Sheet Pan Nachos
Made with a homemade cheese sauce and layered with your favorite nacho toppings, these Sheet Pan Nachos come together in no time, so easily!
THE ULTIMATE NACHOS
This one-pan wonder combines all of your favorite nacho ingredients into one delicious snack. The homemade cheese sauce really makes these special and adds so much flavor so don’t skimp out on it! With endless topping possibilities, you can make them as simple or as extravagant as you’d like – either way, they’re sure to be demolished in no time at all! Also, the perfect party plate for Cinco de Mayo!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
To prevent Sheet Pan Nachos from getting soggy, you can pre-bake the chips for a few minutes before adding other ingredients like cheese and salsa to help them stay crisp longer. This only makes a difference if it will take you a long time to eat them. Also, avoid overloading your nachos with too much liquid or wet ingredients (like tomatoes) as these can make them soggy (especially if they are going to sit out for while.)
I think the trick to the best sheet pan nachos is the layering. You have to do at least a double layer so the toppings are evenly spread through all the chips and you don’t have a ton of leftover plain chips on the bottom.
Yes, you can cook nachos on parchment paper. Parchment paper is a great non-stick surface for cooking nachos, as well as many other foods. It also helps to keep messes to a minimum and makes cleanup easier.
I feel like I covered a ton of common nacho toppings, but you can totally add more of your favorites. I would suggest adding a can of drained and rinsed black beans or pinto beans to the meat mixture for something different. Or, you can warm up a can of refried beans and add dollops of that while layering the nachos for another fun flavor to add to the nacho flavor profile. Options are endless here!
Nope! If you have a different favorite sauce, use it. You can even use the melted Velveeta cheese if desired.
As a nacho bar! I like to make these sheet pan nachos and then set out all the various toppings. That way folks can grab a handful of the cheesy, meaty nachos then top however they like with sour cream, tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, olives, etc!
No! You can totally swap it out for ground turkey, ground chicken, sausage or even chorizo.
Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, line a sheet tray with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Lay out the leftover nachos on top and add another sheet of foil on top, again spray it with cooking spray on the underside so nothing sticks. I reheat them like this so they don’t dry out or burn.
If possible, leave the extra toppings off and avoid the microwave because that’ll make them soggy.
Don’t freeze them as the cheese sauce will separate.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- ground beef
- taco seasoning
- Rotel
- salted butter
- all-purpose flour
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- ground cumin
- sweet paprika
- milk
- shredded Mexican blend cheese
- tortilla chips
HOW TO MAKE SHEET PAN NACHOS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 10×15-inch sheet tray with cooking spray and set aside. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown and crumble the ground beef until there is no longer any pink, 8-10 minutes.
Add the taco seasoning and stir it in.
Add the Rotel and stir it in until combined; take off the heat.
In a medium-sized saucepot, add the butter over medium heat.
Once the butter has melted, whisk in the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and paprika. Cook for 1 minute. Slowly stream in the milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, occasionally stirring until slightly thickened.
Take off the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until combined.
Place half of the tortilla chips on to the prepared sheet tray. Drizzle half of the cheese sauce over the chips.
Add half of the meat mixture over the cheese sauce.
Top with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat one more time until you have used up all the ingredients.
Place the sheet tray into the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese has melted and it is warmed through.
Add your favorite toppings such as diced tomato, sour cream, black olives, and cilantro, serve immediately.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Sheet Pan Nachos
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ounce packet taco seasoning
- 10 ounce can Rotel
For the cheese sauce:
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ounces shredded Mexican blend cheese
To assemble:
- 11 ounce bag tortilla chips
- 8 ounces shredded Mexican blend cheese
For topping:
- diced tomatoes
- sour cream
- sliced black olives
- fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 10×15-inch sheet tray with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown and crumble 1 pound ground beef until there is no longer any pink, 8-10 minutes.
- Add the 1 ounce packet taco seasoning and stir it in.
- Add 10 ounce can Rotel and stir it in until combined; take off the heat.
- In a medium-sized saucepot, add 1/4 cup salted butter over medium heat.
- Once the butter has melted, whisk in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon paprika. Cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly stream in 2 cups milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, occasionally stirring until slightly thickened.
- Take off the heat and add 8 ounces shredded Mexican blend cheese. Whisk until combined.
- Place half of the 11 ounce bag tortilla chips on to the prepared sheet tray.
- Drizzle half of the cheese sauce over the chips.
- Add half of the meat mixture over the cheese sauce.
- Top with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat one more time until you have used up all the ingredients.
- Place the sheet tray into the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese has melted and it is warmed through.
- Add your favorite toppings such as diced tomatoes, sour cream, sliced black olives and fresh chopped cilantro and serve immediately.
Notes
- The trick to the best sheet pan nachos is the layering, you have to do at least a double layer so the toppings are evenly spread through all the chips and you don’t have a ton of leftover plain chips on the bottom.
- Perfect for a make-yourself nacho bar, you can serve up a portion of nachos and have all the toppings laid out so your family or guests can add whatever toppings they like.
- You can totally add beans to this, I would suggest adding a can of drained and rinsed black beans or pinto beans to the meat mixture. Or, you can warm up a can of refried beans and add dollops of that while layering the nachos.
- Any store-bought tortilla chips will do, white or yellow corn. Just make sure not to use the “scoop” version as those would be difficult to eat.
- As you can imagine, this is one hearty tray of nachos. You can eat them with a fork!
- Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, I will line a sheet tray with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Lay out the nachos on top and add another sheet of foil on top, again spray it with cooking spray on the underside so nothing sticks. I reheat them like this so they don’t dry out.
- You can microwave them but they will become soggy. Also, I suggest storing it without additional toppings.
- I do not suggest freezing, the cheese sauce may separate.
- You can trade the ground beef, ground chicken or even chorizo if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I’m not sure why my cheese sauce came out really chunky. Is there a trick to this?
It’s just melted cheese. It shouldn’t be chunky. Perhaps the cheese was put in while the pot still had the heat under it or it stayed in the hot pot too long? It’s hard to say since I can’t see what you did. But melted cheese would only be chunky if it didn’t melt all the way or got too hot and started to separate.
It came out very good if I had a pic of it I would post it but the family eat it all
I bake as directed but make a sidebar of toppings for everyone to top their own.
Yep! I actually mention that above in the FAQ’s. It lets everyone top them exactly how they like! 🙂