Cheesy Sheet Pan Nachos loaded with melted shredded cheese, seasoned ground meat, black beans, corn, and all your favorite toppings!
Ready from start to finish in only 25 minutes, they’re one of the best snacks to serve on game day or a quick and easy dinner that the whole family will love!
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These sheet pan nachos always seem to find their way onto my dinner table about once a week, whether I planned for it or not. It’s a family favorite that my husband and I are obsessed with and they’re just so darn easy to make, it’s hard to say no!
Because they’re made by layering shredded cheese, seasoned ground beef, beans, and corn onto tortilla chips, each bite has the perfect amount of toppings so you get the perfect nacho pull every. single. time.
And because you make them on a big sheet pan, they make the perfect finger food at your next party, a hearty appetizer ahead of a Mexican feast, or even as a quick and customizable weeknight dinner.
Picking the Best Tortilla Chips
One of the most important ingredients in homemade nachos is the tortilla chips. Since you’ll be loading every inch of the sheet pan with chips and toppings, you’ll want to have a sturdy and thick tortilla chip to be able to withstand all the weight without breaking and getting soggy.
Pick a thick and sturdy tortilla chip and avoid thin and “restaurant-style” chips if you can.
Embrace the Cheese!
Aside from the tortilla chips, the second most important ingredient is the cheese! For me, nachos are all about having the right cheese to tortilla chip ratio which means don’t be afraid to pile on the cheese! The more the better.
Any shredded melty cheese will work. I used a bag of shredded Mexican-blend cheese, but monterey jack, mozzarella, cheddar, or pepper jack will work.
Layering is Key for Great Sheet Pan Nachos
The key to making great homemade nachos on a sheet pan is evenly layering all the ingredients so that each chip has a little bit of everything on it.
This recipe has two layers that are made up of tortilla chips, cheese, ground beef, black beans, and corn.
Once everything is layered, bake everything until the cheese has melted (about 4-6 minutes at 400ºF), then remove it from the oven and top with a few more nacho toppings before servings.
The Best Nacho Toppings
I love loading my sheet pan nachos with diced tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, sour cream, red onions, and cilantro. They’re the ingredients that I always have on hand, and they work perfectly to bring everything together!
However, there are so many toppings that you could put on these nachos, so get creative and have some fun with it! Here are a few suggestions for inspiration:
Meat SUBSTITUTES
- Instead of ground beef, use seasoned ground turkey, chicken, homemade chorizo, or pork instead.
- Looking for vegetarian nachos? Replace the beef with plant-based ground beef or soy chorizo. You could also omit the beef altogether and double the number of black beans.
Reheating
If you happen to have any leftovers (like my husband and I always do since we make a HUGE batch for just us two), you can reheat the leftovers in the oven the same way you baked them – about 6 minutes at 400ºF or until they’re heated through.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef (or ground chicken, turkey, or plant-based protein)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 10 ounces tortilla chips, divided
- 4 cups Mexican-blend shredded cheese, divided
- 1 cup cooked black beans, divided
- 1 cup cooked yellow corn, divided
Toppings
- diced roma tomatoes
- pickled jalapenos
- sour cream or Mexican crema
- diced red onions
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, tomato paste, chili powder, ground cumin, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and dried oregano.
- Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat into smaller chunks. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, until beef is browned.
- Layer 1/2 of the tortilla chips on the prepared baking sheet with 1/2 of the ground beef, 1/2 of the shredded cheese, 1/2 of the black beans, and 1/2 of the yellow corn.
- Repeat to create a top layer with the remaining ingredients.
- Bake in the oven for 4-6 minutes, until the cheese has just melted.
- Top with desired toppings like diced tomatoes, pickled jalapenos, sour cream, diced red onions, cilantro, and diced avocados. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Made these nachos for Super Bowl tonight. Used fresh mango pico to top them…fabulous!
It was a good quick meal but I used pinto beans instead of black beans and no corn it came out really good
If only using black beans, do I add the same seasonings to them as for the ground beef? Hominy instead of corn?
Hi Lynn! Yes that would be fine!
I can’t wait to try these! Is there a brand of tortilla chips you recommend? I’m afraid the wrong choice (going by sight instead of knowledge) would be disastrous – we’d end up wearing a lot of our meal.
Hi Brenda! Siete foods have great tortilla chips! Any Cantina style tortilla chips are great since they’re a little bit thicker and can hold the toppings better.
I love your Mexican inspired recipes. We go to Japan for a month every year (except now 🙁 ) and love all the excellent food there except Mexican. It is not available much and we always hit Mexican restaurants as soon as we get home.
Thank you, Rinshin!
If using ground beef, do I omit the olive oil & drain after cooking?
Hi Daisy! Yes, that would help prevent it from being too greasy.