Dutch Oven Frito Pie
Taco beef, canned vegetables, corn chips, and a lot of cheese, baked in layers over coals.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 65
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 60 min
- water
- 240 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 2 lb | kept cold in the cooler until it hits the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 small | chopped |
| Taco seasoning | 3 oz | two packets |
| Fritos | 1 8-oz bag | |
| Canned corn | 1 15-oz can | |
| Canned black beans | 1 15-oz can | |
| Canned diced tomatoes with chilies | 1 10-oz can | |
| Sliced black olives | 1 4-oz can | |
| Shredded cheddar or Mexican blend | 12 oz | |
| Water | 1 cup | only if the can liquid comes up short |
Method
- Get a bed of coals going and set the dutch oven over them hot, somewhere near 375F. Brown the beef with the onion, breaking it up as it goes.
- Pour off the grease. Pull most of the coals out from under the oven so it drops to a low simmer.
- Drain the four cans into a measuring cup. Add the first cup of that liquid to the beef and throw out the rest. Short of a cup, top it up with water.
- Stir in both seasoning packets and let it simmer five to ten minutes, until it thickens and stops looking like soup.
- Scrape the meat into a bowl or a clean pot lid. Wipe nothing; the oven stays as is.
- Layer it back in: a third of the Fritos, half the meat, half the corn, beans, and tomatoes. Repeat. Finish with the last third of the Fritos, then the olives, then all the cheese.
- Lid on, coals back underneath and a ring on top for roughly 350F. Bake 30 minutes, checking at 20. It is done when the cheese is fully melted and the edges bubble.
This is a car-camping recipe and stays one. Two pounds of fresh beef and twelve ounces of cheese need a cooler, and a dutch oven full of coals is not a backpacking stove. What makes it worth the hauling is that it feeds eight out of one pot with almost no knife work.
The layering is doing something real. Corn chips baked under wet meat turn to mush, so only the middle third is meant to soften; the top layer stays under the cheese and keeps its crunch. Holding the liquid to one cup matters for the same reason. More than that and the bottom is a paste by the time the cheese melts.
Packing
Cans, chips, and seasoning are shelf-stable and can live in the bin all trip. Beef and cheese ride in the cooler. Bring a can opener and a spare bowl for the meat.
Variations
- Swap the beef for two cans of drained pinto beans and an extra can of corn for a meatless pan.
- Ground turkey works and needs a splash of oil when browning.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/frito_casserole-2445.asp