What Are the Best Tips for Making Ground Beef Nachos?

The best tip for making ground beef nachos is to load them up with ingredients without making the chips soggy — bake the chips first to make them extra durable. Heat refried beans to thin them out before putting them on. Add a kick of spice to the ground beef by cooking it with taco seasoning. To create a flavorful blend, chop and mix a majority of the ingredients together. Melt cheese over the top of the nachos, then serve immediately.

Soggy chips can completely ruin potentially great ground beef nachos. Everything slides off them and the chips taste chewy rather than stay sturdy and crunchy. To prevent the soggy chip issue, bake the tortilla chips first at 350°F (about 177°C) for about eight minutes.

Putting the refried beans directly onto the chips is going to be a big mess if they're not heated first. They will be difficult to apply and go on in lumps rather than smoothly. Follow the cooking instructions on the can, then when they're warm, spread them around directly onto the chips.

Ground beef can be rather bland when cooked without anything added to it. Since ground beef nachos are supposed to be full of flavor and have a bit of a kick to them, add taco seasoning to the meat. Some add it after the meat is already cooked, but one of the best tips to bring out the full flavor is to add the seasoning while the meat is starting to brown. The seasoning will blend with the beef rather than sit on top of it. Place it right out of the pan onto the top of the refried beans.

One of the best tips for making ground beef nachos is to chop up the majority of the ingredients, mix them together and have them sit for awhile. In one bowl, combine chopped green onions, sliced black olives, chopped tomatoes and sliced jalapenos; add as much or as little of each ingredient depending on preference. Let the juices from each ingredient blend together for about ten minutes before placing the mix on top of the beef — the juice will soak into the meat and add even more flavor.

Put shredded cheese on top of all the ingredients. Some may just want to add cheddar while others might choose to use a store-bought bag of shredded cheeses called “Mexican cheese blend,” which is a mix of cheddar, Monterey jack, asadero, and queso quesadilla. Sprinkle the cheese all over the top of the nachos, which adds flavor and binds all the ingredients together when it melts.

The key to the best ground beef nachos is to serve them when they're directly out of the oven. Place them in the oven for about ten minutes at 350°F (about 177°C) or until the cheese is completely melted over the top. Add a large glob of sour cream and guacamole in the center, then serve the nachos while they're still hot.