Last updated on October 9th, 2024 at 06:02 pm
First I have to start by giving you a little history of this recipe and how it has evolved through my family over many years and generations. My Grandma will tell you she found the original recipe on the back of a Fritos corn chip bag. The original recipe called for the classic Fritos corn chips, but somewhere along the line, my mom substituted Chili Cheese Fritos giving the casserole a different twist. Even the official name of this recipe is up for debate within my family. Some call it Mexican Chicken Casserole, Frito Pie, Frito Casserole and so I settled on calling it Frito Chicken Casserole. If you're thinking this recipe sounds a bit out there I promise don't knock it until you try it.
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Chili Cheese Frito Chicken Casserole Recipe
There are a few variations that can be made in this recipe. The first like I mentioned earlier is whether to use Chili Cheese Fritos or Original Fritos. You could also add diced onion when you are preparing the chicken and sauté them together if you'd like, and lastly, if you don't have a can of tomatoes with green chilies you can substitute mild diced green chilies if that's what you have on hand. There really is no right or wrong it's a casserole after all.
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Pressure Cook Chicken
To start you will need to pre-cook the cubed chicken. Traditionally this recipe called for cooking chicken on the stovetop in a skillet, however for a faster weeknight dinner you can prep the chicken ahead of time by using the Instant Pot. Prepare the chicken by cubing it into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.
To pressure cook place seasoned chicken in the Instant Pot and add ¼ cup of water. Select manual/pressure cook and set the cooking time to 6 minutes. When the cooking cycle is complete allow the pressure to naturally release for about 15 minutes. Spoon out chicken and store in an air-tight container and use within 2-3 days. Having the chicken pre-cooked and ready to go means you will have dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For this recipe you will need:
- Chicken breast
- Campbell's condensed tomato soup
- Milk
- Chili powder
- Canned diced tomatoes with green chilies
- Chili cheese Fritos or Original Fritos corn chips
- Monterey Jack Shredded Cheese
Instructions
Shred up Monterey Jack cheese and set it aside. Next prepare the tomato soup concentrate by adding it to a saucepan with the milk and chili powder. Stir to combine the soup ingredients and heat through until warm.
Once all the ingredients are prepared spread half of the Chili Cheese Fritos in the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish along with half of the cooked cubed chicken. Add half the can of tomatoes with green chilis evenly over the top and sprinkle about half of the cheese over that.
Next layer the rest of the chicken, tomatoes with green chilies, and Fritos. Top with remaining cheese and carefully pour the hot tomato soup over the top. Finally, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and soup is hot and bubbly.
Frigidaire Air Fry Range With Convection Bake
To speed up the cooking time you can bake the casserole using the convection bake setting this will reduce your cooking time by about 20% and is great for having the top of the casserole stay crispy. I have this Frigidaire Air Fry Range with true convection bake and it's amazing for baking casseroles, cakes, bread, and air frying our favorite foods. To read my full Frigidaire Air Fry Range Review go here.
More Air Fry Range Recipes
Frito Chicken Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Chicken breast cubed and pre cooked
- ½ tsp. Black pepper
- ½ tsp. Sea Salt
- 10 ¾ oz. Campbell's Tomato Soup can
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 tsp. Chili powder
- 9 ¼ oz. Chili Cheese Fritos or Original Corn Chips
- 2 Cups Monterey Jack Cheese shredded
- 10 oz. Mild diced tomatoes with green chilies can
Instructions
- Cube chicken breast and season with salt and pepper.
- Fully cook cubed chicken either by sauteing on the stovetop or to prep ahead, pressure cook cubed chicken 6 minutes with 15 min NPR.
- Prepare tomato soup. Add tomato soup, milk & chili powder to a saucepan and heat through until hot.
- In a 9x13 glass pyrex baking dish evenly spread out half of the Fritos and half of the chicken.
- Add half of the tomatoes with green chilies evenly over the chip mixture and sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.
- Next, layer the remaining chicken and tomatoes with green chilies and top with the remaining Fritos.
- Pour the hot prepared soup mixture over the casserole evenly.
- Top with the remaining cup of shredded cheese.
- Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the soup is hot and bubbly.
- Serve with sour cream and your favorite taco sauce or salsa if desired.
Karyn Myers says
I wish I could find the recipe on back of the Fritos bag about in the 70s...it called for chicken, sour cream, cheese, ortega chilis, Fritos, of course, and that's all I remember. My daughter wants it for her birthday and I can't find it.
amberhollis918@gmail.com says
I'm almost positive this is where my grandma originally found this recipe. It has definitely evolved through the years.
Tris says
This looks amazing dear. I will definitely make it tomorrow for my family. I love your recipe, thank you so much for your sharing.
Rachael says
This sounds delicious. We love fritos on our chili so I am looking forward to trying this! Yum!
Katrina Adams says
I love anything with chicken so I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Stacy says
This sounds like a great week night supper, especially for my teens. I bet they could even make it themselves. Thank you for sharing this recipe.