El Charrito

El Charrito is an American Tex-Mex frozen-food brand whose name means “little cowboy” in Spanish. It was introduced in 1980 by Campbell Taggart, a company associated with the El Chico restaurant chain. The brand extended the El Chico restaurant identity into the packaged-frozen-food aisle, offering prepared Mexican-American meals designed for home heating and serving. El Charrito’s product range included frozen entrées such as taquitos, queso, and beef enchiladas. Its most distinctive offering was the Saltillo Dinner, a compartmentalized frozen meal containing two enchiladas—one beef and one cheese—along with Spanish rice and refried beans. The meal’s three-section format and combination of familiar Tex-Mex components made it a recognizable example of the TV-dinner and frozen-entrée format used by the brand. El Charrito formerly produced TV dinners more broadly, placing it within the development of convenient single-serve frozen meals in the United States. The brand’s corporate ownership changed in the mid-1990s. In 1995, Campbell Taggart’s parent company became Earthgrains. Earthgrains chose to concentrate on baked goods and sold El Charrito to Don Miguel Mexican Foods. Don Miguel subsequently became part of MegaMex Foods, placing the brand within a larger Mexican-food portfolio. Public reference material identifies El Charrito with MegaMex and its archived brand materials, although detailed information about current distribution, product availability, manufacturing, management, and sales is limited. El Charrito is best understood as a packaged-food brand rather than as a standalone restaurant operator. Its historical positioning centered on convenient frozen Tex-Mex meals that translated restaurant-style dishes into household portions. The available record emphasizes the brand’s product heritage and ownership transitions rather than a broad advertising history or international expansion. Current operating details should be verified against the latest official brand or MegaMex information.

El Charrito emerged in 1980 as a frozen-food extension of the El Chico restaurant business. Campbell Taggart, the company that introduced the brand, owned the El Chico restaurant chain, giving El Charrito a restaurant-linked identity at a time when packaged frozen meals were an important convenience-food category in the United States. The Spanish name, meaning “little cowboy,” supported the brand’s Tex-Mex presentation. The brand produced frozen TV dinners and related entrées. Its documented offerings included taquitos, queso, and beef enchiladas, while the Saltillo Dinner became its most distinctive named meal. The Saltillo Dinner used a three-compartment tray to separate two enchiladas—one beef and one cheese—from Spanish rice and refried beans. This format combined several established Tex-Mex dishes in a single heat-and-serve product and illustrates the brand’s emphasis on portioned convenience. A significant corporate transition occurred in 1995. Campbell Taggart’s parent company became Earthgrains. Rather than continuing to develop El Charrito as part of a broad food portfolio, Earthgrains focused its business on baked goods and sold the brand to Don Miguel Mexican Foods. Don Miguel later became part of MegaMex Foods, which incorporated El Charrito into a larger Mexican-food corporate structure. The surviving public descriptions provide a concise account of the brand’s origins, products, and ownership history but offer little detail about later product launches, marketing campaigns, executive leadership, manufacturing locations, or financial performance. The brand is therefore documented primarily through its historical association with frozen Tex-Mex meals and its transfer from Campbell Taggart to Earthgrains and then to Don Miguel/MegaMex. Current availability and operating status may vary by product and market and require confirmation from current corporate materials.

• 1995

  Brand sold following Earthgrains transition

  [1]El Charritoen.wikipedia.org

  After Campbell Taggart’s parent company became Earthgrains, Earthgrains shifted its strategic focus toward baked goods and sold El Charrito to Don Miguel Mexican Foods.

• 1980

  Brand introduced

  [1]El Charritoen.wikipedia.org

  Campbell Taggart introduced El Charrito as a brand of Tex-Mex frozen foods connected to the El Chico restaurant chain.

• Don Miguel became part of MegaMex Foods

  [1]El Charritoen.wikipedia.org

  Don Miguel Mexican Foods later became part of MegaMex Foods, placing El Charrito within the MegaMex Mexican-food portfolio.

Convenient frozen Tex-Mex meals and Mexican-American entrées for the United States retail market.

• Frozen Tex-Mex meal

  Saltillo Dinner

  El Charrito’s best-known named meal was a three-compartment frozen dinner containing two enchiladas—one beef and one cheese—served with Spanish rice and refried beans. Its divided tray kept the components distinct and presented a complete heat-and-serve Tex-Mex meal.

• Frozen Tex-Mex entrée

  Taquitos

  Taquitos were among the frozen Tex-Mex entrées associated with El Charrito. The available reference material identifies the product category but does not provide specific fillings, package formats, launch dates, or current availability.

• Mexican-style food product

  Queso

  Queso was included among El Charrito’s documented offerings. Public reference material does not specify whether the product was sold as a standalone frozen item, an entrée component, or in another format.

• Frozen Tex-Mex entrée

  Beef enchiladas

  Beef enchiladas formed part of El Charrito’s frozen entrée range and were also one of the two enchilada varieties in the Saltillo Dinner. Further details about recipes, packaging, and current distribution are not established by the available sources.

• Frozen prepared meal

  TV dinners

  El Charrito formerly produced TV dinners, placing the brand within the American market for portioned, preassembled frozen meals intended to be heated at home. The available sources do not enumerate the full historical TV-dinner lineup.

• 1995

  Earthgrains sold El Charrito to Don Miguel Mexican FoodsM&A

  Background

  Campbell Taggart’s parent company became Earthgrains, which elected to focus on baked goods rather than retain the El Charrito frozen-food brand.

  Action taken

  Earthgrains sold El Charrito to Don Miguel Mexican Foods.

  Aftermath

  Don Miguel later became part of MegaMex Foods, placing El Charrito under the MegaMex corporate umbrella.

  Source

1. 1El Charritoen.wikipedia.org
2. 2MegaMex archived brand materialsmegamexfoods.com