The Fundamentals of Making Nachos
Making nachos may sound simple. Chips, beans, cheese, microwave? But there's far more nuance to elevating nachos. Microwave or oven? Are there refried bean substitutes? Does pre-grated cheese ruin the consistency? Why are you always recommending Greek yogurt, instead of sour cream??
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- ~2 handfulls tortilla chips
- 1/2 c. refried beans (or other bean or legume base)
- 1/2 c. fresh produce (or other toppings of choice)
- 1/2 c. cheese
- hefty dollop sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- dollop hot sauce (or salsa of choice)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, lay out tortilla chips across a baking sheet. You want to cover until you can't see the baking sheet any longer. They should be touching, but not overlapping too much. You really just want to be able to add toppings to every chip without it getting too much on the baking sheet.Two handfuls also isn't an exact measurement, but it does portion it to roughly your own size. I'm 5'1" and have relatively small hands. I also don't need an absolutely gigantic plate of nachos! Someone who's a foot taller than me with larger hands? Probably wants a bigger plate of nachos than I do. And I've found the two handfuls size to be a pretty good gauge. Plus, no one making nachos is sitting around trying to fit chips into a measuring cup or breaking out a scale to do it in grams!
- Add refried beans or whatever you're using as base.With softer ingredients, it's nice to take a knife and lightly spread them across each chip. This is a little bit more time consuming, but ensures that you get an even coating of toppings with every bite. It also adds a distinct layer between the wetter ingredients on top, like tomatoes and cheese, and the chips that might be susceptible to getting soggy.
- Spread additional toppings and fresh produce evenly across the chips.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Add small dollops of sour cream/Greek yogurt and hot sauce/salsa of choice.This is optional at this stage. Some people like the sour cream and hot sauce to slowly cook into the nachos. Others prefer them cold and crisp on top, especially with a spicier nacho. Personally, I oscillate between the two. It's entirely a matter of personal preference!
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the chips begin to toast.
- Once the nachos are done cooking, remove from the oven and top with any additional ingredients.The majority of fresh ingredients I like to cook in the nachos. However, a select few don't fair as well when cooked! Avocados and shredded lettuce tend to soften and brown in an unpleasant way. Sometimes it's nice to get a fresh tomato or green onion on top. Also add sour cream and hot sauce, if you haven't already.
- Serve immediately. Once the nachos begin to cool down, the tortilla chips will absorb too much moisture and soften. Once this happens, there isn't a lot that you can do to crisp them up again!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- It is incredibly difficult to reheat nachos. I'd dare to say probably not possible in the microwave in any kind of edible way. The chips absorb moisture as they sit and will inevitably get soggy. I do sometimes have leftovers, though, and endeavor to reheat them on occasion!
- The best way that I've found to do this is to leave the nachos on the counter so that they get a little stale. Skip this step if the ingredients are highly perishable or remove ingredients, like avocados, that won't keep.
- Then, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add a handful of chips on top and bake for another 10 minutes. The top layer of chips keeps the cheese and toppings from burning while the bottom chips toast and adds a little bit more crispness if the bottom chips remain soggy.
- It's not foolproof and flipping the nachos upside down so that the fresh chips are on the bottom and the soggy chips are on the top can also help. But it does work.