Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos

Nacho night!

Other than maybe breakfast for dinner, is there any other dinner as fun and easy as nachos? This meaty homemade sheet pan nachos recipe makes a substantial and easy meal full of crunch, texture, and all the right toppings. 

This Easy Sheet Pan Nacho Recipe: Beefy, Cheesy, Fabulous

I have always loved seeing a heap of hot, loaded nachos: that blissful, crispy pile of warm tortilla chips layered beneath scattered gobs of, variously, beans, ground beef, guacamole, olives, pickled jalapeños, and — ideally — so much melted cheese that there’s a 50/50 chance the tortilla chip will collapse under its weight on the way to your mouth.

But for most of my life, I mostly just ate nachos at Mexican restaurants. Rookie mistake. Learning how to make homemade nachos was a game changer. Homemade nachos are just as good (if not better) and so simple to make.

There are lots of great sheet pan nacho recipes out there, but I like mine for its determination to be un-fancy. This loaded sheet pan nachos recipe is easy, smothered in goodness, tastes nostalgic and comfy, and takes minutes to prepare and bake in the oven. Learn more.

How to make these simple sheet pan nachos

This sheet pan nachos recipe is so easy because it requires very little actual cooking. Mostly it’s about dumping a bunch of tasty ingredients over tortilla chips, then baking until warm.

Recipe Steps: Homemade Sheet Pan Nachos

1. First, spread a single layer of fresh tortilla chips on a half-sheet pan. A half-sheet pan measures 18 x 13 inches, and I use a full 10-ounce bag of tortilla chips.
2.  In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the beef, onions, beans, and seasoning until cooked fully. Break up the meat as much as possible, so it’s in small crumbles.
3. Spoon the onion and beef mixture over the tortilla chips. Add the cheese, the olives, and jalapeños.
4. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted. Top with sliced scallions, plus generous blobs of guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo as you like.

How do you keep sheet pan nachos from getting soggy?

Keep homemade nachos from getting soggy by layering them correctly, and serving them hot from the oven. More on that below. You want to layer your sheet pan nachos so that the tortilla chips stay crisp, but the entire tortilla chip surface is covered with toppings.

What is the best way to layer homemade nachos?

Layering sheet pan nachos correctly requires two considerations: 1) practicality, and 2) looks. The best way to layer your oven-baked nachos on the sheet pan is like so:

• Bottom layer tortilla chips
• Next, layer the beef and onions,
• Cover with grated cheese
• Top with sliced onion and jalapeños (these will “pop” and look nice when served)
• After baking, add lots of color with guacamole, pico de gallo, and scallions

How long does it take to make sheet pan nachos in the oven?

Not long at all. I’d give the entire nachos recipe, start to finish, about 30 minutes. That’s enough time to prep the nacho ingredients, cook the onion, bean, and beef mixture, and bake. It takes about 10 minutes to bake the sheet pan nachos in the oven.

If you like homemade nachos, you’ll love these other easy sheet pan and beef recipes:

• Blueberry Sheet Pan Pancakes
• Italian Sausage, Peppers + Onions
• Ground Beef Shepherd’s Pie

Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos

The best homemade nachos recipe, ever. This is an easy sheet pan nachos recipe loaded with beef, beans, onions, cheese, and topping. Best of all? Start to finish in 30 minutes.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keywords:: dinner, easy, football, ground beef, mexican, nachos, party, sheet pan, tortilla

Servings: 4 to 6 people

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Ingredients 

1x2x

• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 15-ounce can black or pinto beans, drained
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt + more to taste (I use Diamond Crystal brand)
• 12 turns fresh-cracked black pepper
• 1 10-ounce bag tortilla chips
• 8 ounces shredded Monterey jack or Mexican blend cheese
• 1 2-ounce (or so) can sliced black olives
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sliced, pickled jalapeño peppers, drained
• Pico de gallo, to serve (recipe below)
• Guacamole, to serve
• Sour cream, to serve
• 3 scallions, sliced thin

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, diced onions, and drained beans. Use a cooking spoon or spatula to break up the beef into small pieces, so you have small, chunky crumbles. Add the cumin powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the beef is fully cooked and the onions are translucent. Taste for seasoning. Remove from heat.
• While the beef mixture is cooking, spread the tortilla chips in a single layer on a half-sheet pan. (You can also use this time to measure out and drain the olives and jalapeños.)
• Spoon the beef, bean, and onion mixture over the tortillas. Don't forget the edges! Scatter the shredded cheese all over the chips and beef, followed by the olives and jalapeños.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted.
• Remove from the oven. Top with dollops of pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole, and garnish with the scallion slices. Serve hot.

Notes

A couple of baked sheet pan nachos recipe notes: 

I like to serve this dinner family style, putting the whole sheet pan right in the middle of the table and letting everyone dive in. The sheet pan is hot, though, so be careful! 

You can prep the beef mixture up to two days in advance. Warm before proceeding with the recipe. The baking time may not be enough to warm the beef through if you add it to the tortilla chips cold. 

Feel free to substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if you like. Avoid all-white meat, though. It will be too dry.