Frito Dinner is made with Frito Corn Chips, rice, cheese, hamburger and spaghetti sauce. Then it is topped with a little lettuce and tomatoes tossed in Good Seasons Italian Dressing. Everyone in my family loves this dinner. It is a meal my kids ask for over and over again.
My husband’s family has made this dinner for decades. It sounded kind of crazy when I heard what the ingredients were. I am telling you, it is so good and I love it! There is the crunch of the Frito Corn Chips, the yummy warm comfort of the hamburger and marinara sauce and then the fresh topping of a little salad.
How to Make Frito Dinner
1. Make a pot of perfect rice, (recipe below). Rice is so easy to make! It is simple and if you follow the recipe, you will learn how to make rice perfectly every single time. I grew up not rinsing my rice, so most of the time, I don’t. Rice is two cups of water to one cup of rice. For my family, I usually always use four cups of water and two cups of rice. I add a teaspoon of chicken bouillon or Knoor Granulated Chicken Bouillon. Mix well and then put the pot on the stove.
Get the water and rice boiling with the lid on. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat, still leave the lid on. I gradually reduce the heat. From high to medium in 30 seconds and then medium to low in the next 30 seconds.
Set the timer for 20 minutes. DO NOT LOOK AT THE RICE! This is very important. You need to trust the process. After the timer goes off, turn the heat off and leave the pan on the stove. Let it set for at least 5 minutes. When you take the lid off, there will be little holes in the surface of the rice. This means you have cooked it “perfectly”!
2. While the rice is cooking, brown ground beef. If your family loves onions, this is a good time to add a chopped onion to the ground beef. For a family of four, two pounds is plenty. If you are feeding a group of eight or more, you will want three – four pounds of meat.
3. Once the ground beef is browned, add a jar of prepared spaghetti sauce (Prego or Ragu). I like the sauce and meat to meld together for about 20 minutes while the rice is cooking. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer and put a lid on the pan. You will want to stir this occasionally. Of course, you can always make some marinara from scratch, but if you are looking for a fast and easy dinner, bottled spaghetti sauce is the way to go.
First, Make a Pot of Perfect Rice
4. Chop half a head of iceberg lettuce and two tomatoes. I am going to admit up front, my kids do not like the salad on top, but I love it. Dress this with Italian Salad Dressing. Good Seasons is my go to Italian Salad Dressing. this is a staple in my cupboard. I have several boxes of the four packs in my pantry. I use it for so many things, Cowboy Salsa, Shrimp Salad and Tortellini Pasta Salad.
5. Make the Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing. The instructions on the package are one envelope of Good Season, 4 Tbsp. vinegar, 3 Tbsp. water and 1/2 cup oil. All my left over jam jars are used for making salad dressing. The screw on top creates a great seal when shaking dressings. Mixing the water, vinegar and contents of envelope first is important. This process makes sure the sugar in the dressing gets dissolved. Once you have shaken this for a minute or two, add the oil and shake, shake, shake, Shake your Booty!
6. Grate cheddar cheese. Using freshly grated cheese is always my first choice. I do not like to purchase grated cheese because it has a powder that is dusted all over the cheese to keep it from sticking together. To me, the powdered cheese has a taste I do not like. Grating cheese can be a pain, but if you use this Geedel Rotary Grater, you will find it so much easier than a box grater.
7. You are ready to start building your plate. Start with the Frito chips. Add cooked rice on top and then spoon on the spaghetti sauce and the ground beef mixture. Top with grated cheese and the salad you made with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and Italian salad dressing.
My mother-in-law made this for her family all the time. I started making it early in my marriage because my kids kept asking for it. It is an easy dinner that can come together in 30 minutes.
Here are a few products I like to use when making Frito Dinner.
When you purchase items from the Amazon links below, I receive a small commission.
Let me know on Instagram or Facebook if you make this. Post a picture and tag me @dinasdiner.
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Frito Dinner
Ingredients
Perfect Rice
- 2 Cups Long Grain Rice
- 4 Cups Water
- 4 tsp. Chicken Bouillon Granules
Frito Dinner
- 2 lbs. Hamburger
- 45 oz. Spaghetti Sauce
- 4 Cups Cheddar Cheese, grated
- 1 pkg. Frito Corn Chips, thin strips or scoops
- 1 head Iceberg Lettuce
- 4 Tomatoes, cubed
- 1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing
- 3 Tbsp. Water
- 4 Tbsp. Vinegar
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
Instructions
Perfect Rice
- Heat the water and chicken bouillon in a pan.
- Add the long grain rice and chicken bouillon
- Bring to a boil.
- Place the lid on the pan.
- Make sure the liquid continues to boil.
- Once steam is released from the lid, turn the heat down to medium heat.
- When the steam continues to escape from the lid, reduce the heat to low heat.
- Make sure the lid stays on the pan.
- Set the timer for 20 minutes.
- DO NOT LIFT THE LID. The steam is what cooks the rice to perfection.
- After the timer goes off, turn off the heat and leave the pan on the stove with the lid for 10 minutes.
- When you take the lid off, you should see small holes on the surface of the rice. This is what is proof you have made perfect rice.
Frito Dinner
- While the rice is cooking, brown the hamburger.
- Add the marinara sauce. You can use bottles or homemade.
- Once the meat mixture boils, reduce to a simmer. Place the lid on and cook for 20 minutes.
- Grate the cheddar cheese.
- Cut or tear the iceberg lettuce in chunks.
- Slice the tomatoes and cube.
- Make the Italian Salad Dressing with the vinegar, water and oil.
- Follow the instructions on the package.
- Toss the tomatoes and lettuce with the salad dressing.
- Once rice is done, you are ready to serve.
- Place the Frito chips on a plate.
- Add a dollop of rice.
- Place a ladle of hamburger and marinara sauce on the rice.
- Sprinkle on desired amount of cheese.
- Place the salad on top and eat.
- Enjoy!
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