Ultimate Nachos
Updated February 03, 2025
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Quick Summary
Ultimate Nachos- Crunchy, salty tortilla chips covered in melty cheese, savory meat, beans, and lots of fresh toppings. This is the BEST nachos recipe! They are easy to make and can be served as an appetizer, snack, or even dinner.
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Why You’ll Love These Nachos
Nachos are the BEST! You can enjoy them as an appetizer, snack, serve them up for game day, or even eat them for dinner! They are good anytime of the day (we even make breakfast nachos) and they are always a crowd pleaser. Who doesn’t love nachos?
When we make nachos, we go ALL out, this is the ULTIMATE Nachos recipe.
- Quick & Easy – Ready in under 20 minutes!
- Loaded with Toppings – The nachos are LOADED! We don’t do wimpy nachos! And there is plenty of cheese involved!
- Customizable – Everyone can enjoy these nachos! Whether you love extra cheese, meat or not meat, guacamole, or a spicy kick, you can tweak the recipe to fit anyone’s personal preferences.
- Perfect for Sharing – Nachos are great for game day, parties, or even an easy meal!
- Crowd-Pleaser – Nachos are a universal favorite that almost everyone loves.
Key Ingredients
- Tortilla Chips: Use sturdy, thick chips to hold up under the toppings.
- Ground Beef: Ground beef is classic, but feel free to use ground turkey or chicken. If you want to make vegetarian nachos, just omit the meat and use more beans.
- Spices & Herbs: Use a blend of chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano to season the meat or you can use taco seasoning!
- Beans: We like to use black beans, but you can use pinto beans, refried beans, or even a mix of beans. Make sure you rinse and drain the beans before using.
- Cheese: I recommend grating block cheese instead of buying pre-shredded bagged cheese because it has a powder coating and doesn’t melt as well. You can use cheddar cheese, Monterey jack, Mexican blend, or pepper jack.
How to Make Nachos
- Brown the taco meat: In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef for about 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into small pieces using a wooden spoon. Drain any excess fat.
- Season the meat. Add the seasonings and pour in a little water, let simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Assemble the nachos. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up! Arrange the tortilla chips in a single layer, it’s ok if the chips overlap a little, but don’t stack them too much. You want all of the chips to get covered with cheese! Top with half of the grated cheese, the cooked meat, and the black beans. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven.
- Garnish with toppings. This is the the fun part, go crazy with lots of toppings and serve!
Nacho Toppings
Prep all of the toppings before you put the nachos in the oven so you are ready to go! Make sure all of the toppings are chopped into small pieces so they are easy to top the cheesy chips!
- Onion- diced red onion or sliced green onion
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Sliced black olives
- Fresh chopped cilantro leaves
- Diced avocado or Guacamole
- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- Jalapeño slices
- Pickled Red Onions
- Salsa or Pico de Gallo
- Queso– you can drizzle queso over the top or serve it on the side if you want maximum cheesiness!
Tips for Making the BEST Nachos
- Line the baking sheet. Make sure you line your baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil so the clean up is easy. You don’t want to be scrubbing melted cheese off of the sheet pan, trust me.
- Arrange the chips in a single layer. It’s ok if they overlap a little, but if you pile them up the bottom chips won’t have any cheese on them.
- Layer. Start with cheese, then add your ground beef and beans, and then MORE cheese! You want cheese in every bite!
- Bake at a high temperature. Bake in a 400 degree F oven so the chips crisp up and the cheese melts quickly. It will only take 5 to 10 minutes, so don’t go too far! You don’t want the chips to tburn.
- Toppings. Don’t add the cold/fresh toppings until AFTER the nachos come out of the oven. And wait to add the toppings RIGHT before serving so the chips don’t get soggy, especially with toppings like sour cream, salsa, and tomatoes.
- Serve immediately. Fresh nachos are best, so don’t plan on leftovers, just eat them all in one sitting:)
- Storing toppings. If you have leftover toppings, you can keep them in the fridge and make another batch of fresh, cheesy chips!
More Nachos Recipes
- White Chicken Chili Nachos
- Breakfast Nachos
- Charred Corn & Poblano Black Bean Nachos
- Veggie Sheet Pan Nachos
- Buffalo Chicken Nachos
- Loaded Sweet Potato Nachos
Ultimate Nachos
These cheesy nachos are loaded with savory ground beef, melty cheese, beans, and fresh toppings for the ultimate crowd-pleasing snack. They're easy to make and can be served as an appetizer, snack, or even dinner.
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup water
For the nachos:
- 12 oz bag tortilla chips
- 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained (can use pinto beans or refried beans)
- 4 cups grated cheddar cheese, can use Monterey Jack or a mix
Toppings:
- Diced red onion or sliced green onion
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Sliced black olives
- Fresh chopped cilantro leaves
- Diced avocado or Guacamole
- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- Jalapeño slices
- Pickled Red Onion
- Salsa
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- To make the taco meat: In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef for about 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into small pieces using a wooden spoon. Drain any excess fat. Season with chili powder, cumin, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano. Pour in the water and let simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened. Turn off heat and set aside.
- On a large-rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil, arrange the tortilla chips in single layer, it’s ok if the chips overlap a little. Top with half of the grated cheese, the cooked meat, and the black beans. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and top with your favorite toppings. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nachos are best the day they are made. You can prep the toppings ahead of time.
Nutrition
Calories: 794kcal, Carbohydrates: 59g, Protein: 44g, Fat: 43g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 122mg, Sodium: 1141mg, Potassium: 723mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 1328IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 631mg, Iron: 5mg
Have you tried this recipe?
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I would like to make them meat free but I am still looking for flavor. Would you recommend adding the spices to the black beans?
Sure! You can add spices to the black beans. You will get lots of flavor from the toppings too: pico de gallo, guacamole, pickled red onions, cilantro, etc.
The are great and we followed the directions almost completely but we used round tater tots as a base and made it for dinner.
FUN!
My family loved these! I wanted to try them because I think they will be perfect for a football game party, and I know they will be. We had some extra taco meat and that was perfect for this. Quick and easy and so good!
Glad you loved them!