Looking for the ultimate loaded nachos recipe? These sheet pan nachos are piled high with seasoned beef, melty cheese, hearty black beans, and a dollop of sour cream—perfect for any crowd! Whether you’re hosting a game night or planning a Cinco de Mayo celebration, our homemade beef nachos recipe is a must-try appetizer/snack!
Baked sheet pan nachos are the ultimate party snack! And when they are brimming with seasoned beef and melted cheese plus toppings, can you really say no? If you are craving a delicious Mexican nachos recipe, this fully loaded version will hit the sweet spot!
If you're looking for more ideas to feed a crowd, try a Mexican chicken salad and these Mexican deviled eggs to serve along with the nachos.
Why you will love this recipe
- The sheet pan recipe makes for easy prep, serving, and when lined with parchment paper, less mess and easy clean-up too. Give me a sheet pan for making nachos in the oven any day over any other method!
- It is very customizable, and I mean really very customizable. After you are done with the basic layers of beef and cheese, you can add the toppings of your choice. The nachos will taste good literally with anything else! We used black beans, roasted corn, jalapeños, tomatoes, cilantro and sour cream, but you can sub or add in ingredients like sliced avocados (or even guacamole), bell peppers, olives, scallions, salsa, refried beans... or anything else.
- Cheesy, beefy nachos are definitely kid-friendly. If your kids cannot tolerate any heat, just skip the jalapeños and load the chips with the toppings they like. And just like that, you've got a complete meal ready for your little ones.
Ingredients
INGREDIENT NOTES
1. Tortilla or corn chips: Choose sturdy chips that withstand breaking when you load them with the goodies. Thin chips will disintegrate quickly.
2. Cheese: Any good cheese that melts easily will work. I used good ol' cheddar but Monterey Jack or Colby Jack would work well too, as well as any Mexican blend cheese. Just remember not to buy bagged shredded cheese as this is coated with some anti-caking powders that prevent it from melting easily. Go for a block of cheese that you then grate by hand. A little extra work, but so worth it:)
3. Black beans: I used a little less than a half can of black beans for this recipe, drained and rinsed well under cold water to get rid of the metallic taste and residue.
4. Fresh corn: There's nothing like fresh corn kernels scraped off a cob or two. Frozen corn just does not compare!
5. Tomatoes: I used cherry tomatoes, but you don't have to. You can go with regular Roma tomatoes, cut into small chunks as a topping. Don't bake the tomatoes or they will turn into a mush.
Preparation
1. Cook the ground beef: Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet and add the onions and a little chopped garlic. Saute for a minute and add the beef. Saute until the beef is no longer pink, then add the salt and seasonings. Cook until the beef has lost most of its moisture and turned brown. The whole process will take between 8-10 minutes only.
2. Roast the corn in the same skillet: Strip the cob of its corn. Wipe clean (or wash) the skillet in which you cooked the beef and add the butter and just a smidgeon of oil (to prevent the butter from burning). Follow with the chopped garlic and salt. Add the corn and roast on high heat for a couple of minutes. That's it!
Look at this Mexican street corn salad if you don't have a corn stripper and want to strip down the corn quickly and efficiently from the cobs. It takes moments, I promise!
3. Grate the cheese: Grate the block of cheese (keep it in the fridge for a bit if you want to grate it easily) using a cheese grater and keep it covered in a bowl.
4. Do the rest of the prep: Open the can of beans and measure out approximately half a can, slice the jalapeños, halve the cherry tomatoes, and chop the cilantro.
Layering and baking the nachos
1. Now comes the fun part! Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and layer the ingredients:
- spread the tortilla (or corn) chips in a single layer all over the parchment paper.
- sprinkle the beef over the chips generously.
- follow with the grated cheese.
- add the sliced jalapeño, black beans and roasted corn.
2. Now repeat all the layers a second time, starting with the chips and followed by the fixings above.
Note: If you want, you can stick to one layer only and not repeat the layers. This will make for easier scooping. Don't go beyond two layers though as the bottom layers will become soggy with all the heat trapped inside.
