Crock Pot Upside Down Turkey Frito Pie

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If you love easy, you will love my Crock Pot Upside Down Turkey Frito Pie recipe. It is hearty, a little spicy and so, so easy to make! We take your favorite Frito Pie recipe and give it a twist with ground turkey and no one will know the difference! The upside down just means your favorite taco flavored Frito pie has the Fritos on TOP!

A close-up of a plate with Fritos chips topped with chili, cheese, beans, and tomatoes next to a slow cooker filled with the same dish. A gold fork and scattered chips are on a wooden tray nearby.

Crock pot cooking is perfect for busy cooks. It allows you to cook while you are doing other things. If you are a busy Mom or Grandma and have a million things going on, this Crock Pot Upside Down Turkey Frito Pie recipe is for you!

This recipe is also perfect for potlucks and even tailgating. With a traditional CHILI feel, it is a perfect sharing recipe! As always, this is one of our favorites to make because it is easy and just all around tastes great!

We lighten it up a bit by using ground turkey too. Like our recipe for our CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS, we take a traditional comfort favorite and make it a bit healthier! See our substitutions section for more ideas!

Why you will love this Upside Down Frito Pie

It is fun to make and even easier to eat. This is a great recipe to get the kids involved in making. It is also really easy to customize to your taste and preferences too. Spices are easy to adjust and you can add different things in to make it healthy and a recipe that becomes one of your own.

Ingredients

This Upside Down Frito Pie doesn’t have anything unusual in the ingredient list. It also has a quantity that will feed about 8 hearty appetites!

A blue and white plate holds a serving of chili topped with corn chips, melted cheese, beans, and diced tomatoes, set on a wooden surface.

What You’ll Need

Ground Turkey- the leanest you can find.
Chopped onion – any kind.
Chili, Garlic, Cayenne and Onion powders- all the taco flavors!
Canned diced tomatoes and tomato sauce – pantry staples in most kitchens.
White Beans- canned, we like cannellini beans.
Pepper Jack Cheese & Fritos – the perfect topping pair.

See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.

Instructions for the Best Frito Pie

We let the slow cooker do all of the work for us here! We cook in two stages with a shorter crock pot time of just under 2.5 hours!

A person holds a wooden spoon, stirring ground meat and onions in a skillet on a gas stove. A chef’s knife, three spice jars, and an empty slow cooker are on a wooden countertop next to the stove.

In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey with the chopped onions, salt and pepper. Drain and return to pan.

A cutting board with a chef’s knife and spices on the left; on the right, ground meat cooks in a pan on a stove while a hand holds an open container of chili powder above the pan.

Over low to medium heat, season with chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and onion powder for a minute or two.

A wooden spatula rests in a black slow cooker filled with cooked ground meat on a wooden countertop next to a stove and a can of tomato sauce.

Place meat mixture in the bottom of the liner of a larger crock pot.

A person pours tomato sauce from a can into a slow cooker containing browned ground meat and diced tomatoes. A wooden spoon rests in the slow cooker, which sits on a wooden countertop next to a stove.

Add in the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes(undrained). Mix well. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.

A person holding a towel is opening a can of cannellini beans above a slow cooker filled with cooked ground meat and sauce on a wooden countertop.

After two hours, remove the lid and add in a can of drained and rinsed white beans. Mix well.

A hand holds a small blue bowl of shredded cheese above a slow cooker filled with chili ingredients, including beans and ground meat, on a wooden countertop.

Top with grated pepper jack cheese. Cover and cook on low another 15 to 20 minutes until beans are heated through and cheese has melted.

A slow cooker filled with chili sits on a wooden cutting board next to an open bag of Fritos corn chips and a small blue and white patterned bowl. The background shows a stovetop.

Remove the lid and add some more cheese if you’d like!

A hand pours Fritos Original corn chips from a bag into a slow cooker filled with a chunky stew or casserole. The slow cooker is on a wooden cutting board next to a blue and white plate with a fork.

Top with Fritos.

A blue and white plate holds a serving of chili topped with corn chips on a wooden surface, with a fork nearby and a slow cooker with more food in the background. A patterned cloth is partially visible on the left.

Serve and enjoy!

Why Brooke loves this recipe!

Recipes are like antiques. They are meant to be handed down from one generation to another. Each one holding a special memory or nostalgic memory. Here is why we love this one!

