Easy Frito Pie (Stove Top & Walking Taco Versions)

This Frito Pie recipe makes things super simple by turning the baked casserole into a stove top version. It’s cheap, easy comfort food that won’t heat up your house during those hot summer days.

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Stove Top Frito Pie

There are many ways to make a Frito Pie and man, people can really make things complicated. We’re going cheap and easy with this walking taco recipe.

I first came across the frito version of walking tacos in high school. Clubs would sell them as a fundraiser. There was always a fight to see who got to sell them because they made the most money for practically zero effort.

Back in high school they’d fill one crockpot with chili and one with nacho cheese. Then they’d open up a snack size bag of fritos, ladle on the chili and then the cheese, pop a spoon in, and you’d be on your way. It was simple and delicious.

It wasn’t until many years later that it even crossed my mind to make frito pie at home. Once I did, I realized what a quick, easy, yummy, and cheap meal it is.

Walking Taco vs Frito Pie

Frito pie is usually made like a casserole and baked in the oven. But who wants to turn the oven on in the summer.

To avoid the extra heat you just need to change things up a bit by using either a crockpot or a pan on the stove top.

If you are going to be gone all day and want an easy meal to come home to then throw your chili in a crockpot and set it to low. Your chili will be ready to go on top of the fritos as soon as you get home.

You can also dump canned chili in a pan and heat them up on the stove top and have this meal on the table within minutes. This is what I do most of the time.

Frito Walking Tacos

Walking tacos are basically tacos in a bag. I’ve seen them made with Doritos most of the time. You grab a snack bag of Doritos, open them up, and then top them with taco ingredients like: taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and more.

However, you can make a version that combines walking tacos and frito pie to create Frito Pie Walking Tacos. In high school we called them Belly Busters. It’s the same concept as walking tacos but you use the same ingredients as a Frito pie.

Belly busters are great for campouts because you don’t need to refrigerate any of the ingredients so you save cooler space. You also don’t need plates or bowls. Just heat the chili in a pot and then dump everything into a snack size bag of fritos.

Everyone can individualize their bag with toppings. It’s such a fun dinner and it’s easy to eat in a camp chair or while standing. Then when you’re done eating you just toss the fritos bags in the trash and you only have one pan to clean.

Frito Pie Ingredients

You only need a couple of ingredients to make a frito pie but you can add more ingredients if you want toppings. The main dish calls for the basics.

• Fritos
• Chili
• Cheese – shredded cheese or nacho cheese

That’s the basic list. You can see exactly what I like to use when I’m making the quickest stove top version of these, except I grab one big bag of fritos instead of the snack bags.

Chili – Everyone has there own preferences when it comes to chili so just grab your favorite can. Some people like to make frito pie with a thick chili but I like a little liquid in mine because it makes things a little less dry. A bit of liquid in your chili won’t make everything soggy. It softens the fritos up just enough to still have some crunch while making them easier to eat.

Homemade chili works great too. I’ll make a big pot of chili and then use the leftover to make frito pie. But most of the time I go with store bought chili to make things easy.

Cheese – You can use shredded cheddar or nacho cheese. Both are delicious. You can also spice things up with some pepper jack cheese. Again, I like to change up the cheese each time I make frito pie so my family doesn’t get bored.

Fritos – When I make the stove top version at home, I get one big bag of fritos or chili cheese fritos. I put the fritos in bowls and then top with the chili and cheese. Most nights that’s it.

If we’re making these while camping then we do the Frito Pie Walking Tacos so we use the snack size frito bags. The walking taco version is also great for when a bunch of kids are hanging out at the house. You can serve them up and kick the kids outside to eat them. It’s less mess that way.

I think it’s worth grabbing a box of the snack size fritos at the beginning of summer so you have them on hand all summer. You’ll be ready for a last minute crowd of friends or camping.

Frito Pie Toppings

I’ve already mentioned add-ins but here’s a list of everything we’ve tried:

• Green Onions
• Red Onions
• Sliced Olives
• Jalapeños
• Jalapeño Crisps
• Diced Avocado
• Sour Cream
• Salsa
• Hot Sauce – I love Franks. It goes really well with chili.

Again, you don’t need topping for these to taste good but it’s fun to do them sometimes.

Frito Pie Walking Taco Recipe

If you’ve never made Frito Pie before you should definitely give it a try soon. Then you’ll see how easy it is to make that you’ll be making them all summer long.

Have you made Stove Top Frito Pie before? What’s your favorite combo? Let us know in the comments section below!

Other Easy Meals You Might Like:

Two Ingredient Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Creamy Mexican Chicken in the Crockpot

The Ultimate Vegetarian Chili