Top Tip: Make sure all the toppings are evenly distributed on the chips right from the first layers of beef and cheese. If you want every bite to be the same, your objective should be to have all the ingredients on each chip as far as possible.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit and bake the nachos in the middle rack for 6-8 minutes.
4. Take out the baking tray and pile on the rest of the toppings evenly: the tomatoes, cilantro, and sour cream. Your sheet pan nachos are ready to be served immediately!
How to avoid soggy nachos
There are several tips to prevent your nachos from going soggy, especially when making them for a crowd. Here they are -
1. Do the prep in advance, but assemble the layers at the last minute. You can cook the beef, roast the corn and chop everything a few hours or even a day before you plan to serve the nachos. However, stick the nachos in the oven just before you are ready to serve them so that they reach the table hot and crispy. And don't wait, dig in pronto!
2. Use thick and sturdy tortilla chips. Avoid thin, overly salted chips, as these can break easily.
3. Pre-bake the chips to keep them crisp for longer. Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit and arrange the chips in a single layer on a large sheet pan. Avoid overlapping too much, so they crisp up evenly, and bake for 5 minutes.
4. Bake the nachos at high temps rather than low. Preheat your oven at 400 to 425 Fahrenheit and bake them for 6-8 minutes only. The chips will crisp up and the cheese will melt quickly.
5. Do not bake the nachos with any sauce-like ingredients like sour cream, salsa or guacamole. This will turn the whole dish into a soggy mess before you can say 'nachos'. Also, drain the beans and make sure they are not wet when you add them to the nachos.
6. Optional: Serve the wet ingredients (again, toppings like sour cream, refried beans, sour cream or guacamole) on the side. Serve them in little bowls if you are really serious about getting the perfect crunchy bite.
Fully Loaded Ground Beef Nachos
Equipment
- cooking pan or skillet for cooking the beef, followed by the corn
- Sheet pan for layering the nachos
- parchment paper
- cheese grater
Ingredients
For the beef
- ¼ cup light olive oil
- 1 red onion small, diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp butter
For the corn
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 cobs fresh corn
- ½ tsp sea salt
Other ingredients and toppings
- 1 bag tortilla chips thick, use as required
- 1 block cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack, grated
- 1 jalapeno sliced
- ½ can black beans rinsed and patted dry
- 10 cherry tomatoes sliced halves, or Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tablespoon cilantro
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
Cook the beef
- Heat the olive oil in a pan or skillet and add the diced onions and garlic. Saute for a minute, then add the beef and the salt and seasonings. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until all the liquid released from the beef and onions dries up and the beef is well-cooked and browned.
Cook the corn
- Transfer the cooked beef to a bowl, wipe the pan clean and prep the corn. Strip the cobs of their kernels first. Add the butter and oil to the clean pan and add garlic. Let the garlic cook for a few seconds, then add the corn and salt. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the corn starts charring at the edges. Take out the roasted corn in a bowl and keep it aside.
Layer the ingredients
- Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and arrange the chips on it in a single layer. Sprinkle the cooked beef on the chips generously.
- Top the beef layer with the shredded cheese.
- Add the sliced jalapeño, black beans and roasted corn.
- Now, repeat the layers one more time, starting with the chips, beef, cheese, jalapeños, black beans and corn.
Bake the nachos
- Place the sheet pan in the middle rack of your oven and bake them for 6-8 minutes. Once the cheese has melted completely, remove the pan from the pan
Top up again
- Pile on the rest of the toppings: tomatoes, cilantro and sour cream. Serve immediately for maximum crispiness and taste.
Notes
- Read the tips on 'how to avoid soggy nachos' in the body of the post.
- Try and use fresh corn for the recipe.
- Grate a block of cheese using a cheese grater instead of using a bag of pre-shredded cheese.
- Make sure all the ingredients go on evenly on all the chips so that you get the maximum flavor in each bite.
- Leftovers will not taste as good later, so try and make as much quantity as will be finished at one time.
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