Nachos are a go-to snack for me—they’re so easy to make and everyone loves them.
This easy nachos recipe is loaded with zesty seasoned beef and of course lots of shredded cheese. Simply fill a sheet pan and bake until golden and bubbly!
Add your favorite toppings (check out our favorites below) and serve with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.
Ingredient Tips for Nachos
Start with tortilla chips and cheese… and then add in your favorite toppings.
- Tortilla Chips: You can’t have a nacho recipe without tortilla chips! Skip the flavored ones (Doritos don’t make great nachos). Choose thicker tortilla chips to stand up to the toppings; the thin cantina-style chips break easily.
- Cheese: The best nacho recipe is one with lots of cheese! I like a blend of cheddar and Monterey jack cheese.
- Shortcut: Use pre-shredded cheese blends like Mexican or TexMex blends.
- Meat: I love to ‘beef’ up this recipe with seasoned ground beef & black beans—you can use both or just one. Nachos are a great way to use leftover taco meat, steak, or other meats.
Our Favorite Toppings for Nachos
Nachos make a great appetizer but are hearty and packed with goodness, so they’re great as a meal too! Here’s our list of fixings that are “nacho supreme” worthy!
- Add these BEFORE baking: sliced black olives, red onions, canned or grilled corn, fresh jalapeños.
- Add these AFTER baking: pickled jalapenos, diced tomatoes, green onions, diced avocado, or cilantro.
- Server these ON THE SIDE: guacamole, pico de Gallo, salsa, sour cream, lime wedges.
Reheating Leftover Nachos
The best nachos are enjoyed right away when the tortilla chips are fresh and crunchy! If you have lots left over, there are a couple of options:
Option 1: Refrigerate. Bake on a pan or air fryer at 400°F until hot, about 7 minutes. The chips themselves won’t crisp up, but they still taste great.
Option 2: Discard the chips and save the nacho topping in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Add it to fresh chips and bake like new.
Leftovers can be added to Doritos casserole, taco casserole, or stirred into tortilla soup!
Tex Mex Favorites
Party food calls for more party food! Here’s a list of Mexican inspired faves:
Did you make these Easy Cheesy Nachos? Leave a rating and a comment below!
Easy Cheesy Nachos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 ounce taco seasoning 1 packet
- ⅓ cup water
- ⅔ cup canned black beans drained and rinsed, optional
- 8 ounces tortilla chips
- 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend or cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 green onions thinly sliced, divided
- toppings as desired see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in the taco seasoning, water, and black beans if using. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes or until the water is mostly evaporated.
- Meanwhile, spread the tortilla chips onto a rimmed baking sheet. Top with half of the cheese, the beef mixture, and then the remaining cheese. Sprinkle with half of the green onions.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add the remaining green onions & desired toppings. Serve with salsa and sour cream.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Beef, Dinner, Lunch, Party Food
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Shout out to Jealith for directions on making my own tortilla chips! That came out perfectly!
I had some leftover pulled pork, and adapted this recipe to fit what I had on hand. The addition of the black beans is genius! I made my own tortilla chips, and had zero leftovers! My family has asked me to make this again soon. Thank you!
I made this last night and it was amazing. My family loved it. Thanks for the recipe
Stacey
The best
Glad you enjoyed it, Melonie.
love your recipes@
Thank you, Barbara.
What size baking sheet does this need? My boat oven will only take a 13×9 pan. Thank you.
If needed, you can layer them in a 9×13.
Great – thanks for the speedy reply. Looking forward to trying them.
look good sound yummy, will definitely try this one.
another tasty recipe by spend with pennies!we had a lot of toppings and that was dinner thanx
Hello Nina. Thank you for the positive comments. I am glad that you enjoyed this recipe.
These were great! I cut back the shredded cheese by half and spooned homemade nacho cheese sauce when the came out of the oven. I loved the technique to simmer beans with the meat, and threw some frozen corn to simmer too. Great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, MJ!
I’ve made some awesome recipes from here,
thanks so much for delivering these to my email everyday.
So happy you are enjoying them!
Shouln’t you melt the cheese on top of chips so they don’t get soggy??
Hi Jo, you can if you prefer. We find layering the beef and cheese on top of the chips makes sure you get that delicious topping in every bite still without soggy chips!
Love the recipe! I add a few extra topping like refried beans, onions and peppers but the main thing I do differently is make my own chips. Cut tortillas in half then again so each one gives you 4 triangles. Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with oil Lightly spray each piece with oil and bake at 350 degrees till crisp. Doesn’t take long. Sprinkle with kosher salt and remove to let cool. You can use either flour or corn tortillas for this, your choice. Tortillas keep for a long time so chips can always be made fresh.
Thanks for sharing that, Jealith! Your chip recipe sounds delicious.
I have thrown out too many bags of stale opened store bought tortilla chips in my life time till I found this online tip. I heat my oven to 200 degrees and make a layer, can overlap, of stale chips on a cookie sheet. Put them in the oven for 20 minutes or more and WHA LA! The humidity from air exposure makes them stale so the nice warming evaporates the humidity and that great corn crunch comes back. At almost $4 a bag now give it a try, personally I was impressed.
Thanks for sharing that tip, Patty!
Thanks for the tip about recovering stale tortilla chips!
Voila!
PS…. Tortilla chips also freeze very well. You can eat them right out of the freezer!