These delicious oven-baked nachos with flavorful ground beef and melted cheese are the perfect appetizer for game day or your next potluck. They’re topped with homemade sweet pickled jalapeños, and will take your nachos to the next level!
Serve these amazing baked nachos with your favorite salsa and dips right on the sheet pan, for an easy and no fuss serving dish. Be game day ready with these ultimate nachos, guacamole (no cilantro) recipe and fresh spinach artichoke dip!
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Ingredients & notes
Tortilla Chips – Use your favorite kind, white or yellow corn, triangle or round cut
Ground Beef – I recommend 80/20 (80% beef / 20% fat), which stays a bit juicer after you bake the nachos
Taco Seasoning – Try my flavor bomb taco seasoning mix, or use your favorite store-bought brand.
Cooking oil – Use a neutral flavored oil for searing the ground beef
Cheese – Cheddar adds a nice, salty flavor, and monterey jack melts perfectly (feel free to substitute pepper jack if you like it spicy!)
Optional toppings and dips – Cilantro, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, sour cream and salsa.
Ingredients for pickled jalapeños
Jalapeños – These peppers aren’t too spicy, especially after a quick pickling. If you’re pressed for time, feel free to substitute canned jalapeños (but trust me, the extra step of home pickling is worth it!)
White Vinegar – The main acid component for pickling
Garlic – Adds a punch of flavor and complexity to the pickled jalapeños
Sugar – If you like your peppers spicier, use less
Salt
Equipment
Sheet pan – You’ll need a large one, ideally a full sheet pan (15 inches by 20 inches).
Canning jar For the pickled jalapeños use a canning jar with lid, 16 ounce or glass storage container with lid.
Instructions
Make the pickled jalapeños:
1). In a medium sized pot, add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and garlic, then bring to a boil.
2). Add sliced jalapenos to the pickling liquid, then turn off the heat/move the pot off the burner. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
3). Strain the jalapenos, keeping the pickling liquid.
4). Add the jalapeños to a clean and sterilized jar. Fill the jar with the liquid, ensuring that the jalapeños are fully submerged, and set aside to cool.
Make the ground beef and nachos.
1). Cook the ground beef with the taco seasoning.
2). On a baking sheet, add the tortilla chips, then top with cooked meat followed by the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 8-10 minutes, until the cheese just melts (but is not burnt).
Optional: to use your baking sheet as a serving tray, make space on the tray for where the ramekin/dipping bowls will be.
3). Remove the pan from the oven, and top with the pickled jalapeños, tomato, red onion and cilantro. Add salsa and sour cream to your ramekins, then place them on the pan. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- I use 80/20 ground beef. You can use leaner beef, but because the fat content is lower, the meat tends to dry out quicker, especially after you bake it.
- No need to drain the fat when cooking the beef, keep it in for the extra flavor and it prevents it from drying out too much.
- I like to serve the salsa and condiments on the side, so the chips don’t get soggy. That way, your family and friends can add whatever they prefer.
- Make sure to drain or shake off the pickling liquid from the jalapeños before placing on the chips, this will help keep them from getting soggy.
- Pickled jalapeños can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baking will get your chips evenly warm and crispy with melted cheese. Broiling may burn the chips and cheese.
No, you don’t want to put on any “wet” dips or toppings on the chips before baking.
Most soft, mild cheeses work well, like colby, pepper jack and mozzarella. Many of the larger grocery stores wi carry “Mexican Blend” or “Quesadilla Blend” shredded cheese mixtures, which are perfect for oven-baked nachos.
More appetizer recipes to try out
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Oven Baked Nachos with Ground Beef
Equipment
- baking sheet
- 1 16 ounce canning jar for pickled jalapenos
Ingredients
For the nachos
- 1 pound tortilla chips
- 1 pound ground beef preferably 80/20
- 3 cups combination monterey jack and cheddar, schredded
- taco seasoning (try my recipe or use store bought)
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
For pickled sweet jalapenos
- 6-8 jalapenos, sliced thin
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 clovess garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Topping and dips
- cilantro leaves
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- salsa for dipping
- pico de gallo for dipping
- sour cream for dipping
- guacamole for dipping
Instructions
Sweet Pickled Jalapeños
- In a medium sized pot, add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and garlic, then bring to a boil.
- To sterilize the canning jar: in a separate pot, bring 20 ounces of water to a boil. In the clean jar (or glass storage container), pour the boiling water to the top. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Then pour out the water.
- Strain the jalapenos, reserving the pickling liquid. Add the jalapenos to the jar, then fill the canning jar with the liquid. Set aside to cool.
Nachos with ground beef
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large skillet, heat the cooking oil on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the ground beef and cook until it’s browned, breaking up any large chunks.
- Add the taco seasoning and cook for another 5 minutes, or until beef is fully cooked.
- On a large sheet pan, lay out the tortilla chips. Optional: to use the sheet pan as a serving platter, make space on the pan to add your dipping bowls/ramekins.
- Top the chips evenly with the cooked ground beef and cheese.
- Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until cheese melts (but is not burnt).
- Remove the pan from the oven, and top with the pickled jalapeños, tomato, red onion and cilantro. If using the baking pan as your serving platter, add salsa and cilantro-lime sour cream to ramekins and place them on the pan.
- Serve immediately!
Notes
- I use 80/20 ground beef. You can use leaner beef, but because the fat content is lower, the meat tends to dry out quicker, especially after you bake it.
- No need to drain the fat when cooking the beef, keep it in for the extra flavor and it prevents it from drying out too much.
- Make sure to drain or shake off the pickling liquid from the jalapeños before placing on the chips, this will help keep them from getting soggy.
- Pickled jalapeños can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.