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      December 4, 2018 at 7:56 am

      No, I don’t use can corn for this dish. The texture is not right.

      Reply
  5. Christine says

    February 20, 2019 at 7:12 pm

    Can you make this the day before and bake the following day?

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      February 21, 2019 at 9:08 am

      Yes, absolutely.

      Reply
  6. Cookie Man says

    June 26, 2019 at 4:51 am

    Hola! I see hard boiled eggs in the photos, but they are not mentioned in the recipe. Can I simply add them? Michael

    Reply
    • Cookie Man says

      June 26, 2019 at 4:55 am

      Also…would I be insulting tradition if I put some cheese on top? What type would you recommend?

      Reply
      • Pilar Hernandez says

        June 26, 2019 at 1:04 pm

        Is not traditional, but go for it, make it your dish.

        Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      June 26, 2019 at 1:04 pm

      Yes, I will add them. They are traditional to the recipe. Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  7. Maria Gonzalez says

    August 23, 2019 at 7:45 pm

    Hi, curious what HEB corn is listed on the ingredients list?

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      August 24, 2019 at 12:42 pm

      The sweet yellow one, some times I mix half and half with the whole kernel one.

      Reply
  8. Liz says

    September 19, 2019 at 4:06 am

    Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My husband is Chilean and I just made it for his birthday dinner — it was a success! I look forward to trying out more recipes from your site. Abrazos desde Seattle.

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      September 19, 2019 at 1:15 pm

      Wonderful. Welcome, and please let me know if you have any questions.

      Reply
  9. Fabienne Pizarro says

    October 26, 2019 at 7:21 am

    Can it be frozen in the clay dishwasher

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      October 26, 2019 at 12:22 pm

      What do you mean with the “clay dishwasher”? In general, Chilean clay dishes can be frozen. But can NOT go on the dishwasher.

      Reply
  10. findtubes says

    November 21, 2019 at 9:58 am

    Add the ground beef, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the beef is crumbled and browned. Remove from heat and set aside.

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      November 21, 2019 at 1:25 pm

      Do you have a question?

      Reply
  11. Sara K says

    December 3, 2019 at 1:48 am

    Would this work with ground turkey? I don’t eat beef but this looks delish!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      December 4, 2019 at 2:59 pm

      Absolutely, or mushrooms and lentils. No problem.

      Reply
  12. Sammi says

    February 5, 2020 at 12:18 pm

    Hello! Thank you so much for this great recipe, this was my favorite dish that my host mom would make when I was abroad in Chile! I was just wondering, when you say to prepare the meat a day ahead do you just mean to cook it and store it in the refrigerator?

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      February 5, 2020 at 4:03 pm

      Yes, but just to make it more doable, it’s not necessary for the final flavor. So if you have a couple of hours to put the whole dish together, perfect.

      Reply
  13. Alexis Horner-Borsu says

    February 9, 2020 at 4:48 pm

    Hi, whats the size of the bags of corn? Do we need 4 big bags or small bags? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      February 10, 2020 at 2:03 pm

      It’s the small bags, 454 grams. Sorry, I added to the recipe.

      Reply
  14. Dee says

    May 25, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    Thank you so much for your recipes! Your recipes are the only ones that my Chilean husband thinks are authentic when I make them! They are practical and they always turn out. After trying every English recipe(and a few in Spanish) of pastel de choclo that I could find, this one is the winner hands down.

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      May 26, 2020 at 1:02 pm

      Thank you!!! This means so much to me. Let me know if you have any questions in the future. Happy to help.

      Reply
  15. Anonymous says

    August 19, 2020 at 2:29 am

    This dish is excellent with all the optionals the flavors combined give it delicious character!!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      August 19, 2020 at 1:44 pm

      Thank you. I’m glad it was a success.

      Reply
  16. Erika says

    September 18, 2020 at 1:14 pm

    I can’t wait to try your recipe! My mom is from Chile and I haven’t had this in years! Can I make this the same with fresh corn cut from the cob?

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      September 18, 2020 at 2:04 pm

      No, you can mix 1/3 of fresh corn, but no more. In Chile, the corn for this recipe is a specific variety that I have never seen outside Chile. I don’t know where are you base, but at least the US fresh corn is not well suited for this recipe: too sweet and not enough structure.

      Reply
  17. Eric says

    September 19, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    What a great dish. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      September 20, 2020 at 1:34 pm

      So happy you like it! Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  18. Margalit says

    November 20, 2020 at 5:42 pm

    Hi Pilar
    Where did you purchase the clay dish ? (I love pastel de chocolo all my family from Chile 🇨🇱 I’m in USA the last 12 years )

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      November 21, 2020 at 1:38 pm

      I bought it in Chile. There is one seller that occasionally have something similar https://ancientcookware.com/pomaireware

      Reply
  19. Margalit says

    November 21, 2020 at 5:05 pm

    Thank you Pilar for your quick answer 💗

    Reply
  20. Mak says

    December 3, 2020 at 2:24 am

    When my Chilean family said “it’s perfect” I knew I did well! Thanks for such a terrific recipe! Only two changes from your original: i cooked the beef, then reserved leaving drippings, then cooked onions in drippings, then added flour, then broth, then meat/raisins/olives. Quicker! THANK YOU for such a terrific website!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      December 3, 2020 at 1:37 pm

      Hi Mak! Glad the family enjoy the recipe. And thanks for the suggestion.

      Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez says

      December 3, 2020 at 1:38 pm

      Hi Mak! Glad the family enjoyed the recipe. And thanks for the suggestion.

      Reply

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