Pepper Bellies are a simple yet comforting dish. With only four ingredients, it comes together quickly, making for a super easy supper that will please any crowd.
Curried potatoes and pork chops, Oslo Kringle, and Pepper Bellies — those are all tastes and memories of my childhood. My mom may have been feeding five kids on a budget, but she did it in a fun and tasty way.
One of my favorite meals from that era was Pepper Bellies. I have no idea why they were called that; there are no peppers in sight, especially if you lean toward mild chili. But, that’s their name, all the same — despite what the internet says they’re called. 😉
What is Pepper Bellies?
Pepper Bellies are made of corn chips, such as Fritos, chili, and topped with cheese. You can add additional toppings such as sour cream, salsa, chopped onions, and cilantro.
What are other names for Pepper Bellies?
Pepper bellies are what my mom called this concoction of corn chips, chili, and cheese. The same dish is also called Frito Pie, Walking Taco, Chili Fritos, Straw Hats, and Taco Bowls, depending on where you live.
According to Wikipedia, Pepper Belly is a southern California thing. There you have it, my Minnesota-born mom was already picking up the lingo!
How do you make a Pepper Belly?
- Divide the corn chips into four bowls.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups chili over the chips in each bowl.
- Divide the cheese among the four bowls, sprinkling over the chili.
- Top with the green onions.
- Serve immediately.
For simplicity and no dishes to wash, some folks serve Pepper Bellies in the bag of corn chips. Back when I was growing up, we didn’t have single-serve bags of Fritos, so this wasn’t a thing! lol
How to make this good and cheap:
By their very nature, bean dishes are very budget-friendly. However, here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe even more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When you see a good price on tomato sauce, beans, or your favorite chili, buy a few extra to stash for later. You know you’ll use them. Likewise for corn chips, which could potentially be the pricier ingredient in this dish.
- Cook your own beans. It’s a lot cheappeer to cook dry beans than to buy canned. Recently I’ve started using my electric pressure cooker for beans and it is a game changer.
- Buy spices in bulk. I regularly buy larger containers of spices I use frequently, like pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. I store excess dried herbs and ground spices in the freezer if I know it will be awhile before I go through the large container. This makes it easy to make my own chili.
What tools do I need to make this dish?
This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- a 7-quart oval slow cooker or a large soup pot for heating the chili and serving to a crowd
- box grater for cheese
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Pepper Bellies
Ingredients
- 2 cup corn chips such as Fritos
- 48 oz chili heated (6 cups)
- 4 oz jack cheese shredded (1 cup)
- 2 green onion chopped
Instructions
- Divide the corn chips into four bowls.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups chili over the chips in each bowl.
- Divide the cheese among the four bowls, sprinkling over the chili.
- Top with the green onions.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Alea says
My son often makes this for lunch, but has just been calling it “glorified leftovers”. I am so glad I can tell him its proper name. 😉
Martha says
My favorite cozy meal is a really good soup, like a cream of broccoli, cauliflower or potato soup with a yummy homemade bread!
Felicia says
I left my link for my favorite cozy, comfort breakfast! Love it!
EmilyB says
Walking Tacos!!! ?
Sarah says
Tomorrow I will have a recipe posting of the best stuffed bell peppers! Thank you for the linky!
Lindsey says
We call that Chili Fritos with cheese. Want to not wash dishes? Buy the small bag of Fritos, cut the side open, spoon the chili and cheese into the bag. Put some napkins under the bag where you’ll hold it because it will get super hot. Eat it with a plastic spoon. Voila! Easy, snacky meal with minimal dirty dishes, perfect for Cookbook writing night!
jan says
Mom used to do something sort of similar only with taco fixings and would call them walking tacos (none of us kids would go near a bean when we were kids, look at us now!) … I can still smell the Frito’s when she would first open that bag….oh man, that was sooooo good!
Nora@ The Dollar Hollering Homemaker says
I just made chili last night! Great use for leftovers.
I love some sort of roast with mash pots, gravy, and a salad
Reagan @ Recipesmademyway says
I have lots of recipes that are cozy to me, I linked to my basic beef roast recipe, a few other favs are cheesy potato soup, beef stew (made with the leftover roast- shredded beef in stew- yum!), biscuits and gravy! I LOVE food! I can’t wait to have my energy back so I can make food again, this pregnancy has been a LONG one!!
Becky says
Yum – that’s frito pie in my neck of the woods. At TX fairs, they sell it in the individual bags of fritos with a fork. Pure comfort food.
The Prudent Homemaker says
I’m go glad you posted a link to your curried potatoes! We were given 200 pounds of potatoes this week that are very near their peak. We gave some away, but we have lots left. Though you know we can easily eat 50 pounds of potatoes a week, what you didn’t know was that I was looking for a recipe to make curried potatoes, since I have 4 POUNDS of curry powder, and I thought it would be fun to do something with that and potatoes. Thanks!
Denise C. says
Just like Frito Pie! I loved making it in Texas! Why have I not made it on the East Coast, where I am living now? I think I know what is going on my menu plan! =)
Michelle says
My mom made that dish as well…no pepper belly name just a bowl of chili with fritos. To this day when I made chili, I have to have crushed fritos or tortilla chips at the bottom and on top with cheese, sour cream and gaucamole.
Thanks for sharing and hosting!
Susie's Homemade says
That DOES looks cozy:-)
Kim says
I love your site and visit often on Thursdays & Fridays. Can you please increase the font size for the links for us with poor vision? 🙂 THX
kate says
In East Tennessee we call this Petros. I think it is a brand name and started when the dish was served at the World’s Fair in Knoxville.
Kara says
Grandma use to call this recipe straw hats because the cheese on top looks like a straw hat. Thanks for the reminder!
jenna Food WIth Kid Appeal says
taco rice is a concoction i whizzed up when i realized i had both a soft tortilla and lettuce run out and needed a meal plan for left-over taco meat. it was cozy!
Alex@A Moderate Life says
Hi Jess, we make these all the time with leftovers but call them taco bowls for some reason! I love em, so easy healthy and quick! Linking up a recipe for whole wheat hamburger buns made easy by using a mixer for the heavy work. All the best. Alex
Betsy N says
We call them “haystacks”. why? I have no idea. They are good with both chili and leftover taco meat (if such a thing exists in your house!)
Rebekah says
We call them “walking tacos” here in the northeast. They’re a favorite of summer campers and can be customized for every taste. And yes, they’re often served right in the single serve Frito or Doritos bags. Great recipe!
Cindy A says
What chili might that be in your pot? Is it one of yours? It looks yummy!
Jessica Fisher says
Chihuahua Beer Chili
lisa s says
Lol! We just call it chili here at my house in Arkansas. I can’t imagine chili w/o fritos on the bottom or the top, then ya gotta have the sour cream and cheese. And I add green onion, jalapenos, and avocado. Gotta batch in my freezer just waiting for a busy night. Yum!
Janet says
I had not had Frito pie (what I grew up calling this) since I was a kid. I made it today for my family. None of them had ever had it before. A resounding success. I made a double batch of the chili so I have another meal ready for next week. Win-win!
Jessica Fisher says
So glad you had a success! I love it when those old classics are a hit.