Texas Straw Hat
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Also called Frito Pie, these Texas Straw Hats are an easy meal that are satisfying and quick for weeknight prep! Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Today I’m bringing you another easy ground beef recipe. Don’t you just love recipes that use the words “easy” and “ground beef”? For me, that spells food for the masses! This one is also easy to tailor to what you have on hand so don’t go out buying special ingredients if you don’t already have them. Feel free to add drained diced tomatoes or tomato sauce in lieu of the tomato paste, leave out the thyme if you like, and just add a little extra chili powder. Cook it until it is nice and thick for layering and you’ve essentially just made yourself a Frito Chili Pie.
Check out some of my other easy meals like Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas, Fiesta Taco Salad, Easy Skillet Chili Bake, Easy Taco Soup, and Instant Pot Beef Barbacoa Tacos.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Texas Straw Hats:
- ground beef
- chili powder
- tomato paste
- onion
- pepper
- thyme
- salt
- fritos
- cheese
Quick tip! Sometimes I make the meat up and then just pop whatever is left in the fridge so throughout the week if anyone is hungry they can just heat up some meat and toss it on some corn chips! It’s kinda like my pizza rolls, gives you some time off from cooking later 🙂
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Texas Straw Hats:
Brown your beef and onion together.
Use this amazing Ground Beef Chopper while you brown your meat. This is one of my very favorite cooking implements. It makes browning ground beef SO much easier, AND is under $5!
Another quick ground beef tip: Usually I have my beef all browned and in the freezer and just take out a bag to use in order to cut out this extra step
Drain your grease off good and add tomato paste…
then add Salt, Pepper, Thyme and Chili powder.
and Worcestershire sauce.
and pour in your water.
Stir all of that up good and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.
How to Serve Texas Straw Hats:
Serve hot atop corn chips! Top with your favorite toppings. Some of our suggestions are:
- cheese
- sour cream
- tomato
- avocado
- lettuce (make it a taco salad and add a yummy dressing!)
- your favorite salsa
- guacamole
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1 c chopped onion
- 1 c water
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 2 c shredded cheddar cheese
- corn chips
Instructions
- Brown beef and onion in a skillet. Drain off grease. Add all other ingredients except corn chips and cheese. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve atop corn chips, topped with cheese.
Christy, Even though I am a hugh fan of Paula Deen you are now right up there with her.!!! Love your recipes and most of all your humor. Thanks for all our hard work, that makes it easy for the rest of us.
Oops last comment meant to say all your hard work
This looks YUM-O!!! I had planned on making chili tonight, but now have added fritos to my shopping list. Your recipes are so great, and remind me of the things my mama used to make. Thank You!
Christy, I like the idea of having the ground beef cooked ahead because it would already be drained. When you brown your beef and onions together and pour off the grease, you also pour off some of that good old onion juice. If the beef is browned ahead, you don’t have that worry.
It must be a southern grandparents thing! My grandaddy drove truck his whole life (or at least MY whole life), and I do believe he had himself a stuffed jackrabbit that used to scare the living daylights out of me. He assured me they were real. I asked my daddy, and he said no, of course they weren’t, but I was never fully convinced.
I love frito pie with all my heart. I make tacos just so I can have it for leftovers! I might just skip the fake taco intention from now on.
Love your post today. Though I am from Texas, I never heard the name “Texas Straw Hats”, as all the other Texans have commented, it’s just plaino Frito Pie. I like your name a lot better, though, because it has our beloved state’s name in it! I will start calling it that. This was a favorite from the concession stand at Friday night high school football games, along side that big pickle!
Thanks for the recipe and the trip back in time.
Tammi
Cibolo, TX
I enjoy your family stories. I am absolutely sure your Grandma rode that rabbit.. we grandmas have a lot to live up to. Thanks for your great recipes that we enjoy trying and finding new favorites.
Darn you Christy!! I’m supposed to be on a diet to lose weight and just reading these posts will make me gain a size or two at least! lol And this, as well as chili cheese fries, is one of my favorites!!! mmmmmmm Boy…I need to get home so i can make some! hehe