Loaded Beef Nachos with Pickled Jalapeños
Two layers of chips, beef, and melted cheese instead of one tall pile, so every chip actually gets topping.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Written
Method
-
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a sheet pan with parchment.
-
Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains, about 6 minutes.
-
Stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the water and simmer until it’s mostly absorbed and the beef looks glossy, about 2 minutes.
-
Spread half the tortilla chips over the sheet pan and scatter with half the beef, half the black beans, and half of both cheeses.
-
Repeat with the remaining chips, beef, beans, and cheese so every chip ends up under something.
-
Bake until the cheese is fully melted, 8 to 10 minutes, then run under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until it browns in spots — watch it the whole time, it goes from melted to burnt fast.
-
Scatter the pickled jalapeños, tomato, and red onion over the hot nachos.
-
Finish with dollops of sour cream and cilantro and serve immediately, straight off the pan, with lime wedges.
Notes
Building this in two layers instead of one tall pile is the whole trick — pile everything on top of a single layer of chips and the bottom half of the stack stays bare while the middle turns to mush. Two thinner layers mean the cheese and beef actually reach the edges of the pan.
Keep the cold toppings — tomato, onion, sour cream — off the pan until after the broiler. They go soft and start to steam if they bake with the cheese, and part of what makes nachos work is the contrast between hot melted cheese and something cold and fresh on top. For a vegetarian version, double the black beans and skip the beef.