Chili Cheese Frito Skillet Dinner Recipe (2024)

Posted: Nov 2, 2016 · Updated: Aug 28, 2023 · By Kelly

This Chili Cheese Frito Skillet Dinner is the ultimate in comfort food. It blends hearty beef, gooey cheese and crunchy Fritos.

I’m a BIG fan of Fritos and a big fan of easy recipes that don’t make my kitchen a mess. The easy way for me to get a meal on the table without making a big mess to clean up afterwards is with skillet dinners!

I love being able to cook a whole meal in just one pan. While some people use a cast iron skillet as their go-to pan, my favorite pan that I use almost every day is a big ‘ol jumbo saute pan with a glass lid that is oven safe. It is SO versatile!

If you want to go more traditional and use a cast iron skillet and don’t have one already, you HAVE to check out this cast iron skillet set because it is SUCH a great deal! The set includes a griddle, a 5″ cast iron pan, and a 8″ cast iron pan all for only $16!

Anyway, ON TO THE RECIPE! This Chili Cheese Frito Skillet Dinner is the ultimate in comfort food. I love the blend of hearty beef, gooey cheese and crunchy Fritos.

To make your meal more well-rounded, you can use the 30 minutes while the dish is in the oven to whip up a nice green salad to serve on the side.

For another delicious 30 minute dinner recipe, be sure to try our sheet pan steak fajitas!

Chili Cheese Frito Skillet Dinner Recipe

Fritos Skillet Dinner Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 package chili seasoning mix
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
4 cups Fritos
16 ounce can pinto beans
1 cup sliced black olives
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Jalapeño slices, optional

McCormick Chili Seasoning MixContadina Tomato PasteFritos Corn ChipsBush’s Best Pinto BeansMario Camacho Sliced Black OlivesJalapeno Slices

How to Make the Chili Cheese Fritos Skillet Dinner:

Brown beef in oven-safe skillet. Add in onion, chili seasoning, tomato paste and water. Heat on simmer for 10 minutes.

To use one dish, move 1/2 of the chili mixture over to the side of pan (or scoop out into a bowl) and add 1/2 of the Fritos, 1/2 of the beans and 1/2 of the olives and cheese on top of the half of the chili mixture left in the pan.

Next, top that layer with the remaining 1/2 of the chili mixture. Add the remaining beans and olives.

Top with remaining 2 cups of corn chips, and then the remaining cheese.

Cover with pan lid or with foil.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover, and then bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Be sure to pin this recipe on Pinterest or save it to your Facebook wall so you can find it later!!

For another fun and delicious Frito dinner option, try this Chili Cheese Frito Casserole from Chic ‘n Savvy!