Sheet-pan nachos are Tex-Mex game-day food that every living room has adopted: chips layered with taco beef, black beans and two cheeses, baked until the cheese melts and loaded with cold toppings. They're built for watching the game, one pan at a time.
At the lot: Build them in foil pans and melt them on the cool side of the grill with the lid down. Homegating: Bake them in the oven and send them out with the cold toppings at kickoff.
Home gear: 2 rimmed half-sheet pans (18 × 13 in.) and parchment or foil
25 MIN
At home, the beef (up to 2 days ahead)
15 MIN
Homegating
8
Serves
Ingredients
Beef
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅔ cup water
Nachos
- 2 bags (about 12 oz each) sturdy tortilla chips
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups shredded cheddar
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack
Toppings
- 2 cups pico de gallo
- 2 cups guacamole
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup pickled jalapeño slices
- 4 green onions, sliced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
Steps
At home, up to 2 days ahead
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook the beef, breaking it up, until no pink is left and it reads 160°F, about 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon off the fat.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and water. Simmer until the liquid is mostly gone, about 5 minutes. Use it now, or cool it in a shallow container and refrigerate.
Homegating, at kickoff
- Heat the oven to 425°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line the sheet pans with parchment or foil. If the beef was made ahead, reheat it in the skillet until it reads 165°F.
- On each pan, spread half a bag of chips in one layer. Scatter a quarter of the cheese over each, then half the beef and half the beans. Add the rest of the chips, then the rest of the cheese.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, swapping the pans halfway, until the cheese is melted and bubbling at the edges.
- Top with the pico, jalapeños, green onions and cilantro, add spoonfuls of sour cream and guacamole, and serve with the lime wedges straight off the pan.
At the lot instead
- Pack the cooked beef cold in the cooler. Reheat it in a skillet on the grill until it reads 165°F. Build the nachos in 2 large foil pans the same way, then set them on the cool side of the grill at about 400°F, lid down, for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese melts. Top and serve.
Pack for the lot
Lot notes
- Fuel: charcoal or propane both work. You need a cool side and a lid, because the cheese melts from the heat around the pan, not under it.
- Watch the bottom: foil pans scorch chips on a hot grill. Keep them on the cool side, and nest each in a second foil pan if the bottom starts to brown.
- Cold toppings stay cold: guacamole, sour cream and pico ride in the cooler at 40°F or below until the nachos come off the heat.
- Eat them hot: nachos go soggy before they go unsafe, but anything with beef, cheese or sour cream on it gets tossed after 2 hours out, or 1 hour over 90°F. Build a second pan when the first is gone instead of leaving one out.
- Cleanup: parchment at home, foil pans at the lot. Fold and toss.
Can you make sheet pan nachos ahead?
Make the beef up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it, then reheat it to 165°F at kickoff. Build and bake the nachos right before you eat, or the chips go soft.
How do you keep nachos from getting soggy?
Layer the cheese first so it seals the chips, drain the beans well and add the wet toppings only after baking. Serve them straight off the pan.
How do you keep nachos hot at a tailgate?
Don't hold them. Bake 1 pan at a time on the grill and start the next when the first is half gone, so each one comes off the heat hot.
How many sheet pan nachos for 20 people?
Multiply everything by 2½: 5 lb of beef, 5 bags of chips, about 2½ cans of beans and 15 cups of cheese, across 5 sheet pans. Bake them in rounds of 2.
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