Frito Pie
Share
- ✉
-
Author Notes: Buda (pronounced BYOO-da), Texas is "famous" for a couple small-town festivals: "Red, White, and Buda," where people from around the state gather to race their wiener dogs, and "Budafest," the annual Christmas festival. At both events, Frito Pies are the stars of the concession stands. They're usually made with Fritos, Wolf brand chili, pre-shredded orange cheese product, and onions. My version classes it up a bit, with legit cheddar cheese and an honest Texas chili: no beans, no tomatoes. But it's close enough to the original to satisfy any Texas Fair-goer :) - arielleclementine
Food52 Review: We loved this Texas-style (no beans, no tomato) chili. The cinnamon and cocoa powder add a nice depth of flavor. The chunks of beef are fall-apart tender, and the semolina gives some thickness to the sauce. We strained the skins out after blending the reconstituted chiles to keep the sauce smooth. The Fritos are fun! We could easily eat this out of a bag, a nice big bowl is pretty hard to beat. - theediblecomplex
Serves 4
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stem and seeds removed
- 2 dried guajillo chiles, stem and seeds removed
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons rendered beef fat (or bacon drippings, or veg oil)
- 1 pound beef chuck roast, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 large white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 12 oz bottle of beer (I used Shiner Bock)
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon semolina
- kosher salt, to taste
- 4 small bags Fritos
- 3 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 white onion, minced
- 1/2 cup sour cream, for dolloping
- Tear the chiles into smaller pieces and toast in a medium-sized dutch oven set over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Transfer toasted chiles to a blender, cover with 1 cup of very hot tap water, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Blend the chiles and water until smooth.
- Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in the now empty pot for a minute or two, until fragrant, and then grind in a mortar and pestle until finely ground. Add the chile powder, cocoa powder, and kosher salt and stir to combine.
- Add the beef fat (or bacon fat, or oil) to the dutch oven, set over medium heat. Brown the diced beef in two batches, and then remove to sit on a plate.
- Add the onions to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and caramelized, being sure to scrape up the beef bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the minced garlic and spice blend, and cook for 30 more seconds. Add the browned beef and any accumulated juices, the chile puree, the cinnamon stick, and the bottle of beer. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to low and simmer for 3 hours.
- Stir in the semolina and season the chili to taste with kosher salt.
- To assemble the Frito Pies, cut open the front of the bags of Fritos, and top each with a few spoonfuls of chili, shredded cheddar cheese, minced onion, and a dollop of sour cream. I hope you like it!
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Chili
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Fair Food
More Great Recipes
Share a Recipe
Enter one of our contests, or share that great thing you made for dinner last night.
Add a Recipe
4 months ago willsmom
What does one do without access to the chilis? I can get these specific kinds of powder.
7 months ago Emma Roberts
Can't wait to make this! Yum!
10 months ago batbean
Haha, at Pennsylvania football games this is called a "walking taco". Still delicious!!
over 1 year ago mcs3000
I had a horse when I was little. Frito pie was sold at the barrel-racing competitions. it was the perfect lunch because we could eat it straight from the bag, sitting on our horses.
over 1 year ago arielleclementine
what a fantastic story mcs3000! love the image of eating frito pie on horseback!
over 1 year ago Bevi
Yay! I was hoping you would get a pretty photo!
over 1 year ago arielleclementine
oh hooray! thanks, Bevi!!
over 1 year ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
oh baby. yes! i love this recipe.
over 1 year ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
Love this, AC! Don't know how I missed it the first time around.
over 1 year ago luvcookbooks
Meg is a trusted home cook.
ArielleClementine, I'm from the Midwest and now, living in the Northeast, miss declasse foods like Frito Pie. I just read about it in Andre Dubus's memoir "Townie" and just came across your recipe. Thank you so much and I love the authentic looking photograph.
almost 2 years ago lorigoldsby
We call these "walking tacos"
almost 2 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
WAY too clever! Not to mention great. Love the "cut open the front of the bags of Fritos, and top each with a few spoonfuls of chili, shredded cheddar cheese, minced onion, and a dollop of sour cream."
almost 2 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
During the school year, I teach kids' cooking classes in the afternoons, and they would absolutely LOVE this! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
almost 2 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I believe we should probably skip the beer.
almost 2 years ago checker
I had one of these at a taco stand just inside the U.S. border at Tijuana, and I have wondered about them ever since. Thanks for the info!
almost 2 years ago arielleclementine
Haha! Awesome! I'm happy to spread the word about frito pies!
almost 2 years ago nannydeb
Takes me back to elementary school! I think they just didn't want to do dishes, therefore it was served in the bag.
almost 2 years ago arielleclementine
Aren't Texas school lunches the best? My favorite was a deep fried burrito! I don't think I ate any vegetables in any of my K-12 school lunches :/
almost 2 years ago arielleclementine
Thanks everybody for the very nice comments!!
almost 2 years ago Midge
Love your version!
almost 2 years ago aargersi
Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Hurrah for Frito Chili Pie!!!! The real kind, served in the frito bag.
almost 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
yeah, Texas in da house!
almost 2 years ago dani
This sounds wonderful! I'm always on the look out for a great chili recipe. I'll try it soon.
almost 2 years ago arielleclementine
Thanks mama :)
almost 2 years ago Helenthenanny
This was so yummy, Yeti!! Best frito pie I ever ate. And I've eaten A LOT of frito pies.
almost 2 years ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Very nice, I haven't had frito's since Iwas a child, Sounds really good.