It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like nachos. They’re delicious, crunchy, and—best of all—easy to make. While you can always grab this tasty Mexican food at your favorite restaurant (California Burritos, of course!), you can also make them at home. You only need three ingredients to make nachos: tortilla chips, cheese, and toppings. And what’s even better, you have almost infinite options to choose from when you select your ingredients.
Here are our tips for making this favorite Mexican food easily at home.
Start with the chips.
Tortilla tips make up the base of your nachos, both in terms of texture and structure. You can use your favorite brand or variety, but you want to make sure they’re thick enough. Thin chips are great for dipping in salsa, but for nachos, you don’t want a chip that will break under the weight of your toppings. Once you’ve selected your chips, spread them out on a baking sheet. A typical bag usually fits on a single sheet.
It’s all about the cheese.
Everyone has their own ideas about which cheese is the best, but it comes down to personal taste. Some of our favorite options are cheddar, Monterey jack (or pepper jack for an extra kick), and Colby. And you don’t have to choose just one. Use a combination of your favorite cheeses!
There is some debate over whether it’s worth the effort of grating your own cheese. We think that it absolutely is. To make the perfect nachos, the cheese needs to be completely melted. When you buy a bag of pre-shredded cheese, you’ll notice that they add anti-clumping agents. That’s so that the cheese doesn’t stick together in the bag, but it doesn’t melt as well. But sometimes, it’s just easier to buy cheese that’s already shredded. We get it. It’s still delicious.
Top it how you like it.
There really isn’t a wrong way to top your nachos. You can use meat or make them vegetarian. Do you like your nachos spicy? Throw some jalepeños on there. Corn, onions, and black beans are all classic nacho toppings. Do you have some leftover chicken or some ground beef you need to use up? Toss it on the nachos. Top them off with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or whatever else you enjoy with your Mexican food.