This Frito Pie is made with a crushed Frito crust, easy chili filling and topped with mounds of glorious cheddar cheese.
This Frito Pie is the brainchild of Meagan Micozzi, formerly of Scarletta Bakes. She put out a cookbook back in the day and gave me permission to use this recipe on my blog.
This is not your mother's frito pie, nor is it a frito pie in a bag. It's a grown up savory pie that means business. As all grown up pies should.
Let me start by saying how much I adore Miss Meagan Micozzi. I started reading her blog in the summer of 2011.
If I remember correctly, we both used Foodbuzz back in the day. Meagan was a foodie rock star and I loved visiting her blog. Her posts would make me laugh and I always came away inspired. . We started commenting back and forth, and developed a wonderful friendship.
We both have the same twisted sense of humour. I love her wit, she always comes up with zingers that make me howl with laughter.
*Update as of 2015: Meagan made the decision to stop blogging for personal reasons.
Her cookbook is still for sale at stores, and I still adore her recipes. And I still adore Meagan but I fully understand her decision to leave the blogging world.
Ingredient Notes:
- Corn Chips - For this recipe, I used Fritos corn chips. Any brand you love will do.
- Flour - All purpose flour is the way to go for this pie. You will also need Masa harina which is a pre made corn dough.
- Butter - Unsalted butter is used for this recipe bur you can swap out salted butter if that's all you have.
- Eggs - Large eggs, lightly beaten, are used in this recipe.
- Ground Beef - Lean or extra lean ground beef is great for this frito pie if you don't want the filling too greasy.
- Tomatoes - For this savory pie, I used canned crushed tomatoes. Use the juices too.
- Spices - Cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, ground ancho chile, ground white pepper, and salt are used for this recipe.
- Beans - Use canned pinto beans for the filling. Be sure to drain them well.
- Cheese - This recipe uses sharp cheddar cheese. You could substitute another type of cheddar if you prefer.
- Toppings - Jalapeno peppers, cheese, tomatoes or even sour cream could be used as toppings if you like.
How To Make Frito Pie:
Begin by preheating oven to 350 degrees F.
For the Crust:
- Place corn chips in a food processor and blend until they are a coarse meal texture.
- Transfer crushed corn chips to a large bowl. Add the flour, butter and eggs. Mix well.
- Next, spray a fluted 10 inch round tart pan with non-stick spray. Pour the frito mixture into the pan and press down, making sure to go up the sides of the pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool.
For the Chilli Filling:
- In a Dutch oven, brown the ground beef until the juices run clear. Break the ground beef up as it cooks.
- Then, add the tomatoes, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, ground ancho chile, white pepper and salt to the Dutch oven. Stir.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 25 minutes.
- Next, stir in the masa harina and pinto beans. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for about 45 to 60 minutes.
- Once the mixture thickens and smells fragrant it is done.
- Then, take the Dutch oven and pour the chilli mixture over the crust. Smooth out.
- Top the chilli filling with the cheese.
- Place the pan back in the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and gooey.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Slice and serve.
- Add additional toppings if desired.
How to Store:
You can store leftover frito pie in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Additionally, you can store leftover frito pie in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat Frito Pie:
Personally, I like reheating it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place the leftover frito pie in baking dish, and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes.
You can also reheat it in the microwave. Place leftovers in a microwave safe dish, pop that in the microwave and cook for about 2 minutes, more or less depending on how much you are reheating.
What Can I Serve with Frito Pie:
Side dishes such as Spanish rice, black bean salad, corn salad, grilled Caesar salad, guacamole, creamed corn, Mexican street corn salad, and garden salads all go well with frito pie.
Cornbread, one hour bread or even dinner rolls would also pair well with this pie.
More Dinner Recipes:
- Roasted Red Pepper and Italian Sausage Pasta
- Sloppy Joe Casserole
- Easy Steak and Peppers
- 10 Easy Recipes for Leftover Chicken
- Mac n Cheese
- Sesame Chicken
- Hussy Pasta
- Seafood Chowder 2.0
Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic
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Instagram ~ YouTube ~ Kiss My Smoke
Frito Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 6 cups corn chips
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
For the Chili:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes in their juices (canned)
- 1 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ground ancho chile
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons masa harina
- 15 ounces pinto beans, drained (canned)
- 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Optional:
- grated cheddar cheese, for serving
- pickled jalapenos, for serving
- chopped fresh tomatoes, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the Crust:
- Place the corn chips in a food processor bowl with a steel blade, and whir it up till the corn chips become a coarse meal texture.
- Remove and transfer to a large bowl, stir in the flour, butter and the eggs. Stir until combined completely.
