Beef Nachos Ready In 20 Minutes

Published 1/31/2021 • Updated 7/18/2023 Plus, beef nachos are the ultimate game day shareable appetizer that serve a crowd. This beef nacho recipe is made with our favorite beef taco meat, tortilla chips, tons of shredded cheese, and all the toppings.

Best Beef Nachos Recipe

Nachos are one of those meals that just sound good any night of the week. Is it a Tuesday? A Friday night? Game day? Beef nachos are the perfect 30-minute meal to whip up for the family. Why are these the BEST beef nachos?

30-min meal One-pan meal High protein Customizable Kid-friendly

This beef nachos recipe is made with our delicious beef taco meat, tortilla chips, and your favorite Mexican toppings.

Beef Taco Meat

In my opinion, beef nachos are all about the BEEF! That’s why we’re using our homemade beef taco meat, which actually uses our amazing homemade taco seasoning. Taco meat begins with the meat itself and we recommend a ground beef (sirloin or chuck) that is between 80% and 85% lean beef. The reason why we like to use a beef that has a bit of fat in it is because it’s so much more flavorful. Next comes the taco seasoning. If you don’t have our homemade taco seasoning on hand, you’re more than welcome to use a store-bought packet. But, if you do have our taco seasoning, you’ll need around 3 tablespoons.

Best Nachos Toppings

While your sautéing up your ground beef nachos meat, you can start to compile all of your toppings!

Chili powderGarlic powderCuminOnion powderCoarse sea saltRed pepper flakesGround black pepperGround oreganoSmoked paprika

Get the full homemade taco seasoning HERE. The beauty of nachos is that you can really use whatever you have on hand. Think veggies, beans, salsa, guac, etc.! Here’s what we used: shredded cheddar cheese: a nacho isn’t a nacho without the CHEESE! Feel free to use your favorite kind of shredded cheddar. sliced cherry tomatoes: we love fresh cherry tomatoes on beef nachos, but you can always use salsa instead, too. jalapeños: there’s nothing like a little kick. We used canned jalapeños, but if you like it even spicier, use the fresh kind with the seeds! red onion: a little bit of onion goes a long way. black olives: sliced black olives give a nice balance of salt. guacamole: homemade guac is the way to go for beef nachos. Check out our classic guacamole or try our mango guacamole. Greek yogurt/sour cream: one of the reasons we love adding Greek yogurt or sour cream to nachos is because it takes away a little bit of heat and also adds a sauce of sorts. lime juice: fresh lime juice to top it off! fresh cilantro: fresh cilantro is the cherry on top for ground beef nachos.

How do you assemble nachos?

Spread out a bag of tortilla chips on the bottom of a baking sheet. Then, top with beef taco meat and shredded cheese. Bake to melt the cheese and then top with your chilled toppings such as guacamole, tomatoes, black olives, and jalapeños.

To recap:

How long do you bake nachos?

Once you have your beef nachos assembled, bake at 400ºF for around 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Make sure to keep a close eye on your nachos so that the cheese or chips don’t burn!