Easy Party Nachos
So easy! You can scale up or down, based on how many people you are feeding. The preservative-free seasoning combo makes a delicious crumbled ground beef that can be baked on tortilla chips or sprinkled on a salad. The garnishes really make the meal, though. Cheese, sour cream, shredded iceberg lettuce and more - make this dinner a "make your own" style meal that kids and teens especially love.
A big pan of nachos makes any event into a party. Better yet, they are so easy to make! I’ve been making this easy recipe for years. It only takes about twenty minutes to make a literal feast for your family. I set up a “taco bar” buffet style, and everyone serves themselves. My kids especially like choosing their own toppings for their plates of nachos.
Want to make this recipe even easier? A few times a year I bulk brown/season/freeze gallon-sized bags of ground beef. I use this pre-make ground beef for nachos, tacos, in soups, in pasta sauces and as an addition to Mac & Cheese. For instructions on how to bulk prepare seasoned ground beef refer to this post:
Party Nachos…..Ingredients At-A-Glance:
To make a big pan of nachos here is what you’ll need:
- 3 pounds ground beef
- salt
- pepper
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- chili powder
- shredded cheese – 2-3 cups. My family prefers cheddar cheese but you could use Monterey Jack, Colby, or a blend.
- a big bag of tortilla chips. I like Tostitos Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips. I buy the large 13.5 ounce bag.
Toppings – Quite Possibly the Best Part:
Consider the following toppings for your Party Nachos:
- Salsa or picante sauce – either store bought or homemade (I use store bought).
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Iceburg Lettuce
- Black olives
- Avocado or Guacamole (I use a store bought guacamole)
Easy Ground Beef Nachos (with Taco Salad Option)
So easy! You can scale up or down, based on how many people you are feeding. The preservative-free seasoning combo makes a delicious crumbled ground beef that can be baked on tortilla chips or sprinkled on a salad. The garnishes really make the meal, though. Cheese, sour cream, shredded iceberg lettuce and more – make this dinner a "make your own" style meal that kids and teens especially love.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef (see note below)*** I use an 80/20 blend of ground beef (80% meat, 20% fat). I think it's more flavorful. You choose which blend works for you – they will all cook properly using these instructions.
*** These measurements are for one pound of ground beef. Scale up for your preferred quantity. For my family, I use 3 pounds of ground beef. For a family of four, use one pound ground beef.
Per One Pound Ground Beef:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Nacho (and taco salad) fixings:
- bagged cheddar cheese, shredded 2 cups of cheddar cheese per 1 pound of ground beef – use your own judgement
- 1 bag tortilla chips I use 2 bags for 3 pounds of ground beef
- 1 container sour cream
- 1 jar salsa
- ripe avocado, or pre-made guacamole
- 1-2 head iceberg lettuce shredded
- additional cheddar shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on salad (if making salad)
- taco sauce
- Other toppings could be: diced tomatoes, diced red onions, sliced black olives, or anything else you might want.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In a skillet set over medium-high heat: brown ground beef in olive oil, breaking it up with a spatula.
- While the beef is browning, add the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder.
- When the beef is cooked through and the seasonings are mixed in, take off burner and set aside.
- Pour desired amount of tortilla chips onto baking sheet.
- Distribute the cooked beef over the chips. Cover the beef with your desired amount of grated cheese.
For the taco salad option, reserve some of the browned and seasoned ground beef to top your salad.
- Bake in a 400°F oven for about ten minutes. This will melt the cheese and toast the chips slightly.
- Serve immediately, topped with any of the toppings of your choice.
For the taco salad option, fill your plate full of lettuce and top with ground beef, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, avocado and maybe some diced red onion. Crush a few nachos and use as as you would a crouton.
Notes
I usually use cheddar cheese for this recipe, but I’ve also found a blend of cheese – a “Mexican blend” that is great too. Another great cheese combo to use is a colby/jack blend.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!