Frito Chili Pie is a delicious and easy American comfort food that combines the salty crunch of corn chips with hearty chili and melty cheese.
It is quick, easy and fun for your friends and family.
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Why this Frito Chili Pie Recipe is a Keeper
This is the perfect busy weeknight meal or make this recipe for your next football game party.
- 30 Minute Meal: Give a blurb – these should be full sentences, not fragments.
- Easy Ingredients: All found in pantry. Chili pie is an easy recipe to make with leftover chili and frito chips.
- Family Friendly: My family loves delicious chili with melted cheese and chips. They can’t wait to try this tempting thick chili casserole.
- Adaptable: Can make the recipe for frito pie in a baking dish or walking frito chili pies in single serving bags that you top with cheese. Make with chili beans or chili with no beans.
If you’re looking for more casserole inspired recipes, try these Mexican Breakfast Casserole, Chicken Enchilada Crockpot Casserole, and Chicken Spaghetti Casserole.
Is Frito Pie the same as a Walking Tacos?
While they both use Frito’s, they are different. The walking tacos usually use taco meat and other taco toppings, the frito pie is a complete meal that usually uses chili.
With over 200 easy and delicious dinner ideas, you'll never have to worry about what to make for dinner again.
Ingredient Notes for Frito Pie
- Ground Beef: A nice 80/20 ground beef is ideal for this chili recipe.
- A bag of Fritos: You can use any variety of corn chip that you like.
- Shredded Cheese: Shred your own for the best meltability.
- Seasoning: All Purpose seasoning and Chili seasoning. It will have cumin, chili powder and all the other favorite seasonings.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions to Make Frito Pie
You can use any chili recipe that is your favorite or even buy cans of chili to use in this Fritos recipe.
- Ground Chicken: Use ground chicken or ground turkey for this chili recipe.
- Cheese: Try a nice Mexican blend or taco cheese to add the chili flavor.
Texas Frito Pie Pro Tip
Make individual portions in frito bags like a walking taco or in individual ramekins.
How to Make Ground Beef and Corn Chip Pie
These are the basic steps for making chili frito pie recipe. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Prep the Pot of Chili
First, preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″x13″ casserole dish. Then in a large pot, add ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic and all purpose Seasoning blend and cook over medium high heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat from meat.
2. Add Canned Beans and Finish Chili
Stir chili seasoning mix, brown sugar, chili in adobo and flour into meat mixture; Cook for 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, squash, kidney beans, black beans and corn; Stir until combined. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until squash is fork-tender.
3. Add Fritos and Shredded Cheese on Top
Next, start with a layer of chips, add 4 cups of Fritos chips to the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Spread chili mixture over top and top with remaining cheese.
4. Bake the Frito Taco Pie
Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until cheddar cheese is melted. Top with remaining chips and desired toppings such as a dollop of sour cream.
Fritos Chili and Cheese Pie Recipe FAQs
Of course, there are portions of this chili that you could male in advance, however you do not want to assemble and cook until ready to serve for the best results.
The bottom crusty layer does not stay crispy but the top layer that you finish with will stay crispy.
Although it’s not an actual pie, Frito pie might be named for the way it’s sometimes served – in a dish, with layers of ingredients resembling a pie.
It clearly references the Fritos chips and the overall dish composition.
You can use your favorite toppings such as: shredded lettuce, sliced green onions, diced tomatoes, jalapeno peppers or sour cream, just to name a few. And of course, you can use more fritos corn chips for this simple recipe.
Expert Tips for Making This Texas Frito Pie Recipe
There are so many variations for this chili pie. It is the perfect comfort food and an easy meal to make on busy nights. Here are some tips for making the best chili pie.
- Homemade Chili: You can make a vegetarian version or make a spicy version if you prefer. Make your favorite chili.
- Add Canned Chili: This easy recipe can be made with canned chili with beans or without beans to make frito chili pie recipe.
- Short cut tip: Make the chili ahead of time and reheat over medium heat for a quick and easy meal.
- Variation tip: Feel free use a different flavor of fritos for this easy frito pie recipe. Try the Chili Cheese, Spicy Jalapeno or scoop varieties. Or any bag of corn chips you enjoy.
- Beans: Use pinto beans or white beans for this easy homemade chili.
What to Serve with Chili Frito Pie Recipe
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Frito Chili Pie
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Ground beef
- 1 Sweet onion, diced
- 1 Bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons All Purpose Seasoning
- 3 tablespoons Chili Seasoning Mix
- 2 tablespoons Brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Chili in adobo
- 2 tablespoons Flour
- 29 ounces Crushed tomatoes, 1 can
- 2 cups Butternut squash, diced
- 15.5 ounces Kidney beans, 1 can
- 15.5 ounces Black beans, 1 can
- 15.25 ounces Corn, 1 can
- 3 cups Cheddar Cheese
- 15.5 ounces Frito Chips, 1 bag
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″x13″ casserole dish.
- In a large pot, add ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic and House Seasoning blend and cook over medium high heat until meat is no longer pink.
- Drain excess fat from meat.
- Stir chili seasoning mix, brown sugar, chili in adobo and flour into meat mixture; Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, squash, kidney beans, black beans and corn; Stir until combined.
- Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until squash is fork-tender.
- Serve with your favorite chili toppings.
- Add 4 cups of Frito chips to the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.
- Spread chili mixture over top and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with remaining chips and desired toppings.
Expert Tips
- Homemade Chili: You can make a vegetarian version or make a spicy version if you prefer. Make your favorite chili.
- Add Canned Chili: This easy recipe can be made with canned chili with beans or without beans to make frito chili pie recipe.
- Short cut tip: Make the chili ahead of time and reheat over medium heat for a quick and easy meal.
- Variation tip: Feel free use a different flavor of fritos for this easy frito pie recipe. Try the Chili Cheese, Spicy Jalapeno or scoop varieties. Or any bag of corn chips you enjoy.
- Beans: Use pinto beans or white beans for this easy homemade chili.
Estimated Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided are estimates. To learn more about how I calculate this information go to www.itisakeeper.com/about-its-a-keeper/privacy-disclosure-policies/
This recipe is my personal adaption of an ethnic-inspired recipe. It is not intended to be an authentic recipe. I’ve recreated this recipe because I enjoy the flavors and I want to encourage my readers to expand their tastes and try new flavor combinations. The recipe, ingredients, and processes may have been adapted to make the recipe accessible to the average American. I have provided links to authentic versions of the recipe in the post above. I encourage you to visit these pages and learn more about the traditional version(s) of this recipe.