Sometimes you just need a little Frito Chili Pie and that’s all there is to it. Here’s your easy recipe! And I do mean EASY.
Before I get into what this dish is all about, I would like to go on record as saying I have served my family the following in the past:
Tuna salad with no mayonnaise whatsover.
So please forgive me for the meal I am about to describe to you.
Yes, I made my beloved family an entree that featured this as one of the two major ingredients:
And this as the second one:
I would like to point out that the Fritos have ZERO, and I mean ZERO trans fats. (Keep in mind that I have no idea what trans fats are, but I’m thinking this is a good thing). As for the chili…I have no decent excuse for that one.
However, you can’t go through your entire life without having this completely ridiculous salty extravaganza at least one. There is an even more outrageous version of this that involves opening a single serve bag of Fritos, pouring some chili on top of that, nuking it and eating the whole contraption out of the bag…at least I put this in lovely dishes. And I added a vegetable.
That counts, right?
The cheese in this dish really should be one of those neon-orange varieties of cheddar, but since what I always have on hand is the lovely white Vermont cheddar that is what I used. If cheddar cheese could talk it would probably be hollering “Get me out of here, stat!!” However, it does all come together to be a pretty rocking good taste sensation at the end of the day.
I will now be heading directly to the treadmill, so please excuse me.
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Frito Chili Pie
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Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 cans chili
- 1 8 ounce bag of Fritos
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 cups shredded cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 2 quart casserole
- Layer ingredients in casserole in this order: half of the Fritos, then all of the onion, then one cup cheese, then all of the chili, then the rest of the Fritos, then the rest of the cheese.
- Bake until bubbly, 15-20 minutes.
- Go to confession and sin no more.
Hi there! I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN! My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too. Let’s cook together!
We make this a little different. We add cream cheese and bake. Got to say they would be delicious either way. And the Frito trans fat thing made me feel good! Thanks so much!
I think "trans fat" means it "transforms your normal thighs into fat thighs" but I could be wrong :)
Last night I made nachos for dinner, with chicken etc .. but this looks better :)
The only way to make this better would be some sliced jalapenos! And we make ours in dishes too, even as lifelong Texans, we've never once eaten a frito pie from a bag, lol! Hey, have you heard of, or seen the Cheeto Pie? Just switch out the fritos for cheetos and there ya go! My boss eats that on a regular basis, but I'm not a big fan. Interesting concept though, lol!
Yum. We call them Frito Boats. The ingredients are pretty similar…with the addition of jalapenos!
I make something similar but slightly more nutritous. We call it Frito Pie, even though it has no resemblance to pie. I couldn't get the email to work so I'll add it here.
1 lb. hamburger
1 C. onion
2 cloves garlic (⅛-¼ tsp. minced garlic)
1 tsp. oregano
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 ½ C. water
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 dashes Tabasco
⅔C. rice uncooked
Pepper to taste
Fritos
Toppings
Cheese
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Salsa
Sour cream
Olives, etc.
Brown together hamburger, onion, garlic, and oregano. Add tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, sugar, salt, Tabasco, rice and pepper; cook until rice is done, approx. 30 min. Serve over Fritos. Top with desired toppings.
So yummy. if you like the Frito Chili Pie, you'll like this too.
Mel, OMG on the recipe, thank you!!! I will give it a try right away! And will check on the email, sorry about that. Thanks to everyone for all the variation suggestions.
That is a good idea only buying a single serving bag of Fritos. Then I wouldn't be so tempted to make more of this after! This looks awesome BTW. :)
We like to top the chips with chili, cheese, tomato, lettuce, avocado, olives, and sour cream. Gets a few more veggies in and I try to load up on lettuce to fill up the plate. At any rate, still tastes delish!
Are you using a light tent when shooting the onions?
I shot the onion with a continuous fluorescent light that simulates daylight, with the light three quarters back and two silver cards bouncing the light back in for fill. The onions are on a ceramic white plate, and the shot was cropped close enough that you don't se any of the background.
This one takes me back to 1960. Fritoly Pie was the first thing I learned to make!! Glad to see it is still around. Lets just have fun with it and enjoy and not talk about the rest. I love your site and your upbeat talk, keep it up!!
Ok, I know I am a year late in responding to this, but I was going to serve Frito Pie to my helper bees at a seminar I am attending. Having never made it, I was looking for a recipe. I laughed at your description till I blew coffee out my nose.
So, in my hotel room, I will heat the chili, open the bag of Fritos and the bag of cheese. I will set them out in their true packaging and serve. I figure if I get the scoop kind of Fritos, the gals can just scoop the chili and the cheese? Forget the veggie…. we have to be stuck in a hotel room together, so no onions!!
Thanks for a delightful recipe, and I know I have a new favorite recipe site!!