Preppy Kitchen Recipes Appetizers Nachos Recipe

Nachos Recipe

By John Kanell Updated May 2, 2022
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Perfect as a snack, party appetizer, or even a meal, these Nachos are going to steal the show! Loaded with melted cheese, ground beef, and all your favorite toppings, this nachos recipe is quick, easy, and delicious! It’s a classic comfort food that everyone will love.

A plate with a serving of nachos by a drink and sheet pan of more nachos.

Easily customized to your cravings, these nachos aren’t just for game day! Perfect for any occasion, this homemade nachos recipe is excellent for feeding a crowd or just your family. There’s rarely any left whenever I bring out a hot tray of these nachos. With the melty cheese paired with flavorful beef and toppings, each bite is bursting with all kinds of flavors and textures.

These nachos always hit the spot, and even better, this is one of those recipes where you don’t have to measure everything precisely. Nachos are pretty flexible when it comes to ingredients, and there’s no wrong way to top your tortilla chips. Want to make a party out of this? Serve the nachos up with my birria tacos and churros!

What You Need to Make This Recipe

Ingredients needed to make nachos.

Ground beef — if you do not want to drain fat from the skillet when you cook the beef, use lean beef.

Tortilla chips — try to use the thickest chips you can find, as you want them to be sturdy enough to hold up the toppings. If you get thin chips, they may fall apart as you try to lift the nachos.

Cheese — I use shredded Colby Jack cheese, but you can also use mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese, or even habañero cheese for extra heat.

Toppings — nachos are never complete without toppings! I top my nachos with black beans, pico de gallo, cilantro, jalapeño, sour cream, salsa, chopped green onion, black olives, and guacamole. It’s entirely up to you which toppings you add, but be careful not to overload the nachos.

How to Make Nachos

Set of two photos showing beef cooked in a skillet and cheese added to tortilla chips.

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onion and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off the fat if there is a good amount. Stir in the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes, breaking up any large pieces with the spoon while stirring. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Spread the tortilla chips out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Place in a 350F oven for 5 minutes to toast and warm. Sprinkle two-thirds of the cheese over the chips.

Set of two photos showing beans and other toppings

3. Scatter the seasoned beef and black beans over the cheese, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

4. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the beef is heated through, and the cheese is melted. Top with pico de gallo, cilantro, and jalapeno slices. Serve immediately with sour cream, salsa, green onion, black olives, and guacamole, if desired.

A sheet pan of nachos loaded with toppings with more in bowls around it.

Pro Tips for Making This Recipe

Shredding cheese from a block is ideal. Store-bought pre-shredded cheese tends to have a coating to prevent clumping in the bag. The coating prevents the cheese from melting as smoothly.
If you don’t want to use a sheet pan, you can make nachos in a baking dish, cast-iron skillet, or a 9 x 13” pan.
Try to keep everything bite-sized, so everything is small enough to eat in one bite. You don’t want a large chunk of ground beef snapping your chips in half or eating only a mouthful of olives.
Lining the sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil will make cleaning up the beef nachos much more manageable.
If desired, as a shortcut, you can replace the chili powder, cumin, garlic, and salt with 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning.

A tortilla chip being lifted out from a sheet pan of nachos.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I keep these from getting soggy?

Make sure to follow the instructions and do not simply add all the toppings on at once. Baking the tortilla chips with the cheese helps create a buffer between the chips and the toppings, so the tortilla chips do not get soggy. It’s also best to enjoy the nachos as soon as possible as they will become soggy if they sit out for too long.

Do I have to use ground beef?

Instead of using ground beef for these loaded nachos, you can try ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, shredded chicken, carnitas, shredded beef, sliced steak, or whatever meat you have on hand.

What are some other topping ideas?

Want to mix things up and use different toppings? Try topping your nachos with halved cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, corn, pineapple salsa, mango salsa, diced avocado, pickled jalapeños, refried beans, and diced bell peppers.

How do I store leftovers?

If you’re unsure if you’ll be able to finish all the nachos, I recommend only preparing half of the nachos. The cooked beef can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and reheated later to make more nachos. You can always reheat an entire tray of nachos, but some toppings such as guacamole and sour cream will not reheat well in the oven.

Is it better to bake or broil this recipe?

I prefer baking the nachos over broiling them as it allows time for the cheese to melt nicely and evenly. If you broil them, the cheese will end up crisping up instead.

If you’ve tried this Nachos recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!