Our favorite Frito pie recipe is a quick skillet dinner made easy in just one pot! Loaded with seasoned ground beef, hearty beans, lots of melty cheese and crunchy Fritos, the whole family will love this classic comfort food dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Frito Pie Recipe
- Easy Peasy: No fancy techniques here! Just three simple steps: brown the beef, mix everything together and bake until hot and melty!
- Hearty: Like most comfort food dinners, this is a stick-to-your-ribs, husband pleasing meal. No one is going to bed hungry tonight!
- Crunch Factor: The Fritos bring the perfect salty crunch to every bite, making this Frito chili pie impossible to resist.
- One-Pot Dinner: This recipe for Frito pie is prepared and baked in just one skillet, keeping the cleanup quick and simple!
Looking for more easy one-pot dinners? Try our taco pasta, comforting chicken and dumplings, and our arroz con pollo (chicken and rice)!
What You’ll Need
Grab these simple pantry ingredients, your favorite skillet, and let’s get cooking! Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
- Beef: We find that a lean ground beef provides the best results without too much grease. However, you can use any ground meat you enjoy! If it’s a fattier cut, drain any excess grease as needed.
- Diced Onion: A white or yellow onion will both work.
- Taco Seasoning: You can grab any brand from the grocery store or try our favorite homemade taco seasoning instead! You can also opt to use chili seasoning.
- Rotel: Grab ‘mild’ or ‘regular’ if you’re sensitive to spice. If you love some heat, grab the ‘spicy’ variety!
- Beef Broth: A good bone broth would also be amazing.
- Beans: We’ll use a can of pinto beans and a can of red kidney beans. You could also use black beans if you’d like.
- Cheddar Cheese
- Fritos Corn Chips: Grab a bag of Fritos, we like the smaller ones versus the larger scoops.
- Toppings: While optional, toppings really make this skillet dinner shine! Our favorites are sour cream, cilantro (or parsley), and a some fresh Pico De Gallo (diced tomatoes, onion, jalapeño and cilantro).
How to Make Frito Pie
It doesn’t get much easier than sauté, stir, and bake! This recipe moves quickly, so make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready before starting. Scroll to the recipe card at bottom of the post for full detailed instructions.
- Cook: Sauté the ground beef and onion until the meat is browned.
- Combine: Stir in the taco seasoning, rotel, broth, and beans and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Top: Stir in a cup of the cheddar and a cup of the Fritos. Top with the rest of them!
- Bake: Bake for 20 minutes, then serve immediately with all your favorite toppings!
Cook’s Tips and Tricks
- Beans: We prefer a blend of pinto and kidney beans, but please feel free to use whatever beans you’d like. Black beans and corn would also be a tasty combo!
- Frito Placement: Some Frito pie recipes call for a layer of chips on the bottom. We opted to not do this since we found that layer to be a bit soggy. Instead, we used a cup of Fritos mixed in with the meat and then topped the casserole with the rest. This worked great and kept them crunchier!
- Make Ahead: If you are preparing this Frito pie recipe ahead, do not stir in the fritos and cheese. Instead, cool the meat and bean mixture and refrigerate it in an airtight container. When ready to serve, reheat the chili filling and then proceed with the recipe!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Frito chili pie is one of those dishes that’s definitely best served fresh. It’s really the only time you’ll be able to enjoy the crunch of the Fritos. But if you do happen to have leftovers, here’s how to store them.
- Store: You can refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but the Fritos will get soggy. You can always add more fresh crunchy fritos when serving.
- Reheat: Reheat your leftovers in the microwave for a quick and easy lunch the next day.
- Freeze: We do not recommend freezing this recipe once assembled. But you could freeze just the chili pie mixture before you add the cheese and Fritos. If you do that, freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat on the stovetop before baking as directed.
Yield: 4 servings
Frito Pie Recipe
Our easy Frito Pie casserole is a quick skillet dinner made in just one pot! Loaded with lean ground beef, savory taco seasoning, hearty beans, lots of melty cheese, and crunchy fritos, the whole family will love this classic comfort food dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, or chili seasoning
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 cups Fritos, divided (plus more for serving)
Optional Toppings:
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Onions
- Diced tomatoes
- Pico De Gallo
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large oven proof skillet, add the ground beef and onion. Cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, breaking apart the meat as it cooks.
- Add taco seasoning, rotel, broth, pinto and kidney beans. Stir to combine and bring to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese and 1 cup of Fritos. Top with remaining cheese and Fritos.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until hot and cheese is melted. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings!
Notes
Make Ahead: If you are preparing this Frito pie recipe ahead, do not stir in the fritos and cheese. Instead, cool the meat and bean mixture and refrigerate it in an airtight container. When ready to serve, reheat the chili filling and then proceed with the recipe!
Store: You can refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but the Fritos will get soggy. You can always add more fresh crunchy fritos when serving.
Reheat: Reheat your leftovers in the microwave for a quick and easy lunch the next day.
Freeze: We do not recommend freezing this recipe once assembled. But you could freeze just the chili pie mixture before you add the cheese and Fritos. If you do that, freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat on the stovetop before baking as directed.
Beans: We prefer a blend of pinto and kidney beans, but please feel free to use whatever beans you’d like. Black beans and corn would also be a tasty combo!
Frito Placement: Some Frito pie recipes call for a layer of chips on the bottom. We opted to not do this since we found that layer to be a bit soggy. Instead, we used a cup of Fritos mixed in with the meat and then topped the casserole with the rest. This worked great and kept them crunchier!
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 639kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 41g, Fat: 40g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 127mg, Sodium: 884mg, Potassium: 558mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 684IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 479mg, Iron: 4mg