- Spray a 10 inch fluted tart pan with non-stick spray. Press the mixture into the pan, make sure you spread it up the sides of the pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
- Remove and set aside to cool.
For the Chiili:
- Brown the ground beef in a dutch oven over medium heat, make sure to break up the pieces so it's a fine texture. Once the pink is gone you can drain off the additional fats if you like.
- Add the tomatoes, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, ancho chile, white pepper and salt.
- Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and cover, allow to simmer for about 25 minutes or so.
- Stir in the masa harina and beans, continue to simmer, uncovered this time, for about another 45 to 60 minutes.
- It's done once it's thick, and the smell is fragrant. Your house should smell fabulous at this point.
- Take the chili off the heat and pour it into the prepared crust you set aside earlier. Smooth it out so it's even.
- Top with the cheese, in my mind more is better. I love tons of cheese.
- Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 15 minutes, you want the cheese to get all melty and gooey.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. You can unmold it or serve right out of the pan. It can be messy, don't sweat it if the first piece doesn't come out perfect. It's still freaking amazing frito pie.
- You can now top with optional toppings if you like. Or toss more cheese on top. You can never have enough cheese. Cheese rules the world.
- Serve with a bit old cheesy smile!
Notes
(recipe can be found on page 162)
Nutrition
Thanks for visiting today!
If you’re looking for more dinner recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find a lot more side dish recipes as well.
Be sure to follow me on Pinterest while you’re here. I love pinning great recipes! Also, make sure you follow me on Instagram. It’s a great way to stay up to date with the blog.
Toodles! xx
Abbe@This is How I Cook
That is a fancified Frito pie. And my Manservant loves Fritos! We eat all kinds of southwest. It is so ingrained in our regular diet, I don't even think about it!
Kim Beaulieu
Your manservant will love this. I love southwest but it's hard to find ingredients here. I try though.
Carla S
My favorite southwestern ingredients are green onions and mexican cheese.
Kim Beaulieu
Both are awesome.
Debbie Bray
chili
Kim Beaulieu
Good choice.
Gloria R.
I love all Southwestern foods but I especially love tamales. 🙂
Kim Beaulieu
Ah, I sort of dig you right now.
movita beaucoup
I loves Meagan and I loves you.
'Nuff said.
Kim Beaulieu
We both loves you too.
"Nuff repeated.
xx
Debbie
My favorite is chicken enchiladas!
Kim Beaulieu
Love those.
stephanie
I love cooking with frijoles, Hatch chilies, avocados... and we LOVE empanadas!
Kim Beaulieu
I like where this is headed Stephanie. I think we'd be bff's if we were located near each other.
*said in a non-creepy, non-stalkerish sort of way*
Susan Broughton
I like that a lot of the Southwest style recipes are spicier than a regular recipe so I guess spices is the ingredients not to mention cheese, cheese, cheese!
Kim Beaulieu
I love your comment. It spoke to me as I sit here looking at my cabinet overflowing with spices so much that I can't shut the door.
Dina | savvyinthekitchen
Fish tacos!
Kim Beaulieu
Great choice Dina.
Alysia H
Cilantro! Cilantro! Cilantro! Can't get enough of the stuff! 😛 The Fanciful Frito Pie looks devine, by the way...thanks for sharing the recipe.
Alysia H
*Fancified* I meant! 😀
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks. It's seriously scrumptious. Hope you get to try it.
Susan
Enchiladas or chili relleno.
Kim Beaulieu
Nice choices.
Nicole
Black beans!
Kim Beaulieu
Love them.
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
Sounds like a great cookbook. I love Southwestern food.
Kim Beaulieu
It's such a great book. I adore Meagan. She is so talented. Thanks for stopping in Barbara.
Emily @ Life on Food
This is going to be kind of lame but I love a good pile of nachos. I love how she always spices everything up. I adore her blog.
Kim Beaulieu
Nothing lame about that at all.
Cheryl S.
Nachos.......Southwest or not, they are delicious!!!!
Kim Beaulieu
They really are.
SUMMER PLEWES
SPICY SOUTHWEST CHILI WITH BLACK BEANS
Kim Beaulieu
Sounds delish.
MaryB
I love black beans, chilis and corn tortillas - plus cheese, of course!
Kim Beaulieu
I like the way you think Mary.
angel
I love cilantro avocados and chili peppers !
Kim Beaulieu
All great ingredients.
Jennie @themessybakerblog
Did you just say frito pie? Is that tart pan dripping cheese? I'm all in, baby!
Kim Beaulieu
Ha, I did.
Yes, it is.
You bet your sweet butt you are.
Ramona W
What a clever crust... I love that savory pie. 🙂
Kim Beaulieu
The crust blew my mind. It's wicked cool. And crunchy. So good.