Our recipe for loaded sheet pan nachos features creamy Jalapeno Nacho Cheese, refried beans, shredded chicken, diced tomatoes and fresh guacamole. It’s the ultimate game day appetizer, midnight snack, or comfort food meal!
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We’re gonna let you in on a little secret: nachos are one of our favorite dinners. Yes, dinners.
Growing up, I’d literally order myself a plate of nachos for my meal at restaurants and my family would think I was hilarious. Then I met Alex, and I had no shame ordering myself nachos for dinner on occasion when we went out to eat (even though I would still get laughed at). But eventually, I convinced Alex we could “split appetizers for dinner” as an excuse to order nachos together as a meal, and he caved. And we have never looked back.
And you know what I learned from all that? Sometimes we all wish we could order nachos for dinner, but we don’t because it sounds ridiculous. The truth is, it’s just about having the confidence to order an entire plate of nachos for your meal and not care what anyone else thinks.
But if you can’t bring yourself to do that just yet, we have a recipe for tasty restaurant-style nachos that you can indulge in from the comfort of your home. Introducing: Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos.
The star of the show here is our homemade Jalapeno Nacho Cheese, which makes these loaded nachos feel like restaurant-quality. In our opinion, a delicious cheese sauce elevates a plate of nachos. It makes them that much more indulgent – and if you’re eating a whole plate of loaded nachos, why not indulge?
It’s pretty easy to make our Jalapeno Nacho Cheese. All you need is butter and flour (to form a roux), milk, cheese, jalapenos, and salt. With a little bit of patience melting the cheese in batches, this nacho cheese comes together in 10 minutes or less and is so worth the effort.
Here’s how to make our Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos:
- Make some Salsa-Marinated Chicken (or use leftovers!)
- Make the Jalapeno Nacho Cheese
- Lay out tortilla chips on a large sheet pan
- Top with refried beans, Jalapeno Nacho Cheese, shredded chicken, and jalapeno slices
- Bake for about 10 minutes, just to warm everything through
- Top with diced tomato and guacamole
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and lime wedges, and serve!
And if you’ve got a late-night nacho craving, here are some tips for simplifying these nachos to be even quicker and easier to make:
- Use leftover or store-bought grilled chicken, or skip the chicken altogether
- Top tortilla chips with any combination of shredded cheese you have on hand – Mexican-blend, cheddar, mozzarella, monterey jack… really anything works
- Simplify your guacamole recipe to mashed avocado with lime juice and sea salt (we call this “fake guac” since it’s so simple, but it’s delicious!)
We used On The Border Café Style tortilla chips for our loaded nachos since they’re the perfect size for loading up with toppings. Use your favorite store-bought chips to make this recipe! Or, if you’re feeling fancy, it’s pretty easy to make homemade tortilla chips. Just slice up corn tortillas into quarters, fry in a little bit of vegetable oil for 1-2 minutes, then drain on paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt.
No matter how you end up making our Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos, they’ll be absolutely delicious!
They are nachos after all.
We hope that whether you make these nachos for your next football party, a midnight snack, or a well-deserved comfort food dinner, you’ll share how they turn out with us! Mention us on Instagram @candidcooksblog or tag #thecandidcooks and spread the love of nachos with all!
Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bag restaurant-style tortilla chips
- 7.5 oz canned refried beans
- ¾ batch Jalapeno Nacho Cheese see ingredients below
- ½ lb Salsa-Marinated Chicken* shredded
- 1 medium jalapeno sliced
- 1 medium roma tomato diced
- 1 batch Homemade Guacamole*
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped (optional garnish)
- 4 lime wedges (optional garnish)
Jalapeno Nacho Cheese*
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- ¾ cup milk
- 4 oz mild cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 oz monterey jack cheese shredded
- 2 medium jalapenos diced
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Jalapeno Nacho Cheese
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Add flour a little at a time to melted butter, whisking to fully combine and form a roux.
- Add milk to the roux a little at a time, whisking to combine.
- Once the milk is fully incorporated and steaming, add the shredded cheese in small batches, whisking constantly until melted.
- Once all the cheese has been fully incorporated and melted, add the diced jalapenos and salt. Stir to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
Assemble Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread tortilla chips out in a single layer on a large sheet pan, making sure to overlap the chips a bit.
- Transfer canned refried beans to a microwave-safe dish and microwave for about 1 minute, stirring halfway through.*
- Top tortilla chips with refried beans.
- Drizzle Jalapeno Nacho Cheese evenly over the tortilla chips.*
- Top with shredded Salsa-Marinated Chicken and jalapeno slices.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until chips are slightly crisped.
- Top nachos with diced tomato and Homemade Guacamole, then garnish with fresh cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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We made this for a football Sunday dinner and it was great! We doubled the refried beans in lieu of chicken and limited jalapenos to half the sheet and it turned out great. Definitely made 4 servings though – and would have been great for a small football gathering!
Yum, extra refried beans are a great substitute for chicken!