Frito Chili Pie (Walking Taco Casserole)

5 from 14 votes

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Frito chili pie is a tasty Tex Mex casserole with hearty chili, cheese, and crunchy corn chips. Make this walking taco casserole for dinner or fun, easy party food!

plate of walking taco casserole (Frito Pie)


Perfect Portable Meals

Want a quick bite to eat, but there’s no time for a sit down meal? There are some fantastic Mexican and Tex Mex foods that are easy to grab and go.

Things like burritos, beef empanadas and elote (an authentic Mexican street corn recipe) are all easy to eat on the run.

But possibly the perfect grab and go meal is walking tacos. This is a simple meal of thick, hearty chili added into a bag of Fritos corn chips and eaten with a spoon.

overhead: fork on round white plate with Frito chili pie

Frito Chili Pie vs. Walking Tacos

Did you know that Frito chili pie is essentially the same thing as a walking taco?

The ingredients are identical; chili, diced onion, corn chips and shredded cheddar cheese. The only difference is, rather than eating the chili directly from a bag of corn chips, Frito chili pie is served on a plate. It’s also baked in a casserole dish, which is why it’s also called a walking taco casserole.

Actually, the popular street food has other names as well.

When it’s made with a hearty chili like con carne, or with chunks of meat instead of ground beef, it’s known as Texas chili pie or Texas Frito pie. Because it’s a staple food at Texas football pep rallies, some Texans know it as Pep Rally Pie.

Another name for the portable version is taco in a bag. But when all is said and done, chili, cheese and corn chips by any other name is still a delicious Frito chili pie.

And if you were a fan of the late Anthony Bourdain, you may know that after sampling the dish in a New Mexico diner, he called this dish delicious, but also “crap in a bag”! (source).

two photo collage: on left, corn chips in casserole dish. on right, hearty chili in casserole dish
2 photo collage: on left- diced onions on Tex Mex chili. on right-shredded cheddar cheese over the chili

Ingredient notes and substitutions

  • Thick Chili

If you plan to carry the meal around walking tacos style, you’re going to need a thick, hearty chili, which is exactly what you’ll get with my recipe for chili con carne. If you’d rather not make the chili, you could use canned chili, either with or without beans.

I would avoid using a thin consistency chili. Even though the chips do soak up some of the liquid, the extra mess isn’t worth the trouble.

For a tasty change of flavor, you could use white chicken chili. Or, if you like spicy chili, I recommend making Dave’s recipe for 5 alarm chili.

side by side photos of baked chili frito pie

Topping Ideas for Walking Taco Casserole

The idea behind the walking taco is to keep the ingredients simple so it’s easier to eat. However, if you’ll be serving it on plates at the table, there’s no reason you couldn’t add toppings to the frito pie. 

Add any of your favorite taco toppings onto your walking taco casserole. Shredded lettuce, authentic refried beans, diced tomato, and sour cream or avocado crema are delicious options that work well.

I would avoid using liquid condiments like salsa, but homemade pico de gallo or even mango pico de gallo would be fantastic!

close up of walking taco casserole with chili, melted cheddar cheese and corn chips

Frito Chili Pie FAQ

Can I freeze walking taco casserole?

The casserole won’t freeze well with the Fritos baked in, but you could certainly leave them out when you make it, then serve them on the side.

Frito pie on white plate

This post was originally published on Kevin is Cooking July 6, 2018. The content was updated and republished August 12, 2021.

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plate of walking taco casserole (Frito Pie)

Frito Chili Pie (Walking Taco Casserole)

5 from 14 votes
Frito chili pie is a tasty Tex Mex casserole with hearty chili, cheese, and Fritos. Make this easy recipe for a walking taco casserole!
Servings: 6 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In a 13×9″ casserole baking dish evenly distribute the corn chips.
  • Pour the chili con carne on top and evenly distribute.
  • Sprinkle the diced onion and cheese over and bake for 10-12 minutes until heated through and cheese has melted.
  • Serve with optional toppings like chopped cilantro, sour cream and pickled jalapeños.

Nutrition

Calories: 883kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 879mg | Potassium: 1070mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4820IU | Vitamin C: 10.5mg | Calcium: 413mg | Iron: 5.9mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Dinners
Cuisine: American, Tex Mex
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!
titled image shows close up of walking taco casserole

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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27 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    That is looking great. Very yummy in fact. One certainly does eat with their eyes. I can just see the mess on my clothes if I tried walking and eating it at the same time though. 
    I have quite a collection of your yummies. 

    Regards
    Shayna. 

  2. 5 stars
    Here in Texas the Frito Chili Pie became famous at Friday night high school football games. You take a package of fritos, pour some hot chili in the package add cheese and viola, you have Frito Chili Pie – awesome especially on those cold evenings sitting in the bleachers rooting for your favorite team. 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    This is super easy, quick. and delicious! I will be talking about it with my friends and will be making it again.

  4. 5 stars
    Kevin, you have a knack for creating dishes that I’m sure that, once I started eating them, I’d wind up eating the entire batch. And this one has only four ingredients! I’m going to have to pretend like I never saw it.

    1. Super easy and tasty, I’m all in! Thanks Jeff. Hoping you’re not too hot and humid out there in Chicago this summer. 😉

  5. 5 stars
    I have a weakness for fritos, so this is totally calling my name! What a fun thing to devour with friends!

  6. 5 stars
    Can you say comfort food? I had this dish and it was out of this world delicious. As a person with celiac disease, I have to eat a strict gluten free diet. Consequently, I don’t get to eat much comfort food! This dish was a yummy and savory home run for me! The Fritos gave the dish a wonderful corn flavor very similar to a corn bread like crust and the chili was rich and full of flavor. I topped it with sour cream and I was in heaven!

  7. 5 stars
    I don’t think I’ve ever had frito pie anything….though, I know it’s pretty popular. This looks delicious, Kevin! Perfect for weekend eats with a cold one 🙂

    1. Definitely! We’re actually having it for dinner tonight (I had frozen a batch of the Chili con Carne)!

  8. 5 stars
    Hi Kevin. We do love our frito pies out here in New Mexico. The old Woolworths in Santa Fe has claimed the credit for the first frito pie and it is still served there even though it is not a Woolworths anymore. I’m sure many other places have claimed ownership of the recips but here in the land of chile, we like to think it started here. You may have seen the coverage of Anthony Boudin’s(RIP) trip there where he ate one and said it was horrible. The backlash was so great, he had to apologize and take that criticism back.

    1. 5 stars
      If I recall correctly, when I lived in Albuquerque, Frito Pie was served in a styrofoam cup at Mac’s Steak in the Rough. Loved it ! Trying this recipe tonight. Will probably try with a little cumin or chili powder to spice it up.