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Baked Nachos ($10 Family Dinner Idea)

Baked Nachos ($10 Family Dinner Idea)

This one-pan dinner is SO easy to throw together at the last minute! And it gets bonus points from me because teens love it (I have 3 teens plus a 12 1/2 year old and they all often have friends over). My boys can also easily make it on their own, which is another plus. You can easily customize the toppings based on what your family likes — that’s why you don’t see any black olives or sour cream in these photos, haha.

All you have to do is fry up some ground hamburger (or chicken or turkey) and open a couple of cans and dump. How easy is that?!? This is a go-to meal for me when I have approximately 30 minutes to figure out what we’re having for dinner and make it.

Note: This is not a good meal to have leftovers of because the chips get soggy, so I recommend only making the amount that your family will eat in one sitting.

This post is part of our $10 Dinner Ideas series, brought to you by Brigette on our team! Each week, she shares easy, delicious, and affordable family-friendly dinner ideas that cost less than $10 to make, use everyday ingredients, and are super quick meals.

An overhead view of a large tray of baked nachos loaded with melted cheese, black beans, corn, seasoned meat, colorful cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and fresh lime wedges.

Baked Nachos Menu:

Baked Nachos (feel free to add a side like fruit, but this is a one-pan meal that hits all of the food groups!)

Ingredients for homemade baked nachos arranged on a wooden table, including tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, canned corn, black beans, cilantro, lime, taco seasoning, ground meat, and colorful cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients for Baked Nachos:

1 bag (12-14 oz) tortilla chips (Bargain City) — $1
1-lb ground beef (or chicken or turkey — I used ground chicken that was already cooked from my freezer) (Publix) — $2.50
1 packet taco seasoning (Aldi) — $0.55
3/4 cup water
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed (Aldi) — $0.85
1 15-oz can corn, drained (Aldi) — $0.85
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (Aldi) — $3.09
additional toppings as desired – I used a sliced lime, sliced cherry tomatoes and chopped cilantro (Aldi) — $1 (other topping ideas include sour cream, black olives, chopped onions and avocado/guacamole)

Total Cost for Dinner: $9.84 (makes 6 servings)

A close up of baked nachos with golden melted cheese, black beans, seasoned meat, cherry tomatoes, and fresh cilantro layered over tortilla chips in a foil lined pan.

How to Make Baked Nachos:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a skillet, cook ground beef over medium-low heat until cooked through, stirring often. Drain the grease. Add the taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water and stir well, simmering for a few minutes so that the flavors can infuse.

Crumbled ground meat browned with taco seasoning in a large black nonstick skillet, ready to be added to the nachos.

3. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray (you can also use 2 cookie sheets and spread things out more). Spread the chips evenly in the pan(s).

Round tortilla chips spread across a foil lined baking sheet in overlapping layers to form the base for homemade nachos.

4. Spread half of the cheese over the chips. Sprinkle the taco meat evenly over the chips. Do the same with the black beans and then the corn. Top the nachos with the rest of the shredded cheese.

A baking sheet layered with tortilla chips, seasoned ground meat, black beans, corn, and shredded cheddar cheese before going into the oven.

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with additional toppings of your choice!

Close up of crispy tortilla chips covered in melted cheese, black beans, seasoned meat, corn, fresh cilantro, halved cherry tomatoes, and a lime wedge.

Baked Nachos

This one-pan dinner is SO easy to throw together at the last minute! And it gets bonus points from me because teens love it and can make it on their own quickly. You can easily customize the toppings based on what your family likes.

Course Appetizer, dinner, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword chicken, easy dinner, family favorite, homemade, weeknight dinner

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Servings

Calories 620kcal

Author Brigette

Cost $9.84

Ingredients

1 bag tortilla chips (12-14 oz) Bargain City — $1
1- lb ground beef or chicken or turkey — I used ground chicken that was already cooked from my freezer (Publix) — $2.50
1 packet taco seasoning Aldi — $0.55
3/4 cup water
1 15-oz can black beans rinsed (Aldi) — $0.85
1 15-oz can corn drained (Aldi) — $0.85
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese Aldi — $3.09
additional toppings as desired – I used a sliced lime sliced cherry tomatoes and chopped cilantro (Aldi) — $1 (other topping ideas include sour cream, black olives, chopped onions and avocado/guacamole)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a skillet, cook ground beef over medium-low heat until cooked through, stirring often. Drain the grease. Add the taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water and stir well, simmering for a few minutes so that the flavors can infuse.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray (you can also use 2 cookie sheets and spread things out more). Spread the chips evenly in the pan(s).
Spread half of the cheese over the chips. Sprinkle the taco meat evenly over the chips. Do the same with the black beans and then the corn. Top the nachos with the rest of the shredded cheese.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with additional toppings of your choice!

Notes

Note: This is not a good meal to have leftovers of because the chips get soggy, so I recommend only making the amount that your family will eat in one sitting.

Nutrition

FAQs about Baked Nachos:

What goes on nachos?

Our family loves seasoned ground beef (or another meat), cheddar cheese, black beans, and corn. You could also add olives, tomatoes, sour cream, chopped onion, and avocado/guacamole.

What temperature should I bake nachos?

These nachos bake at 425 degrees.

How long to cook nachos in oven?

Bake them for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and it’s warm throughout.

How to melt cheese for nachos?

Cover the chips and other toppings with cheese before putting in the oven. Freshly shredded cheese melts more fully and smoothly than packaged shredded cheese will.