Loaded Skillet Nachos with Beef — EASY, ready in 15 minutes, and LOADED with taco-seasoned ground beef, black beans, corn, cilantro, and lots of CHEESE!! Great for parties, game days, after school snacks, or a cheat night dinner!!
Skillet Loaded Nacho Recipe
I cannot resist homemade nachos, especially when they’re loaded with all of my favorites like seasoned ground beef, black, beans, corn, cilantro, and of course, plenty of melted cheese.
I cannot resist (melted) cheese in any form. That’s just a fact. And with all the different ingredients there is so much texture and so many Mexican-inspired flavors going on in every bite.
These ground beef nachos are so fast and easy and are ready in just 15 minutes from start to finish. A little too fast and easy and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand.
And if the truth be told? I could make a dinner out of homemade nachos. Just sayin’.
Ingredients in Loaded Skillet Nachos
To make this easy cast iron skillet nacho recipe, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Ground beef
- Taco seasoning
- Tortilla chips
- Cowboy Caviar
- Shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Green onions
- Fresh cilantro
If you’re not familiar with Cowboy Caviar, it’s a thick black bean, corn, and red pepper salsa with a fair amount of kick. If you can’t find it in your area, use a thick bean and corn-based salsa.
How to Make Nachos in a Skillet
Making homemade nachos with ground beef is quick and easy! Here are the basic steps:
- Simply brown ground beef, add taco seasoning, add a layer of tortilla chips to an oven-safe skillet, and top with the taco-seasoned beef. I used Hint of Lime chips but any corn tortilla chip is fine.
- Then add Cowboy Caviar, cheese, and repeat with another layer of chips, beef, Cowboy Caviar, and cheese.
- Then just bake the nachos until the cheese melts and everything is ooey-gooey and top the nachos with green onions and fresh cilantro for a nice pop of freshness and color.
Can This Recipe Be Prepared in Advance?
Once you assemble the nachos in the skillet, you’ll want to bake and eat them right away or else the tortilla chips will become soggy.
However, you can prep the toppings and brown the ground beef up to 48 hours in advance. Then, all you have to do day-of is assemble and bake the nachos.
Can I Add Additional Nacho Toppings?
If you have red onions, guacamole, avocado slices, pico de gallo, pickled radishes, sour cream, or any variety of extra salsa you want to add, go for it. These babies are already loaded and I say the more, the merrier.
Can I Use Ground Turkey?
I made the loaded nachos with ground beef , but if you’d like to make slightly healthier nachos, you’re welcome to use ground turkey or chicken instead. Just note that ground turkey doesn’t contain as much fat as ground beef, so your loaded nachos might not be as flavorful.
You may also want to consider making my Loaded Chicken Enchilada Nachos instead of these loaded beef nachos.
Tips for Making Loaded Nachos
Taco seasoning: I used medium heat taco seasoning on these loaded nachos, but you’re welcome to buy whichever kind you’d like. I also prefer buying reduced sodium taco seasoning so I can control the amount of salt in these beef nachos.
Browning the ground beef: For easier scooping, be sure to continually break up any clumps that form as the ground beef browns. You want the beef to be finely crumbled so it’s easier to distribute over the nachos and scoop out.
Scaling the recipe: This recipe serves 6 but can easily be scaled up or down to suit however many people you’ll be serving. Just note that loaded nachos are best enjoyed right away and don’t keep well in the fridge.
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Loaded Beef Skillet Nachos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
- 1 pound lean ground beef, I used 90% lean
- one 1-ounce packet taco seasoning, I used medium heat, reduced sodium
- 8 cups corn tortilla chips, I used Hint of Lime
- one 13-ounce jar Cowboy Caviar, or a thick black bean, corn, red pepper salsa
- 2 to 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
- 1 to 2 tablespoons cilantro or to taste, minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- To a large skillet, add the optional oil, ground beef, and cook beef over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through; stir and crumble as it cooks.
- Evenly sprinkle the taco seasoning and stir; set aside.
- To a separate oven-safe skillet, add half the chips, evenly top with half the beef, half the cowboy caviar, and half the cheese.
- Repeat the layering process with the remaining half of the chips, beef, cowboy caviar, and cheese.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Evenly sprinkle with the green onions, cilantro, and serve immediately. Nachos are best warm and fresh.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Couldn’t you make more recipes without cheese and cream? I would love to be able to make some more of your stuff but I don’t use much dairy products, only milk and butter (I can easily substitute those)
Well nachos are inherently one of those recipes that cheese IS a key ingredient. Can’t really have nachos without it! At that point it would just be chips with beans or chips with salsa.
There are vegan cheeses such as the Daiya brand that melt very well.
I also have about 2000 other recipes on my site without cheese or sour cream.
great
Hi! Happy Monday! Just wanted to write to tell you that I made these last night and they were AMAZING! So easy to put together with lots of flavor! I will definitely make these again. :)
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad they were a hit and that you’ll make them again!
Yum–perfect for Super Bowl Sunday–or Netflix!!
Agreed! Can’t go wrong with a Netflix and nachos night :)