Frito Bars are a salty, sweet corn chip dessert made in a 9x13 pan.
You make an easy crust of crushed corn chips and pretzels held together with melted butter and brown sugar then topped with peanut butter cups and chocolate chips.
You'll finish the bars with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts.
Or not.
Frito Bars are one of those desserts that make you pause for a moment.
A corn chip/pretzel crust for a dessert bar?
Really?
Yes, really.
I found this recipe in a newspaper based somewhere in the middle of the country, South Dakota maybe?
Corn chip bars would be a perfect dessert for game day or a barbecue.
As much as I love to make cookies, bar desserts, made in a 9x13 pan or an 8x8 pan are nice because you just slice and serve.
If you're a fan of dessert bar cookies, try S'mores Bars or Easy, Chewy M&M Cookie Bars + What to Make with M&M's or Lemon Bar Recipe (Make in One Bowl).
You might also like Christmas Muddy Buddies.
Ingredients
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Fritos or corn chips
- Pretzels
- Miniature peanut butter cups
- chocolate chips
- chopped salted peanuts
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Crush corn chips and pretzels.
- Make the crust by melting brown sugar and butter in a sauce pot.
- Add the corn chip/pretzel mixture into the sauce pot and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Pour into a parchment or foil-lined sheet pan.
- Bake the crust at 350 for 8 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place unwrapped miniature peanut butter cups on top of the crust.
- Layer chocolate chips over the top.
- Put pan back in oven for three to five minutes to melt the chocolate.
- Remove and spread chocolate around with an offset spatula.
- Sprinkle with chopped peanuts (optional) and chill until set.
Hint: Be sure to line the sheet pan with either parchment paper or quick release foil for easy clean up.
There are a lot of variations for Frito Bar recipes, several of them are for no-bake bars such as these Frito bars that use corn syrup and peanut butter.
Frito Bar Recipe Notes
- Butter--you can substitute margarine
- Brown Sugar--this adds a toasty flavor, you can substitute granulated sugar in a pinch
- Fritos or corn chips-make sure you're using plain Fritos or corn chips--no barbecue or ranch
- Pretzels
- Miniature peanut butter cups--use regular size peanut butter cups if you'd like as long as the candy equals about six ounces.
- Chocolate chips-I used milk chocolate, you can use semi-sweet or peanut-butter or butterscotch chips
- Chopped salted peanuts-I would stick with peanuts. This is a bar that celebrates corn chips and peanut butter. But, if you must, you can use another nut if you like, pecans or walnuts just make sure they're chopped well.
Equipment
This is a recipe that doesn't require much equipment, really just a sauce pot for melting brown sugar and butter and a 13x9 pan for layering the ingredients.
I prefer an aluminum 13x9 pan but you can use a glass or ceramic pan.
Storage
Store at room temperature for up to three days.
These bars freeze well.
Wrap well, first in a plastic wrap or foil then tuck inside a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to three months.
Top tip
These bars are crumbly so don't expect perfect, clean cut slices.
Before chilling the bars, use a bench scraper to score the bars, which means making a faint line.
Once the bars have chilled, follow the lines with a sharp, serrated knife to slice them.
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Recipe
Best, Easy Frito Bars
Frito Bars are a super easy, salty, sweet dessert made in a 9x13 pan, and feature a corn chips/pretzel crust with peanut butter cups, chocolate and peanuts.
Ingredients
- 2 cups pretzels
- 1 cup corn chips, such as Fritos
- 12 miniature peanut-butter cup candies or six ounces
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- ½ cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped peanuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper or no-stick (release) foil.
Place pretzels and corn chips in a 1-gallon zipper-style plastic bag.
Smash with a meat mallet or crush using a rolling pin. Or if you're in a hurry, use your food processor.
Pour into the 13x9 pan.
Unwrap peanut-butter cups and place randomly on top of the pretzel/frito mixture in the 13 x 9 pan
On medium heat, melt butter and sugar together, stirring constantly.
Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 1 minute.
Pour over pretzel-corn chip mixture in the baking pan and stir to combine.
Bake for 8 minutes at 350.
Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over mix; return to the hot oven for 1 minute.
Remove pan from the oven. With a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, spread the softened chocolate over the mixture.
Sprinkle with optional chopped peanuts, if desired.
Allow to cool, then move the pan to the refrigerator and chill thoroughly.
Lift from the pan and cut into 24 bars.
Store at room temperature or in refrigerator for up to a week or store in freezer safe container for up to two months.
Makes 24 bars.
Notes
Be sure to line the 13x9 pan with parchment paper or foil. Otherwise, you're going to have an unpleasant mess to scrub out.
These are crumbly bars. They may be hard to slice when you remove them from the refrigerator. Scoring the bars (making slight indentations with a sharp knife or a bench scraper) before you chill them may make slicing easier.
Recommended Products
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Wilton Recipe Right Non-Stick 9 x 13-Inch Pan -
Pro Dough Pastry Scraper/Cutter/Chopper Stainless Steel Mirror Polished with Measuring Scale Multipurpose- Cake, Pizza Cutter - Pastry Bread Separator Scale Knife (1)
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Katbite 200Pcs 12x16/9x13 Inch Heavy Duty Parchment Paper, Parchment Paper Sheets for Baking Cookies, Cooking, Frying, Air Fryer, Grilling Rack, Oven（12x16 Inch 200 Pcs)
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 202Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 1mgSodium 151mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 2gSugar 14gProtein 3g
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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XO, Jennifer
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