Frito Pie
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Frito Pie is a classic casserole dish made with ground beef, taco or chili seasonings, cheese, and Fritos. It’s simple and deliciously filling!
If you didn’t grow up eating Frito pie casserole then my sincere condolences. Also, I suggest you make it asap! Serve alongside some roasted red potatoes! 
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Frito Pie
Frito Pie
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Frito Pie Ingredients
- Beef – Ground beef.
- Onion – Diced.
- Chili beans – Canned and drained.
- Tomatoes – Canned, not drained.
- Tomato sauce – Plain canned sauce.
- Chili or taco seasoning – You can use a pre-portioned packet or make your own.
- Corn chips – Fritos of course!
- Cheese – Shredded, I’m partial to Mexican or Fiesta blend.
- Garnish – Sour cream, green onions, quick pickled jalapenos.
How do you make Frito Pie? (Step-by-step)
⭐ First, brown ground beef with the onions. Add the chili beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasoning. Let simmer. ⭐ Next, spread chili into the bottom of a casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese over the chili, then the corn chips, and then the remaining cheese. ⭐ Finally, bake uncovered until warmed through completely and cheese is melted.
Preparation
Can you make frito pie ahead of time?
You can absolutely assemble this recipe a day ahead and then bake it when you’re ready. If you make it more than a day ahead you run the risk of soggy fritos.
What can I use instead of ground beef?
Try making it with ground chicken, turkey, or sausage. Or even leftover chicken or ground beef.
Leftovers and storage
How long does leftover frito pie casserole last?
You can keep leftovers in the refrigerator for about three days. Make sure to cover tightly and don’t keep leftovers if they have been out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
How do you reheat frito pie?
For individual servings, microwave in 30 – 60 second increments at high power. For multiple servings, heat in the oven at 350 degrees until warmed through.
Can frito pie be frozen?
You can freeze frito pie either before or after baking. To freeze before baking, cover tightly and freeze up to 3 months. To freeze after baking, allow the casserole to cool room temperature then cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. To cook from frozen, add 30 – 45 minutes of cook time to your dish.
Tips and tricks
🧂 Try using white beans like great northern beans or cannellini beans along with a ranch dressing packet instead of chili seasonings. 🌮 Make it Mexican with a taco or fajita seasoning packet instead of chili seasoning. 🐔 Try it with cooked chicken or shredded pork instead of ground beef.
What to serve with Frito pie
We like to serve ours with sour cream, pickled jalapenos, chopped onion (green or white), and hot sauce.
Complete your meal with our recipe suggestions
I love to serve this frito pie recipe with a tropical fruit salad, or an easy broccoli salad with creamy dressing. For sides, we’re big fans of fresh guacamole or cornbread with bacon. And how about some lemon pie recipe for dessert!
What is Frito pie?
According to wikipedia, Frito pie is a dish popular in the Midwestern and Southwestern United States, whose basic ingredients are chili, cheese, and corn chips. Additions can include salsa, refried beans, sour cream, onion, rice, or jalapeños. There are many variations and alternative names used by region. (Source)
More casserole recipes to enjoy
- Chicken rice and cheese casserole
- Tater tot casserole recipe
- Ham and scalloped potatoes
- Lazy lasagna casserole
- See all our casserole recipe ideas
More awesome recipes with chili
- Chili pot pie recipe
- Healthy turkey recipe
- Chili recipe with no beans
- Quick chicken chili recipe
- Breakfast chili with eggs
More yummy ground beef recipes
- Tortellini soup recipe
- Instant pot spaghetti with meat sauce
- Stuffed cabbage soup recipe
- Homemade Mexican pizza
- See all our easy ground beef recipes
Tools we love
- Ceramic casserole dishes – My grandmother had a yellow one just like this.
- Oven mitts – Quilted oven mitts will always be my favorite.
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How to Make Frito Pie
Frito Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 can chili beans drained
- 1 can diced tomatoes undrained, 15 ounces
- 1 can plain tomato sauce 15 ounces
- 1 packet chili or taco seasoning (I'm partial to chili!)
- 3 cups Frito corn chips
- 2 cups shredded cheese divided
- optional: sour cream green onions, jalapeno
Instructions
- In a medium sized skillet, brown ground beef with the onions. Add the chili beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and chili seasoning. Let simmer about 10 minutes.
- Spread chili into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the chili, then the corn chips, and then the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
- Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until warmed through completely and cheese is melted.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Other Great Savory Pies
- Tomato Pie Recipe
- Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- Chili Pot Pie Recipe
- Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- See all our best savory pie recipes!
Frito Pie
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This looks so delicious and full of flavor! I’m so excited! I can’t wait to make this for my family! They are going to love this!
This is my kind of comfort food! Definitely giving this a try for dinner tonight; looks too good to pas up!
Looks so good! I know my family will go crazy over this.
What size tomato sauce? You just say 1 can.
Thanks
oops! 15 ounces, sorry about that. fixed it in the recipe card too 🙂
Thanks
What’s the chili seasoning consist of besides chili powder?
Here’s our homemade chili seasoning recipe: https://www.mamalovesfood.com/chili-seasoning/
What size can of chili beans? Would that be plain red kidney beans or a can labeled as chili beans packed in a flavorful sauce? Thank you.
So good we could eat it every day!
I made with left over homemade Chile then still added a tablespoon of taco seasoning. And shredded Mexican cheese blend. Definitely an easy comfort food dinner
Made this last night and it was a HUGE hit. Definitely will be making it on a regular basis. Thanks for sharing the recipe April!
I’m doubling the recipe and making this for dinner tonight. Looks delicious and super easy!
Thanks for the recipe ☺️
This was tasty but “wet”. I feel like the tomatoes should have been drained or the “chili” simmered longer to cook down more.
Quick and easy. I made double filling when I first made this and froze half, which I pulled out and completed last night. Froze perfectly well. Yummy and comforting on a cold January Rocky Mountain day!
Wasn’t what I expected. I would of preferred just to add Fritos on my chili .
Do you have to drain grease from the beef while making the chili?
If you’re using a lean ground beef you probably won’t need to, otherwise you definitely can depending on preference.