Sheet Pan Nachos
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Crowd-pleasing crispy sheet pan nachos (the best game day nachos)! With crumbled ground beef, melted cheese, and all the best toppings.
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Why you’ll love sheet pan nachos
- No more soggy chips. Say goodbye to bare chips at the bottom! Every tortilla chip is not only crispy but has an even coating of cheese and toppings, the most perfect balance.
- Great for a large crowd. This is an incredibly easy recipe to feed a large crowd, whether it’s for game day or a big family gathering. And you can serve this straight off the pan for the easiest hosting ever.
- Completely customizable. You can toss in leftover rotisserie chicken for a clean-out-the-fridge meal or transform this into a completely vegetarian dish. The options are endless here!
What is sheet pan nachos?
Sheet pan nachos is a version of nachos cooked on a baking sheet with tortilla chips, crumbled beef, cheese, and various desired toppings. Baking on a sheet pan allows for even coverage across all tortilla chips, a fast cook time, and easy serving among a large crowd (and the easiest clean up ever afterwards!).
Key Ingredients
- Base: sturdy tortilla chips (to hold up toppings)
- Protein: taco-seasoned ground beef, leftover rotisserie chicken, or pork carnitas
- Cheese: shredded cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese
- Toppings (before baking): black beans and corn kernels
- Cold toppings (after baking): tomato, red onion, jalapeño, sour cream, and cilantro
How to make sheet pan nachos
- Brown the meat. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up into small crumbles, until browned. Stir in the taco seasoning, then drain off any excess fat and grease.
- Layer the chips. Spread the sturdy tortilla chips in a single layer, slightly overlapping, onto a greased baking sheet.
- Add the toppings. Add the crumbled ground beef, rinsed black beans, and drained corn kernels over the chips.
- Sprinkle with cheese. Cover the chips with cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese in an even layer.
- Bake. Bake for 5-6 minutes until the cheeses have completely melted.
- Garnish and serve. Sprinkled with diced tomato, diced red onion, jalapeño (or pickled jalapeño slices), sour cream, and cilantro.
Nacho toppings
Divide the toppings into 2 categories – toppings that can go on top prior to baking and then additional toppings that can get added fresh just before serving.
Before baking
- Protein: taco-seasoned ground beef, carne asada, leftover rotisserie chicken, or carnitas
- Beans: refried beans, canned black beans, or canned pinto beans (rinsed and drained well)
- Corn: canned corn kernels (drained well)
- Cheese: shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
After baking
- Salsa: pico de gallo, corn salsa, restaurant style salsa, or salsa verde
- Condiments: guacamole, sour cream, or Mexican crema
- Garnishes: jalapeño slices, cilantro, green onions, or lime wedges
Tools For This Recipe
Sheet Pan Nachos: Frequently Asked Questions
Always use sturdy, thick tortilla chips that can hold up heavy toppings without breaking.
You can substitute any protein on hand such as leftover rotisserie chicken or even pork carnitas.
Add the toppings that need to be heated through such as cheese, protein, beans, and corn.
Add cold toppings such as tomato, onion, jalapeño, guacamole, corn salsa, shredded iceberg lettuce, sour cream, and cilantro right after baking (just before serving).
Yes! You can cook the meat, shred the cheese, and dice the vegetables up to 1 day in advance, baking just before serving.
Sheet Pan Nachos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (1.25-ounce) package taco seasoning
- 12 ounces tortilla chips
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 Roma tomato, diced
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and garlic, and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; stir in taco seasoning. Drain excess fat.
- Place tortilla chips in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Top with ground beef mixture, black beans, corn and cheeses.
- Place into oven and bake until heated through and the cheeses have melted, about 5-6 minutes.
- Serve immediately, topped with tomato, onion, jalapeno, sour cream and cilantro.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a good quality sheet pan. A durable sheet pan is ideal – it will last for years with minimal wear and tear, and will help achieve even cooking and avoid warping at high temperatures.
