Beef Nachos

At a glance

What stands out: These straightforward oven-baked beef nachos are made with savory, seasoned ground beef and melty cheese layered over crunchy tortilla chips. Load up with your favorite nacho toppings for a speedy and tasty meal or appetizer!

How long it takes: 20 minutes to prep, 10 to 12 minutes in the oven
Equipment you’ll need: skillet, large sheet pan
Servings: 4

On busy weeknights, nothing beats a tray of cheesy beef nachos served hot from the oven. It’s personally one of our go-to recipes – all it takes is about 10 minutes in the oven, and then you can get creative with toppings!

These nachos taste great topped with all the fixings: diced tomatoes and avocado, salsa, sour cream – anything you’d like. You’re going to love this simple yet super-flavorful recipe for a standby from-scratch nachos.

Popular Beef Nachos

Straightforward to mix. This recipe comes together in a flash. Simply sauté your taco beef in a skillet with some veggies, layer it over your tortilla chips, then bake.

Fully loaded. You can be as creative as you’d like when it comes to topping your nachos. You can treat them like a taco, anything goes!

Versatile. Whether you’re after a crowd-pleasing party appetizer or a fun weeknight meal, these savory ground beef nachos have you covered. They’re hearty enough as a main and shareable as a snack.

What goes in

• Ground Beef – Hearty ground beef takes these from-scratch nachos from appetizer to main! We make our taco meat with lean ground beef (92%). Feel free to mix things up with half beef, half pork, or ground chicken or turkey. Keep reading for straightforward nachos variations.
• Onion and Green Pepper – To sauté with the beef for additional flavor. You’ll need one small onion and about half of a green pepper, diced up finely.
• Taco Seasoning – Use a package of your favorite store-bought seasoning, or make from-scratch taco seasoning. It’s straightforward!
• Tortilla Chips – You’ll need one bag of your preferred brand of sturdy tortilla chips. Choose chips that are thick enough to hold up with the toppings. If you have time, make your own from-scratch tortilla chips in the air fryer!
• Cheese – we use a combination of grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. You can substitute another type of cheese or your own blend, see below.

What Cheese Is Best for Nachos?

A standby types of cheese for nachos are freshly grated, melty varieties. We use a blend of Monterey Jack and cheddar, but you can also try Pepper Jack, Colby, or a Mexican variety like queso blanco or Cotija cheese. The type of cheese and exact quantities you use on your nachos are flexible (cheese is an ingredient we measure with our hearts).

How it comes together

While the oven preheats to a toasty 400ºF, line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for straightforward cleanup. We also like to give the lined pan a speedy coating of nonstick spray. Then, prepare a speedy and straightforward ground beef mixture:

Brown the beef. Add the beef to a large skillet with the diced pepper and onion. Saute the beef and veggies, stirring often, until the meat is browned and the onions are cooked through.

Add seasoning. Next, stir in your taco seasoning and water. Most store-bought taco seasoning already contains thickeners. However, if you’re using from-scratch, sprinkle in a spoonful of flour at the same time as the seasoning to help thicken the beef mixture while it cooks.

Cook. Continue to cook the beef until it’s well coated in seasoning, and the water is mostly absorbed or evaporated.

Assembling Nachos

When your seasoned ground beef is cooked, you’re ready to layer and bake your beef nachos. Here’s how to do it:

• Start with tortilla chips. Take out your prepared baking pan and spread the tortilla chips over the pan in an even layer.
• Layer the cheese and beef. Next, sprinkle on half the shredded cheese, followed by the beef mixture, and more cheese.
• Bake. Pop your nachos into the oven at 400ºF and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Try not to overbake the nachos. All that’s left to do is to pile on your favorite nacho toppings (see below) and dig in.

Sheet Pans

We love making nachos on a big 11 x 17 inch baking sheet with a rim (sheet pan). The extra surface area means even more crunchy, cheesy, beefy goodness, all in one pan. Plus, you can use a sheet pan for loads of other recipes, from baking to roasting.

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Nacho Toppings

What toppings do you put on nachos? The short answer: any toppings you like! We love these beef nachos garnished with chopped fresh cilantro, from-scratch salsa or pico de gallo, and dollops of sour cream. Plus, these straightforward ideas:

• Guacamole or diced avocado (or creamy avocado dressing)
• Salsa verde
• Diced tomatoes
• Black olives
• Jalapeños
• Spicy pickled veggies or pickled red onions
• Crumbled cotija cheese
• Lime wedges

Tips for Succcess

Keep these pro tips in mind for a standby from-scratch nachos:

Use the right tortilla chips. For best results, use thick-cut, sturdy tortilla chips when making nachos. Thin, crispy tortilla chips are more likely to break and become soggy under heavier toppings.

