Tamale and Frito Pie is a four-ingredient recipe makes a great Tex-Mex treat. I bet you’re already thinking about what ingredients you could add to make it more interesting. Chopped onion and black olives immediately come to mind. Well, forget it. It’s not necessary.
You can tell at first glance this recipe is at least several years old because it calls for a 1-pound can of chili. Canned chili is convenient, and Wolf Brand (no beans) is pretty good, but they along with everybody else have reduced their one-pound cans to 15 ounces (see Note). Also, depending on where you live, it may be difficult to get your hands on good tamales. Frozen tamales are available at some Costo stores, and many Mexican and Central American restaurants nationwide sell “take-out” tamales. If frozen tamales in the shuck are used, thaw them before using. Frozen tamales are preferable to canned tamales. Good tamales and chili make all the difference in this dish but, like I said, even if you put Tamale and Frito Pie together quickly with canned chili and canned tamales, it’s a good, warming dish.
If you want to double the recipe, use a 9×13-inch dish.
Ingredients
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1 can (1 pound) chili or about 3 cups homemade chili
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2 cups regular size Fritos
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6 tamales, removed from the corn husks
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4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Spray a 7×11-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Heat the chili in a saucepan just until it comes to a boil.
- Remove from the heat.
- Lightly crumble the Fritos (don’t make Frito dust) and spread in the baking dish.
- Place the tamales on top of the Fritos with a little space between each one.
- Cover with the hot chili.
- Bake uncovered 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, until the cheese melts and the mixture is bubbly.