- Use thick, sturdy tortilla chips. Thick tortilla chips will prevent sogginess, support heavy loads without snapping or breaking, and withstand oven heat very well.
- Drain the excess grease. Drain any excess grease and fat after crumbling the ground beef to prevent soggy chips.
- Freshly grated cheese goes a long way. Pre-packaged shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that can hinder its ability to melt properly.
- Bake just before serving. Prep the meat, cheese, and toppings 24 hours in advance, baking just before serving for maximum freshness and crispiness.
- Add cold toppings last. Always add cold, fresh toppings after the nachos have been baked.
Did you make this recipe?
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Made them and had lots of love last night we will get a surprise in 9 months time. They’re so good that we had FUN last night.
Hey! Sorry for the confusion. Sometimes I sear with butter and oil and sometimes just oil. So the oil in the recipe list is for searing. Simply add salt and pepper tonight for roasting tomorrow.
My 12 year old (who has grown up being fed Damn Delicious recipes) begged for this recipe tonight. Always a hit! Thanks as always, Chungah!
Could you put all the ingredients together with the beans etc when you put it in the oven?
Excellent for an easy one pan meal! Layered the taco meat & cheese over tortilla chips and baked as instructed. Served in bowls and had a self-serve bar with salsa, diced tomatoes, diced avocados, black beans, corn, cilantro, fresh sliced jalapeños, black olives, salsa con ques0 and sour cream!
If you’re serving a large group how do you serve it? Do you plate individually?
It was absolutely delicious! I used everything but the black beans!
Made mine with what I had. A layer of 50/50 flour and corn tortillas on the bottom of a Pyrex 9×13 coated with canola oil spray. Then added layer of corn tostido chips, round. Then added mild cheddar cheese, Mexican four cheese, and Mozzarella, all shredded Kraft® (on sale 3/5.00) then added 5 evenly spaced teaspoons of cream cheese (Philadelphia ® on sale for 2/4.00) medium Salsa with a final quick douse of Cholula ® green Chile hot sauce, 12 minutes in a preheated oven to 375°
They are just about done and I will finish up after going to work with a cherry Pepsi Cola!
Aloha and Mahalo for the Kokua.
Ohh man them tortillas on the bottom made them nacho tortillas and unbelievably great texture and flavor!
I have made this recipe many times. It is easy and delicious!
We add a little queso at the end.
My husband and I made Sheet Pan Nachos tonight and it came out FABULOUS! It was simple to make & tasted great! I’m passing on the recipe to my friends and family!
Thank you!
So glad we came across this recipe! Delish. We substituted VEGAN chorizo in place of beef and used a VEGAN cheddar. They were SO good and this was the first time we ever made nachos. We will be making again. Thank you.
Haven’t made this yet but will need to make enough for at least 24 people. It looks fast and easy and I can almost taste it just by reading the recipe. What size sheet pan are you using? The ones I use are commercial kitchen sized.
Made it exactly like the recipe called for…ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!
served with fresh guac these were actually damn delicious. Made our Super Bowl super
I used my own taco seasoning, added more cheese, a can of refried beans and avocado. I served it with sour cream, salsa and hot sauce. It was the perfect Sunday funday comfort for my shelter in place mates.
I haven’t made this yet because I really don’t like the taco seasoning packages. I think it takes the authenticity from a Mexican dish. Also, the sodium content is quite high. I agree with another reviewer who said it makes his wife thirsty! Do you have any suggestions as to what else I could add to the meat in its place?
I have stopped using the packaged taco seasonings and make my own without salt. Google it, there’s tons of recipes out there for it!
How can you add taco seasoning after then drain I don’t get it
My thoughts exactly. She is draining the seasoning with the grease. Drain first, then add seasoning.
Drain the grease, then add the taco seasoning and some water. Let it simmer to absorb the spices. When the liquid
is almost gone, it’s ready.
Perfect comfort food! Thanks for the recipe.
Great recipe, I used a can of chili with beans for a quick substitute, place cheese on top of chips first to keep chips from getting soggy then use other toppings and finish with cheese. Quick and good.