Pastel de choclo

Name: Pastel de choclo
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6 people
Cuisine: Chilean
Ingredients: 800 g Corn, kernels, fresh or frozen; 400 g Beef, mince; 200 g Chicken, cooked pieces, optional; 2 large Onion; 1 tsp Cumin; 40 g Olives; 30 g Raisins; 3 large Egg, 2 hard-boiled, 1 for the corn if needed; 80 ml Milk; 1 handful Basil; 1 tsp Sugar; 2 tbsp Neutral oil; 1.5 tsp Salt

Minced beef, chicken, olive and egg under a sweet corn lid — Chile's summer casserole. Sugar on top is correct.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Pastel de choclo.

0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.

Start cooking

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 45 min
Rest: None
Total: 1 hr 15 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Source photograph of Pastel de choclo. Not official I Want Some Food pixel artwork.

About

Pastel de choclo is a deep dish of pino (minced beef with onion, cumin, olives, raisins, hard egg) and sometimes a piece of chicken, topped with a mashed fresh-corn crust that is sweet and a little blistered. A pinch of sugar on the corn is Chilean, not a mistake. This is a home oven version using frozen or tinned corn if the cob season missed you. Make a pino of minced beef, onion, cumin, olives, raisins and chopped hard egg; some houses add a piece of chicken. The lid is fresh corn blitzed with a little milk, basil if you have it, and a pinch of sugar — Chilean, not a mistake — then baked until the top blisters. Frozen or tinned corn is the off-season stand-in. The dish should come out of a deep tin with a sweet-savoury contrast, not a shepherd's pie with yellow mash.

Ingredients

Servings

Corn, kernels, fresh or frozen800 g
Beef, mince400 g
Chicken, cooked pieces, optional200 g
Onion2 large
Cumin4.9 ml
Olives40 g
Raisins (optional)30 g
Egg, 2 hard-boiled, 1 for the corn if needed3 large
Milk80 ml
Basil (optional)1 handful
Sugar4.9 ml
Neutral oil30 ml
Salt7.4 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Cook onion until sweet, add beef, cumin, salt. Fold in olives, raisins and chopped boiled egg. Spread in a baking dish. Nestle chicken if using.
18 min
Step 2
Blend corn with milk, basil, a pinch of salt and sugar until coarse-smooth. Spread over the meat. Dust the top with a little more sugar.
8 min
Step 3
Bake at 200°C 30–35 minutes until the corn is set and spotted gold. Rest 10 minutes.
35 min200°C

Adapt this recipe

The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.

Substitutions

Fresh corn → Frozen kernels, well drained
Winter pastel. Still blister the top.

Tips

A cast-iron skillet that went from hob to oven is the traditional look.
Pebre on the side is allowed.

History & culture

Central Chilean summer tables. The sugar-on-corn argument is real. Raisins in the pino are another. Central Chilean summer tables when the corn is cheap. The sugar-on-corn argument is real; raisins in the pino are another. Serve in the baking dish. It is lunch for a crowd. A home oven version is how you cook it if you do not have a clay cazuela.

Andean corn meeting Spanish pino. The baked lid is how Chile made a pastel of it. Andean maize meeting Spanish-style pino in a baked pastel. That is a layered pot history, not a conquest tasting menu. The sweet corn lid is how Chile made a pastel of it. You are covering a savoury mince with a corn crust and blistering it.

Traditional

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.

How long does Pastel de choclo take?

1 hr 15 min all in — 30 min prep, 45 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free.

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Frying pan, Oven.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp.

How much sugar?

1 tsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Fresh corn → Frozen kernels, well drained. Winter pastel. Still blister the top.

Any tips from this recipe?

A cast-iron skillet that went from hob to oven is the traditional look. Pebre on the side is allowed.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.

Similar dishes

Checking your allergy settings…

In this kitchen

Share card

Explore Chile →