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I feel like this is frito pie on crack. If you’re looking for comfort food I feel like you don’t even need to look any further than this frito pie chili biscuit skillet.
It’s got chili, cheese, fritos, and flakey biscuits on top. Oh my freaking gosh.
This is definitely not something you should eat prior to trying to fit into a cocktail dress or anything. This is more of a stretchy yoga pants kind of day and we could always use many days like that, right?!
It’s been so freaking cold here (like 60’s in May?!) that this is the ultimate warm-me-up kind of dish.
I’m a cheater and I did not make the biscuits from scratch. And since we’re being honest here, I rarely ever make biscuits on my own because ugh, it’s just so much easier to pop open a can of biscuits than to get your bowls and fingers all dirty making biscuits from scratch. Plus, when you buy canned biscuits, they usually have a 2 for 1 special on them so you can use the second can to make this French onion chicken casserole!
This also kind of reminds me of like a chili monkey bread or a pull apart bread of some sort. Except I think I like the ‘biscuit skillet’ name better. It’s much more intriguing, wouldn’t you think?
Frito Pie Chili Biscuit Skillet
Equipment
Ingredients
For the chili
- ¾ pounds (340 g) 90/10 ground beef
- ¾ cup (120 g) chopped onions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 15 ounce (425 g) can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounce (425 g) can of diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the rest of the dish
- ¾ cup (66 g) crushed corn chips, (such as Fritos), plus more for topping
- 16 ounce (454 g) can of refrigerated flakey biscuits
- 1 cup (132 g) freshly grated colby jack cheese
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add a little bit of olive oil and then brown the ground beef, breaking into pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.¾ pounds (340 g) 90/10 ground beef
- Add the onion and minced garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.3/4 cup (120 g) chopped onions, 2 cloves garlic
- Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings. Stir and cook until mixture is thickened and cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in crushed corn chips.15 ounce (425 g) can of red kidney beans, 15 ounce (425 g) can of diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon onion powder, Salt and pepper, 3/4 cup (66 g) crushed corn chips
- Preheat oven to the temperature on the biscuit packaging.
- While the oven is preheating, open the biscuits then nestle the biscuits into the chili.16 ounce (454 g) can of refrigerated flakey biscuits
- Sprinkle cheese on top then bake in the oven according to the time on the biscuit package.1 cup (132 g) freshly grated colby jack cheese
- Remove from oven, let cool for 10-15 minutes then serve!
I made this twice once as written which is delicious and once with a tweak or two. First go as written was easy, delicious and reheated well for my husband’s lunch at work. Second time I added some leftover chili we had, some sharp cheddar cheese in addition to the colby, and some bell pepper I cooked alongside the beef and onion. I also figured out if I cut the biscuits into 4 pieces instead of whole and placed them into the chili mixture they baked up faster and completely through. This is an easy and wonderful recipe for quick weeknight dinners. I have also made the chili mix ahead of time and just added a few minutes to the bake time to heat it through no problem. This recipe also works if you make the chili ahead of time, freeze it and thaw for later use. I added this recipe to my meal prep menu. Thank you for the great recipe
I drained the grease from the ground beef before adding the onions and garlic. I guess that is where I went wrong. It was way too dry. I’ve just never made anything with ground beef where you don’t drain the grease.
Chili was dry and only the very top of the biscuits were done
Hi Julie! I’m trying your recipe, but changing some things. Hope you don’t mind. Lol
FIRST, I double the recipe, sorry not like those tv people who are sitting down at the table and everyone gets 1 hard shell taco!!! We’re to CORN-FED.. lol Instead of kidney beans I added CHILI BEANS. I used the ROTEL MILD TOMAOE WITH CRUSH PEPPERS…and the CHILI MIX (in the packets)WITH A TSP. of (packet) of TACO MIX. I didn’t have any Fritos so I used some unsalted chips ( put in gal. Baggie used a rolling pin to crush the chips.)… instead of mixing in the mixture, I FOLDED IN WITH SERGENTO SHREDDED SHARP CHEESE.
For the topping…because it was doubled the skillet was to small.. haha… was still awesome though!!
Nope, don’t mind at all! Glad you changed it up and made it the way you want!
This looks amazing. My plans for dinner have just changed. I also grew up eating canned biscuits for breakfast. Deep fried rolled in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.
Oh man, that sounds so good!