Frito Chili Casserole

A serving of Frito chili pie on a plate.

5 from 1 vote

This Frito Chili Casserole is a Tex-Mex style recipe that's easy to make with seven ingredients! Perfect for a crowd, top this with your favorite chili or taco toppings.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef

Servings: Servings

Calories: 512kcal

Ingredients

1-1 ½ pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 tablespoons chili seasoning
24.5 ounces tomato puree
15.5 ounces Bush's Best Chili Magic Classic Homestyle undrained
9.25 ounces Fritos Chili Cheese Corn Chips divided
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese divided
Optional Garnishes: sour cream, chopped jalapeños

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large skillet on medium-high heat, crumble and cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain or remove excess grease.
Season the cooked beef with dried minced onion and desired amounts of salt and pepper.
Stir in tomato puree, 2 tablespoons water, chili magic, and chili powder seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer 10 minutes.
To a 13”x9” baking dish, add an even layer of half of the chili cheese corn chips followed by half of the cheese.
Spoon the meat mixture carefully on top, maintaining the integrity of the bottom chips and cheese layers. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly on top.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Carefully add the remaining corn chips to the top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve alongside your favorite chili toppings.

Video

Notes

Tips and Substitutions

The chili needs the full simmer time to ensure part of the moisture evaporates and thickens for the ideal chili layer texture.
If you don't have time to prepare chili from scratch, you can simply swap for a pre-made alternative. I've made it with 3 15-ounce cans of Hormel Chili with beans.
If you don't like beans in the chili layer, omit the Chili Magic and substitute with 15 ounces tomato purée or sauce and add additional Chili Powder Seasoning to taste. You might consider adding a pinch of brown sugar as well as the Chili Magic has a slight sweetness to it.
Ground beef can be substituted with ground turkey or ground chicken.
For a vegetarian/vegan version, substitute the ground beef with a non-meat alternative such as chopped, sauteed and drained mushrooms, cooked lentils, drained chickpeas, textured-vegetable protein, or more of your favorite beans.

Nutrition