Nachos Recipe: How to Make Them at Home

Nachos are a Tex-Mex dish of tortilla chips covered with melted cheese or chile con queso, then topped with meat, beans, vegetables and salsa. Traditional nachos are simply tortilla chips with cheese and jalapeños.

To make homemade nachos, spread tortilla chips on a sheet pan in a single layer, add seasoned beef, beans and shredded cheese, then bake at 400°F for 6 to 8 minutes until the cheese melts. Add cold toppings like pico de gallo, guacamole and crema after baking.

This recipe covers how to make nachos in the oven, what to put on nachos, the best cheese, homemade chips, food safety and storage. Start with a pot of warm, silky chile con queso if you like your nachos drenched in cheese sauce.

What Are Nachos?

Nachos are tortilla chips, or totopos, covered with cheese or chile con queso. Common toppings include meats, vegetables and condiments like salsa, guacamole or sour cream.

They are a party food, a bar snack and a stadium classic. Nachos can be as simple as chips, cheese and a slice of jalapeño, or a full sheet pan of beef, beans and toppings.

A single serving of nachos can contain from 300 to 600 calories, depending on the chips, cheese and toppings.

Where Nachos Come From

Nachos were created in 1943 by Ignacio Anaya at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The city sits across the Mexico-US border from Eagle Pass, Texas.

The story goes that wives of officers stationed at nearby Fort Duncan, a US Army post, came in for a snack. Anaya, the maître d', could not find the cook, so he improvised a snack. He cut fried tortillas into triangles, added shredded Colby cheese and sliced pickled jalapeños, and heated them.

He called it "Nacho's Special." Nacho is a common nickname for Ignacio. Anaya later opened his own place, Nacho's Restaurant, in Piedras Negras. His recipe was printed in the 1954 St. Anne's Cookbook.

Here is how nachos spread from there:

• 1943: Ignacio Anaya creates the dish in Piedras Negras
• 1949: First known use of "nachos" in an English-language book
• 1954: Anaya's recipe appears in the St. Anne's Cookbook
• 1976: Frank Liberto of Ricos Products sells nachos with cheese sauce at Texas Rangers games in Arlington, the start of "ballpark nachos"
• 1978: Sportscaster Howard Cosell's mentions on Monday Night Football spread the word

Today, Piedras Negras hosts an International Nacho Festival each October. In the United States, National Nacho Day falls on November 6.

Nachos Ingredients

This recipe makes one large sheet pan, enough for 4 to 6 people as a snack or 3 to 4 as dinner.

• 1 bag (12 to 13 ounces) thick tortilla chips
• 1 pound ground beef (85% lean)
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups shredded cheese: half Monterey Jack or asadero, half cheddar (about 12 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sliced pickled jalapeños
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives (optional)

Cold toppings, added after baking:

• 1 cup pico de gallo
• 1 cup guacamole
• 1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Seasoned Ground Beef

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican if you have it)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup water or broth

Equipment

• Large rimmed sheet pan (18 x 13 inches)
• Parchment paper or foil
• Large skillet
• Box grater
• Instant-read thermometer

How to Make Nachos in the Oven

1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center. Line the sheet pan with parchment or foil.
2. Brown the beef. Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up, for 6 to 8 minutes. Cook it to 160°F with no pink left. Drain the fat.
3. Season the beef. Stir in the spices, salt and water. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes, until the liquid is mostly gone and the beef is glossy.
4. Warm the beans. Add the black beans to the skillet for the last minute, just to warm them.
5. Layer one. Spread half the chips on the pan in a single, slightly overlapping layer. Top with half the beef and beans, then half the cheese.
6. Layer two. Add the rest of the chips, beef, beans and cheese. Scatter the jalapeños and olives over the top.
7. Bake. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling at the edges. Watch closely after 5 minutes.
8. Add cold toppings. Spoon on the pico de gallo, guacamole and crema. Scatter green onions and cilantro.
9. Serve right away. Serve on the pan with lime wedges.

Two thin layers beat one thick pile. Every chip gets cheese, and the bottom layer does not steam and go soft.

What to Put on Nachos

Sort your toppings into two groups: those that go in the oven, and those that go on after.

• Shredded cheese or queso: Before baking (why: It needs heat to melt)
• Seasoned beef, chicken or steak: Before baking (why: It warms and sets under the cheese)
• Black or refried beans: Before baking (why: They hold heat and add body)
• Pickled jalapeños, olives: Before baking (why: They hold up in the oven)
• Pico de gallo or salsa: After baking (why: Heat makes it watery)
• Guacamole: After baking (why: Heat turns it brown and loose)
• Crema or sour cream: After baking (why: Heat makes it break)
• Green onions, cilantro, radish: After baking (why: They stay fresh and crisp)

A chunky, drained pico de gallo works better than a thin blended salsa, which soaks the chips. Make a batch from this fresh tomato salsa recipe, and serve a bowl of creamy smashed-avocado guacamole alongside.

Best Cheese for Nachos

Shredded cheese and cheese sauce give two different kinds of nachos.

• Shredded cheese gives baked nachos with browned, stretchy cheese. Use a good melter: Monterey Jack, asadero or a Mexican blend. Add some cheddar for color and sharpness.
• Cheese sauce (queso) gives soft, drenched ballpark-style nachos. Pour warm queso over chips just before serving.
• Both is the restaurant move. Bake the nachos with shredded cheese, then drizzle warm queso over the top.