Grate the cheese fresh and by hand. Storebought pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt nearly as smoothly as freshly grated cheese because of anti-caking additives.

Serve nachos right away. These beef nachos taste a standby when they’re fresh and hot from the oven!

Possible Recipe Variations

Looking for more ways to turn these baked nachos into a dish the whole family will love? Try these straightforward beef nachos variations:

• Give these beef nachos a spicy kick: Sprinkle hot sauce into the beef mixture. You could also use cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, or trade Monterey Jack for Pepper Jack cheese. You could also stir in from-scratch enchilada sauce into the beef instead of using taco seasoning. Drizzle extra enchilada sauce over the nachos before adding cheese.
• Heartier beef nachos: Stir canned black beans or pinto beans into the beef mixture at the end of cooking. Remember to rinse and drain your canned beans beforehand.
• Make chicken nachos. For a leaner option, swap ground chicken for the ground beef. You could also top your nachos with leftover salsa chicken.
• Use a different-sized pan. We use a jumbo 11 x 17 inch sheet pan, but you can bake these nachos on a 9 x 13 inch baking pan if that’s what you have on hand.
• Use Doritos in place of regular tortilla chips. Use any flavor you’d like to give your nachos a fun twist. Another option is to make sheet pan quesadillas which are somewhat similar to nachos but use tortillas instead of chips.
• Make your own tortilla chips. It’s speedy and straightforward in the air fryer (recipe linked in the ingredients earlier), or you can make baked tortilla chips while the oven is hot. All you need is corn tortillas and a little oil or oil spray. Another alternative is taco cups which are sort of a mash-up of nachos and tacos.
• For a vegetarian version, try our recipe for vegetarian nachos drizzled with creamy cilantro lime dressing.

Troubleshooting: Soggy Nachos

If your nachos are soggy, it could be that you used thin tortilla chips, or it could also be that you didn’t let enough water evaporate from the beef mixture before assembling your nachos. Give the beef enough time to cook, and serve the nachos right after baking.

What to Serve With Beef Nachos

Appetizers: We love nachos as a straightforward appetizer served alongside corn salsa or refried bean dip. Be sure to have plenty of extra tortilla chips on hand.

Sides: Nachos make a great addition to taco night. Serve next to lighter ground turkey tacos with a side of zesty Mexican rice. For a lighter option, try a taco salad. Of course, all this Tex-Mex energy pairs deliciously with a from-scratch pineapple margarita!

Game Day: A big tray of nachos makes the reliable starter on Game Day before we bring out a batch of our favorite beef chili and pub-style chili lime chicken wings with dipping sauce. (If you’re looking for more game day inspiration, be sure to check out our collection of Bowl recipes!)

Storing & Reheating Leftovers

Storage and Reheating: Nachos are best served hot right from the oven. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The chips will become soggier the longer they sit. To reheat, spread leftover nachos onto a baking sheet and warm them in the oven at 350ºF.

Freezer/Make Ahead: While you can’t freeze baked nachos, you can prepare the ground beef mixture ahead and freeze it airtight for up to 3 months. Defrost the beef in the fridge before assembling the nachos as directed.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #33 or Meal Plan #91. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week! We add a new meal plan weekly.

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• Yield: 4
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes
• Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef (92/8)
• ½ cup finely diced onion ( 1 small onion)
• ½ cup finely diced green pepper (about ½ of a bell pepper)
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (or 1.25 ounce package)
• ¼ cup water
• 8 to 10 ounces tortilla chips (one standard size bag)
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, more if desired
• 1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, more if desired
• Fresh cilantro, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, diced tomatoes, pickled jalapeños for serving

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a 11 x 17-inch sheet pan with foil or parchment paper, if desired, for easy clean up. Spray pan, foil, or parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and green pepper to the skillet. Cook, breaking up meat and stirring frequently, until meat is cooked through and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in taco seasoning (see note) and ¼ cup water. Cook until most of the water has evaporated and meat is coated with seasoning.
4. Spread the tortilla chips in an even layer on prepared baking sheet. Top with half of cheese (either kind, or a mix of both), then the cooked beef mixture and then the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
6. Serve immediately with desired toppings.

Notes

Taco seasoning: If you use taco seasoning without a thickener, add 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour at the same time you add the taco seasoning.

Possible add-ins: For a spicier dish, add a few dashes of hot sauce to the beef mixture, or use pepper jack cheese instead of Monterey jack. For heartier nachos, stir a can (15 oz.) of rinsed and drained beans (black or pinto) into the beef mixture when it’s done cooking.

Storage and reheating: Nachos are best served hot right from the oven. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The chips will become soggier the longer they sit. To reheat, spread leftover nachos onto a baking sheet and warm them in the oven at 350ºF.