Frito Bandito Recipe (Frito Pie in a Bag!) - Happy Money Saver (2024)

By Alison Grant on May 8, 2019 | Updated April 9, 2020 | 8 Comments

It’s summer time, and life get’s really busy! This Frito Bandito recipe is one of the fastest dinners ever to make. Toss some warm chili into a bag of fritos along with some other topping and BAM… dinner is done in 5 minutes.

Soccer, baseball, volleyball, wrestling… you name it, my kids have played it. As a parent, school sports are a blessing. They give my kids an outlet for their energy, keeps them busy (and out of trouble!), and teaches them so many valuable life lessons (such as team building, leadership, and respect)!

As much as I am a “fan” of school sports, there’s one thing I’m not a fan of: late night dinners.

Sometimes I plan ahead and have dinner done before they head out to practice, but most days, it’s a chaotic scramble and we eat dinner late at night.

Everyone walks in starving and this walking taco with fritos dinner delivers quick.

WHAT ARE FRITO BANDITOS?

Frito Banditos (some have also called these frito pie or walking tacos with Fritos ) are basically taco toppings in a bag of corn chips.

For years we have called this recipe Frito Banditos and honestly I don’t know why. It’s just something my mom called them when we were growing up so the tradition continued. I personally love the name, makes them more fun somehow.

To serve these, just open the bag, add toppings, and dig in with a fork (or your hands)! No major plates or dishes to clean up. And you can literally walk around while you eat them. Seriously – that’s it! So easy, right?

This Frito Bandito recipe is perfect for:

• Fast, easy dinners
• Quick lunches
• Parties
• Picnics
• And my favorite is camping. I usually make this recipe for the first night we get to the campground because it’s quick and after setting everything up I’m all about something fast.

WHAT CAN YOU ADD TO YOUR FRITO BANDITO?

With Frito Chips, I like to start with a good base – the chili. Canned chili works – and is super quick. My personal fav is Nalley Chili – the flavor it just so good. And using canned is especially quick for camping meals.

But if you are feeling fancy or happen to have some homemade chili in the freezer, like my Darn Good Chili you can just take it out, heat it up and serve out the good stuff into those bags. You can also make up taco meat as well for a fun change.

If you want to make these vegetarian, skip the chili, and use some black or pinto beans, instead!

After that I like to add taco toppings like shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, pico de gallo, olives, avocado, cilantro, etc. to my bagged frito pie. But add in whatever you love!

TIPS FOR MAKING FRITO BANDITOS

One big tip I have is to open up the bag on the longer side so you have a bigger “open bag or bowl” to eat out of. I love using scissors or a sharp knife. If you just open it up from the top (like in my photos) you are limited in stirring it all up inside that bag.

Also, if you want to think ahead, it’s nice to add your chili to a slow cooker and have all your topping ingredients prepped so when it’s time to eat, you can cut open the bags and add ingredients, then dig in.

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