Frito Pie Casserole

This easy walking taco casserole recipe is simple, good, crunchy, creamy, tangy, spicy, and fresh – loaded with meaty taco flavors and crunchy chili cheese fritos, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream!

Like a walking taco, but on a plate – this dinner is a family favorite, quick to prepare, and totally good!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Walking Taco Casserole

If you love walking tacos, crunchy fritos, cheesy casseroles, and comforting Tex-Mex flavors, this Frito Pie is for you! We're baking up a dish full of hearty, spicy goodness loaded with fritos, ground beef, sour cream, lettuce, corn, and other good Southwest flavor.

How To Make Frito Pie

To make this recipe, you'll need:

• Fritos – we love to use chili cheese fritos for the extra seasoning, but you can use any type of fritos, including scoops.
• Ground beef – we love using ground beef – but you can also use ground pork, ground lamb, ground turkey, or ground chicken in frito pie too!
• Taco seasoning – you can use whatever brand seasoning you love for this recipe, we love using taco bell.
• Adobo sauce –
• Chunky salsa
• Southwestern corn
• Colby cheddar cheese, shredded
• Shredded lettuce
• Diced tomatoes
• Diced red onion

We love to serve with:

• Sour cream
• Cilantro

1. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat. Add a swirl of olive oil once hot. Sear both sides of the ground beef, then break apart. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in ½ the taco seasoning packet, adobo paste, and salsa. Cook for 5 more minutes. Drain and set aside
2. Preheat the oven to 375*
3. Shred the cheese and add to a bowl. Toss with the remaining taco seasoning.
4. Cover the bottom of a 9×13” casserole dish with a thin layer of chips. Next, spread half of the taco meat over the chips, then add a layer of corn over the taco meat. Top with half of the cheese. Layer on the remaining taco meat, remaining corn, and remaining chips. Evenly sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.
5. Place the casserole dish into the oven on the center rack and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Top with shredded lettuce, Diced tomatoes, diced red onion, and drizzle with sour cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Kitchen notes

Frito pie is simple to make – its a lot like nachos, layered with fritos, meat, and cheese – then baked to crispy, crunchy perfection.

A few answers

How do we store Frito pie?

This recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. We recommend removing any lettuce or sour cream from the top before saving as they won't keep well.

What is Frito pie?

Frito pie, or walking taco casserole, is a baked Tex-Mex taco casserole loaded with taco meat and fixings, as well as plenty of crunchy fritos – for the ultimate comfort food!

What can we add to Frito pie?

We love adding jalapeños, cilantro, diced white onions, sliced black olives, salsa, hominy, and more.

Serve it with

Frito Pie Casserole Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 bag, 9oz Fritos chili cheese
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 tbsp adobo sauce
• 1 cup medium chunky salsa
• 1 can southwestern corn, drained (15oz)
• 8 oz block Colby cheddar cheese, shredded (makes 2 cups)
• 1 cup Shredded lettuce
• ½ cup diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup diced red onion
• For serving
• Sour cream
• Cilantro

Method

1. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat. Add a swirl of olive oil once hot. Sear both sides of the ground beef, then break apart. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in ½ the taco seasoning packet, adobo paste, and salsa. Cook for 5 more minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 375*
3. Shred the cheese and add to a bowl. Toss with the remaining taco seasoning.
4. Cover the bottom of a 9×13” casserole dish with a thin layer of chips. Next, spread half of the taco meat over the chips, then add a layer of corn over the taco meat. Top with half of the cheese. Layer on the remaining taco meat, remaining corn, and remaining chips. Evenly sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.
5. Place the casserole dish into the oven on the center rack and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Top with shredded lettuce, Diced tomatoes, diced red onion, and drizzle with sour cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!