Southwest Frito Pie is a family friendly dinner recipe that begins with meaty chili beans and Fritos, and is topped with your favorite toppings.
Everyone loves our Walking Tacos recipe. This recipe is similar. The Walking Tacos use chili beans to create more of a taco filling. This Southwest Frito Pie recipe calls for using pinto beans, plenty of ground beef and spices. I feel like it’s more like chili beans than filling for tacos. It’s a dinner that everyone in the family is likely to be happy with. You must try it!
Ingredients needed:
- ground beef
- onion
- chili powder
- all purpose flour
- salt
- garlic powder
- water
- canned pinto beans
- corn chips (like Fritos)
- iceberg lettuce
- shredded cheddar cheese
- chopped tomatoes
- sour cream (optional)
- chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
How to make Southwest Frito Pie:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
And there you have it- a delicious beefy/bean chili. This will be the base for your Southwest Frito Pie!
The fun part about this recipe is the toppings. Start with the base of Fritos and chili beans, and let everyone add the toppings that they like best. I really love to add guacamole or avocado to mine. And it’s pretty delicious when you use pepper jack cheese instead of cheddar. Whatever your heart desires is okay for topping a Frito Pie. Enjoy!
The Best Easy Dinner Recipes:
- Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites
- Chicken Ranch Pasta Bake
- Easy Tortilla Cassserole
- Easy Baked Salmon

Southwest Frito Pie
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean)
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups water
- One 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 4½ cups corn chips (like Fritos)
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup chopped tomatoes
- sour cream and minced fresh cilantro, optional
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, cook the beef and onion over medium-heat until no longer pink; spoon out any accumulated fat and discard. Stir in the chili powder, flour, salt and garlic powder until blended; gradually stir in the water.
- Add the beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; simmer, uncovered, for 12-15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- To serve, divide the chips among six serving bowls. Top with the beef mixture, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.