Baked Nachos with Ground Beef (Printable view)

Crispy chips loaded with seasoned beef, melted cheese, and vibrant fresh toppings. Perfect for sharing!

# What You Need:

→ Beef Mixture

01 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
02 - 1 pound ground beef
03 - 1 small onion, finely chopped
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 1 teaspoon chili powder
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
07 - 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
08 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
09 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
10 - 1/4 cup tomato sauce

→ Nachos Base

11 - 8 ounces tortilla chips

→ Cheese

12 - 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
13 - 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

→ Toppings

14 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
15 - 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
16 - 1/4 cup sliced black olives
17 - 1/4 cup sliced jalapeños
18 - 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
19 - 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
20 - 1 avocado, diced
21 - 1/2 cup sour cream
22 - 1/2 cup salsa

# How To Make:

01 - Set oven to 400°F and allow to reach full temperature.
02 - Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, cooking for 2 minutes until fragrant.
03 - Add ground beef to the skillet and cook until fully browned, breaking apart with a spoon, approximately 5 minutes. Drain excess fat if necessary.
04 - Stir in chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
05 - Arrange half the tortilla chips on a large baking sheet. Top with half the beef mixture and half the combined cheeses. Layer remaining chips, beef mixture, and cheese.
06 - Place baking sheet in preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is completely melted and bubbling.
07 - Remove from oven and immediately distribute cherry tomatoes, black beans, olives, jalapeños, and red onion over the melted cheese.
08 - Garnish with fresh cilantro and diced avocado. Serve immediately while hot, with sour cream and salsa offered on the side.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Everything cooks in under half an hour, so you can go from hungry to happy without missing the game.
  • The layered cheese situation means every single chip gets its fair share of melty goodness.
  • You can pile on whatever toppings you have lying around and it still tastes like you knew what you were doing.
  • It feeds a crowd without making you stand over the stove pretending to be a short-order cook.
02 -
  • Layer the chips and toppings instead of dumping everything on at once, or you will end up with naked chips at the bottom and a soggy pile on top.
  • Add the fresh toppings after baking, not before, so the tomatoes stay firm and the avocado does not turn into brown mush.
  • Use a big enough pan to spread the chips out, because crowding them leads to uneven melting and some chips hogging all the cheese.
03 -
  • Shred your own cheese from a block instead of using pre-shredded, it melts smoother and does not have that weird coating.
  • Warm your tortilla chips in the oven for a minute before layering if they have been sitting in the pantry for a while, it brings them back to life.
  • Drizzle a little of the beef drippings over the chips before adding cheese for extra flavor that soaks into every bite.
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