Loaded Nachos

Name: Loaded Nachos
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 1/4 pound slab or thick-cut bacon, diced; 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced; 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, like chuck or sirloin; 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced; 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, hot or mild; 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper; 1 teaspoon light brown sugar; 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/2 to 2/3 cup chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium, or water; 1 12- to-16-ounce bag corn tortilla chips; 1/2 head iceberg or romaine lettuce, shredded; 1/2 cup pickled jalapeños; 2 avocados, pitted and sliced; 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese; 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese; 1/2 cup crumbled Cotija cheese; 3 radishes, cleaned and thinly sliced; 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters; 1/2 cup sour cream; 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves; 2 limes, cut into eighths, for garnish; Hot sauce, if desired

By Sam Sifton

Updated Aug. 26, 2022

Loaded Nachos — Sang An for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(1,624)
Comments: Read comments

Nachos are among the most ubiquitous of America’s pastime foods. At ballgames, carnivals or bowling alleys you can expect a pile of limp tortilla chips, drowned in warm yellow cheese product. But nachos should, and can, be better than this.

Try them showered in good shredded cheese and accompanied by a fragrant meat sauce, the fire of jalapeños, the chill and silkiness of sour cream, the tart excellence of a good tomato, with shredded lettuce and thin-sliced radishes. Here is avocado; there, the awesome funk of chopped cilantro.

Want some bacon on there as well, or a slash of hot sauce? Go to! Some will add beans. Others black olives, chopped raw onion. Please do.

But take care to layer well. Layering is the key to loaded nacho perfection.

Featured in: Super Bowl 50 Playbook Calls for Loaded Nachos

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

¼pound slab or thick-cut bacon, diced
1medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
1½pounds ground beef, like chuck or sirloin
3cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2tablespoons ancho chile powder
1tablespoon ground cumin
2teaspoons kosher salt
2teaspoons smoked paprika, hot or mild
1½teaspoons black pepper
1teaspoon light brown sugar
1teaspoon cornstarch
½teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ to ⅔cup chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium, or water
112- to-16-ounce bag corn tortilla chips
½head iceberg or romaine lettuce, shredded
½cup pickled jalapeños
2avocados, pitted and sliced
2cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1½cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
½cup crumbled Cotija cheese
3radishes, cleaned and thinly sliced
2cups cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters
½cup sour cream
½cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
2limes, cut into eighths, for garnish
Hot sauce, if desired

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put a large sauté pan with high sides over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pieces are crisp, about 5 to 7 minutes, then remove the bacon and set aside.
Step 2
Add the onions to the bacon fat and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they have softened and started to go brown around the edges, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and garlic and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chile powder, cumin, salt, paprika, black pepper, sugar, cornstarch and red pepper flakes and stir to combine and toast the spices. Add enough chicken stock or water to loosen the mixture, and allow it to simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. (Add a little more stock or water if mixture is too thick.)
Step 3
Assemble the nachos on a half sheet pan: Put a layer of tortilla chips on the pan and cover with about ⅓ of the meat sauce, then add about ⅓ of the lettuce, ⅓ of the jalapeños, some avocado slices and a handful of the Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses. Top with more tortilla chips, more meat sauce, more lettuce, jalapeños, avocado and cheese, then make a final layer of chips, meat, bacon, jalapeños, avocado and cheese. Top with crumbled Cotija cheese and slide the sheet pan into the oven to bake until the cheeses have melted through, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 4
Top cooked nachos with the sliced radishes and tomatoes, and dot the tray with teaspoons of sour cream. Scatter the cilantro over the top and serve, accompanied by limes and hot sauce.

FAQS

In these loaded nachos, Monterey Jack, Cheddar and cotija melt into the layers of tortilla chips. If you would prefer a silky-smooth nacho cheese sauce like queso, you can make it from scratch following this recipe. It comes together easily by combining processed American cheese like Velveeta in a saucepan with water and canned diced tomatoes with chiles. When heated gently and stirred often, the blend becomes smooth, creamy queso.
Homemade tortilla chips deliver a hearty crunch, with a texture that can withstand even the most generous mound of nacho toppings. To make them, stack corn tortillas and cut into six even wedges. Fry in a large heavy skillet with an inch of 350-degree vegetable oil until golden and crisp (or arrange on baking sheets, spray with oil and bake in a 375-degree oven). Be sure to sprinkle the chips with salt while they’re hot.
The joy of nachos is in the collision of toppings both hot and cold, creamy and crunchy, so it’s best to prep the chips and toppings separately and assemble them just before serving. Meat sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator (in fact, the flavor will only deepen as it chills); rewarm in a saucepan just before using. Cheese can be shredded and refrigerated in advance, and queso can be refrigerated for up to a week. Fresh produce like tomatoes, onion and chiles can be chopped and refrigerated the morning the nachos will be served. (Cut avocados right before serving since they discolor.)
First off, give a gift to your future self and line the sheet pan with heavy-duty foil (and, if you want, coat the foil with nonstick spray for good measure) before assembling the nachos. To clean off a baking sheet that hasn’t been lined, scrape off any remaining debris with a stiff metal spatula, then soak the sheet pan in boiling water for an hour or two. Pour off the liquid, then use an abrasive sponge and dishwashing soap to scrub off anything that remains.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,624 user ratings

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Comments

Not-my-chos7 years ago

Beware.

Any self respecting nacho eater and assembler knows that cold toppings are added in a second layer after the cheese has melted, the chips have bronzed, and the meat, beans, etc. have warmed. Sifton seems to agree in part, but really who wants to eat wilted warm lettuce and avocados from a 400 degree oven?

mc7 years ago

Ahem. Cooking avocados is an offense against God and man. Please add the avocados when you remove the nachos from the oven. Gracias.

Sam Sifton7 years ago

Not ALL the lettuce and avocado. Just some of it, deep down in the middle of the nachos: sports-bar style. I like the melty-layering effect, but if you want to make nachos and pile a salad on top of it, go right ahead. That works, too!

Theresa F4 weeks ago

I made these with Morningstar plant-based "burger" and imitation bacon bits and it was fine. (not vegetarians but try to avoid beef). Did bake with the avocados and lettuce although I wondered about that and it was fine, it's not enough time to make them yuck, although I can see that they could be added after as well. Not sure how you are supposed to eat these however! Messy. But they were a nice change.

GOSS1 month ago

What on earth is the lettuce doing in here. Absolutely not.

Rebecca4 months ago

Excellent recipe to which I like to add chopped olives and black beans. Go BIRDS!

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