Shred cheese from a block for the smoothest melt. Colby, the cheese Anaya used, is a good mild choice too.

Other Ways to Make Nachos

Ballpark Nachos with Queso

Warm 2 cups queso in a saucepan until smooth and pourable. Pile chips on a platter, ladle the queso over them, and top with pickled jalapeños. No oven needed.

Microwave Nachos for One

Spread a single layer of chips on a microwave-safe plate. Top with 1/2 cup shredded cheese and a few jalapeños. Microwave on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until melted.

Homemade Tortilla Chips

Fresh chips make the best nachos. Cut 12 corn tortillas into 6 wedges each. Fry them in 1 inch of oil at 350°F for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and crisp. Drain and salt right away.

To bake instead, brush the wedges lightly with oil and bake at 400°F for 12 to 15 minutes, flipping once. Leftover chips are also the base for chilaquiles simmered in salsa.

Tips for Nachos That Stay Crisp

• Choose thick chips. Thin chips break and go soft under heavy toppings.
• Drain everything. Drain the beef fat, the beans and the pico de gallo.
• Use a single wide layer. Use two sheet pans for a crowd instead of one tall pile.
• Keep the oven hot and the bake short. A long, slow bake dries the chips and toughens the cheese.
• Cold toppings go on last. Add them right before serving.
• Serve right away. Nachos are at their best in the first 10 minutes.

Variations

• Chicken nachos. Swap the beef for 2 cups shredded cooked chicken tossed with 1/2 cup salsa so it stays moist.
• Steak nachos. Top with sliced, citrus-marinated grilled carne asada after baking.
• Vegetarian nachos. Double the beans and add roasted corn, peppers and onions.
• Pork green chili nachos. Top with pork chile verde and queso.
• Loaded queso nachos. Use both shredded cheese and warm queso.
• Breakfast nachos. Top with scrambled eggs, chorizo and salsa verde.
• Dessert nachos. Bake cinnamon-sugar flour tortilla chips and drizzle with chocolate or caramel.

High-Altitude Notes for Mountain Kitchens

Breckenridge sits at about 9,600 feet. Good news: oven temperatures are not affected by elevation, so baked nachos need no changes.

Frying homemade chips does change. Lower the frying temperature about 3°F for every 1,000 feet of elevation. At 9,600 feet, fry the chips at about 320°F instead of 350°F, and give them a little longer.

If you cook dried beans from scratch, they will take longer. Water boils at about 193°F at 10,000 feet, compared with 212°F at sea level. Dry mountain air also evaporates liquid faster, so keep the beef from drying out in the skillet.

Food Safety

Cook ground beef to 160°F, and check it with a thermometer. Cook chicken and other poultry to 165°F.

Do not leave nachos with meat, dairy or guacamole out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. At a party, set out smaller pans and refill them.

Storage and Reheating

Nachos are best eaten fresh. Leftovers soften, but they can be saved.

Storage. Scrape off the cold toppings if you can. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, and use them within 3 to 4 days.

Reheating. Spread leftovers on a sheet pan and reheat at 375°F for 5 to 8 minutes, until hot to 165°F. An air fryer at 350°F for 3 to 4 minutes also crisps them well. Avoid the microwave, which makes the chips chewy.

Make ahead. Cook and season the beef up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it. Reheat it before layering. Shred the cheese and chop the toppings earlier in the day.

What to Serve with Nachos

• Drinks. Nachos and a frozen or rocks margarita are a classic pair. See the different styles of margarita to pick one.
• A second dish. Make it a meal with burritos; this steak and bean burrito method shares the same seasoned fillings.
• Street corn. Ears of charred Mexican street corn on the cob make a fresh side.
• Wings and fries. For game day, add wings and seasoned fries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What temperature do you bake nachos at?

Bake nachos at 400°F for 6 to 8 minutes. That is hot enough to melt the cheese quickly before the chips dry out or burn.

How do you keep nachos from getting soggy?

Use thick chips, drain every topping and build two thin layers. Add salsa, guacamole and sour cream only after baking, and serve right away.

Who invented nachos?

Ignacio Anaya invented nachos in 1943 at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico. He called them "Nacho's Special," after his own nickname.

What is the difference between nachos and chips and salsa?

Chips and salsa are a dip: plain chips served with a bowl of salsa. Nachos are chips covered with melted cheese and toppings, usually baked or drenched in queso.

When is National Nacho Day?

National Nacho Day is November 6 in the United States. Piedras Negras, the birthplace of nachos, holds an International Nacho Festival in October.

Mi Casa Nachos in Breckenridge

At Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant & Cantina in Breckenridge, Mi Casa Nachos come loaded. They carry black beans, asadero jack cheese, pico de gallo, green onions, black olives, crema mexicana, guacamole and queso, with seasoned ground beef or shredded chicken. Find them under appetizers on our Mi Casa appetizers and food menu.

From 2 to 5 pm daily, our cantina happy hour specials include nacho-style Cantina Fries: crispy seasoned fries with chile con queso, ground beef, pico de gallo, crema and guac. Kids get their own cheese nachos on the Mi Casa kids menu, and the whole family can refuel at our après-ski cantina steps from Peak 9.