Oven Nachos

Hello, everyone! It has been so long since I’ve posted a new recipe, and I really have missed working on this little food blog. So much has happened over the past few years, but I will save that for another post (or two)! But, with some encouragement from friends (hi Randi, Jo Marie, and Stephanie! 😉) and my husband, I wanted to get back to sharing recipes with you all, so I’m starting simple.

Today I bring you one of our quick family favorites… Oven Nachos! This dish is so easy to customize to your family’s tastes, so quick, and so easy!

Oven Nachos, or sheet pan nachos, can be made with all of your favorite toppings. The basic idea that you need to remember when making nachos is that you want to put your “hot” ingredients on first, bake the until hot and melty, and then add your “cool” ingredients before serving. So gather around your favorite nacho fixings, and let’s get started!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin the nachos with a layer of tortilla chips. We are huge Aldi fans, and we like their tortilla strips. They’re a great shape for holding the nacho toppings. After laying out a layer of chips, I add small scoops of refried beans. You could also use pinto or black beans.

Then, I add sliced black olives. My older two children are big fans of black olives, so I make sure not to skimp on those.

The next step is to add meat (you can skip this step to make them vegetarian, of course). We like to use pulled pork, taco meat, or chicken. In this case, we had some leftover pulled pork.

The last step before a trip to the oven is to add cheese. Our family enjoys Colby Jack and some cheddar. Plain Monterey Jack is also a good melty cheese for nachos. I use about 1.5-2 cups, but use more or less as you choose.

After the cheese has melted, take the nachos out of the oven and top with your favorite “cool” toppings.

We choose tomatoes…

Cilantro…

And avocado!

Another great choice is sour cream, but my family isn’t the biggest fan of sour cream so I do not add it. You could also add salsa, but I find that the liquid nature of salsa makes the chips a little soggy for our taste. Sliced green onions might be good, too.

And finally, I top about one-third with diced jalapeño for my husband and I, and then serve directly off of the sheet pan. Yum!

What are your favorite nacho toppings? Did I leave anything out?