Three words. CROCK. POT. COOKING. My love for this tried and true kitchen friend goes back to the days of my sweet Momma going back to work full time. She always like to have supper on the table by 6pm. When she got her first crock pot, she fell in love. This recipe like all my slow cooker recipes will always remind me of her!

Variations and Substitutions

This recipe is a replacements dream! We pride ourselves for sharing recipes that you can take and make your own. Here are a few ways to do that.

Ground Turkey – lean ground beef, ground chicken both make delicious options. Ground venison is also equally lean and perfect for this recipe.
Beans – use red or black beans for a deeper flavor or even no beans at all for a bean-less chili pie!
Cheese – the sky is the limit here. Pepper jack is my fave for the spiciness but any cheese that melts good wins here so get creative.
Fritos – Any crunchy chip or corn chip will work great here. If you wanted to make it very low carb, consider using fried pork rinds!
Spices – we used the powdered ones here for ease in slow cooking. If you opt for fresh, add those in at about halfway during the cooking time.

Equipment

🔧 I love to share recipes that are no special equipment required but here are a few things that would definitely make this recipe easier!

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How to Store the Crock Pot Upside Down Turkey Frito Pie

This recipe stores for leftovers like a dream! It gets better the longer it sits too!

Refrigerate after it is completely cooled in an airtight container for up to a week.

Freeze: Place into freezer safe container and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temp or in refrigerator overnight before reheating

To reheat: reheat in a low warm oven with a splash of water until heated all of the way through. Top with fresh Fritos and more cheese if you like when serving.

A blue-patterned plate with a serving of chili topped with Fritos corn chips sits on a wooden surface. In the background, a slow cooker filled with more Fritos and a blue-and-white cloth are visible.

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A blue patterned plate with chili, white beans, and corn chips sits beside a slow cooker filled with a similar mixture. Some corn chips are scattered on the wooden table.

Crock Pot Upside Down Turkey Frito Pie

The easiest Crock Pot Upside Down Turkey Frito Pie recipe: made with healthy ground turkey, beans, tomatoes, pepper jack cheese, and crunchy Fritos. Perfect for weeknights – preps quick, cooks low & slow in 2 hours

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 2 15

Total Time 2 25

Serving Size

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup onions chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
1 cup tomato sauce
1 can white beans drained and rinsed
1 cup pepper jack cheese grated
2 cups Fritos

Instructions

Brown the ground turkey with the chopped onions. Drain and return to the pan. Add chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix well to coat the meat. Cook for one to two minutes. Pour into the liner of a large crock pot.
2 pounds ground turkey, 1/2 cup onions, 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder
Pour in the canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. Mix, cover and cook for 2 hours on low.
1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup tomato sauce
When the cook time is up, add in the white beans and mix well. Top with grated cheese, cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more.
1 can white beans, 1 cup pepper jack cheese
Serve as is with Fritos on the side or cover the entire crock pot contents with a layer of fritos. Serve and enjoy!
2 cups Fritos

See How To Make It!

Notes

*Pro Tip – this can also be done in the oven at 350° for about 30 minutes. Add the beans, top with cheese, return to oven to melt and serve with Fritos.

**This recipe is done in the crock pot to free up your time. Follow the above instructions if you need to get it done in a hurry!

A blue and white plate holds a serving of chili topped with melted cheese, white beans, diced tomatoes, and crunchy corn chips. A fork is visible in the background on a wooden surface.

🍴 PRO TIP!

This recipe is tailored to fit a larger crock pot. For smaller batch cooking, it is easy to divide the recipe in half for a smaller slow cooker.

🗹 RECIPE FAQ’S

Can I make this Frito Pie in the Instant pot?

Yes! Prep as normal per the recipe and cook after adding in beans and tomatoes on normal pressure for about 8 minutes. Release and top with cheese. Close the lid and allow cheese to melt. Top with Fritos when serving.

Is this recipe spicy? How can I make it less/more spicy?

Using the dried spices allows for you to use less or more in the recipe. Simply adjust those amounts to fit your preference. Add a little and taste to see if it is where you want it.

Won’t my Fritos get soggy?

Yes and no. Some may after storage. If that is the case, stir them in so they can soak up the seasoning and re-top with new ones after reheating. Keep plenty of the Fritos on hand so you can replenish as needed.

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