Loaded Sheet Pan Beef Nachos

Fully loaded beef nachos made easily on a sheet pan, loaded with plenty of beef, cheese, and all the toppings! Perfect for a party, game day, or a family snack. Ready in 20 minutes!

This recipe for Sheet Pan Beef Nachos is perfect for when you want a versatile recipe the whole family will love!  We love easy Mexican-inspired meals like my Southwest Chicken and Rice and Roasted Salsa Verde.  This is one of my Mexican recipes you’ll definitely want in your dinner rotation!

Originally I had these nachos scheduled to post in the Fall, when game day foods reign supreme… but then I started thinking that we don’t know what sports, or even life, will look like in the Fall of 2020, so why wait?

I’m a huge fan of having various appetizers for dinner.  Not every night of course, but as a fun, occasional treat… absolutely!  And nachos have always been a favorite of mine.  In fact, when I was pregnant, I was known for ordering them for dinner at restaurants on the regular lol.

But that gets expensive, and I enjoy making my own versions of things at home.  And these restaurant-style nachos really hit the spot! I love that these loaded nachos are made right in a sheet pan, so transferring them to the dinner table, or to a party, is easy peasy!

I prefer to think of this recipe as more of a method than a hard-fast recipe.  There are so many ways to change this up and make it a whole new recipe, that’s exactly to your tastes.  Want more meat?  Go for it!  Prefer different toppings?  The sky’s the limit!

How to make sheet pan beef nachos

1. Preheat oven and prepare baking sheet.  Either lightly grease it with cooking spray or cover it in foil.  Either way, make sure your baking sheet has a rim around it to contain the chips.
2. Cook beef.  Brown beef as you normally would, crumbling as it cooks.  Once there’s no pink left, drain the grease and return beef to the pan.
3. Season beef.  Stir in taco seasoning and amount of water called for on the seasoning packet (mine is usually 1/3 cup).  Then stir in lime juice and simmer until liquid has evaporated.

1. Layer nachos.  Add tortilla chips to prepared baking sheet and top with cooked ground beef, black beans, corn and cheese.
2. Bake.  Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted fully.
3. Pile on the toppings.  Top with whatever you’d like and serve while hot.

Additional cooking tips

• Chips – I find these taste best when using plain tortilla chips, rather than any flavored ones, but that being said… if you love flavored chips, go ahead and give them a try.  Since the tortilla chips are one of only a few key ingredients, you’ll want to use your favorite kind/brand.
• Toppings – for me, nachos are like chili… they’re all about the toppings baby!  I like to go crazy with my toppings, but if you’re having a party and don’t want to add toppings some of your guests may not like, there’s an easy solution.  Set up a nacho bar!  Have a tray of these nachos (with no toppings) out for your guests to put on their plates, and then have all the toppings in little bowls, so each guest can choose exactly what their ultimate nacho will look/taste like!
• Layers – if you’re having a big party and want to make more nachos than just a sheet pan’s worth, you can use a cake or lasagna pan and layer these nachos up like you would when making lasagna.  One layer of chips, beef, beans, corn and cheese; then start over with another layer, and another.  This may take a little longer in the oven to melt all the cheese though.

Variations of this recipe

• Meat – one of the reasons I love this recipe is that it’s so versatile.  These nachos can be made with ground turkey, ground chorizo, plain shredded chicken, pork carnitas, salsa chicken, beef barbacoa… just about any meat you’d like!
• Seasoning – if you prefer making your own seasoning blend instead of using a packet, this recipe is full of great flavor.
• Spicy – there are SO many ways you can increase the heat with this recipe.  You could add a can of drained diced green chiles to the nachos, you could add some jalapenos or serrano peppers, add some cayenne to the seasoning mix (or use a mix marked as hot), drizzle some spicy taco sauce or salsa over the nachos, etc.
• Mild – this recipe is pretty mild as written, but if you want it even milder, make sure to pick up a taco seasoning mix that is marked as being mild.
• Vegetarian – prefer to go meatless?  Just omit the beef and use extra beans, or try some taco-spiced cooked lentils.

Making nachos ahead of time

I don’t recommend making these nachos ahead of time, since they could get soggy, and soggy nachos are just so sad.

However, you can make the taco meat ahead of time, as well as chopping all your toppings, and draining and rinsing your beans.  Just keep everything refrigerated until you’re ready to use it, and heat up the meat.

Storage

Any leftover nachos should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3-4 days.

The best way to reheat nachos is to spread nachos out on a baking sheet and bake in a 275°F oven for 5-10 minutes.  Watch them closely as nachos could easily burn.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE

• Rimmed Baking Sheet – you can use any size baking sheet, but this jelly roll pan is really versatile and what I used here.
• ChopStir – hands down my favorite tool for breaking up ground meat FAST.

Don’t forget to serve these nachos up with a big pitcher of my Classic Margaritas!