Sheet Pan Nachos with Chilli Topping

If I ask Jim what he wants for dinner, one of his inevitable answers is always Nachos.

The loaded kind.  Tons of veggies, heaps of melting cheese, and most definitely chilli.  Yep, we like chilli on our nachos.  I’m sure we’re not alone.  But the kind of chilli we use on nachos is not the same chilli that I would make for dinner.  The chilli for nachos is thicker, more dense, so that it won’t be too liquidy and mush up the nacho chips as everything is baking.

So today, may I present my Sheet Pan Nachos with Chill Topping.  Yes, the two of us can easily polish off this sheet pan’s worth.  I guess that is one of the major reasons I don’t make it as often as Jim would like! Not exactly low carb.  But it sure is tasty.

First of all, spray your baking sheet.  Don’t want that cheese to melt onto the sheet and become a bummer to scrape off after.  Or else, use a piece of parchment under everything.  Much easier this way.

I always do two layers.  An even layer of sturdy chips, half of the veggies you want to use, and good handfuls of cheese.  Repeat with the remaining chips, veggies and cheese.  And then mound the chilli in small piles along the centre of the top layer.  Sprinkle more cheese over the chilli.  Because you really should: more cheese!  I held back on the cheese for these photos, just so that you can see what is going on.  Please use more than you see here! 😀

The chilli is a meat and bean chilli, with beef stock instead of tomato purée making up the majority of the simmering liquid.  The spices are all there, but you want to let it cook down so that much of the liquid has cooked off.  If you end up using this chilli for another meal, feel free to add in more liquid or some more of those crushed tomatoes, to make it dinner a second time around, with a side of Mexican rice etc.

Into a 400F oven until the cheese has melted properly and the chilli is warmed through.  Having said this, if you have made your chilli in advance and are just now placing it over the nachos, warm it up on the stove over low heat before you do so.  If not, it may not warm up enough before the rest of the meal is ready to go.

I am giving you the proportions to make a good amount of chilli.  Either use it all for the whole family, or if it is only two or so of you, you can always freeze half.  Label it ‘Nacho Chilli’ and you are halfway there to another Nacho dinner!!  

When it comes to veggies for nachos, the sky is the limit.  We like red and green peppers, cherry tomatoes, white, red or Spanish onions, olives, jalapeños, and then avocado slices once they come out of the oven.  What veggies do you like?   Bowls of salsa, guac, and sour cream, and life is good.  Just add Cervezas!

Just a fun weekend dinner.  Easy on the budget, but still flavour packed.  This is really a year round comfort meal, isn’t it!?  And if you want a more traditional chilli option, for chilli night, try my Chilli, Texas Style

Love Jen

5 from 1 vote

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Sheet Pan Nachos with Chilli Topping

Tex Mex weekend snacking with the added bonus of a thick hearty chilli mounded over the veggie loaded nachos. Olé!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Tex-Mex

Keyword chilli, nachos

Prep Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Chilli

• 1 large yellow or Spanish onion diced small
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 lbs (675 gram) lean ground beef can substitute ground chicken or turkey, or even omit and use cooked green lentils
• 1/2 red pepper. chopped small
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp chipotle chilli powder can be replaced with ancho or if you can't find either, just use more of the regular chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2- 1 tsp cayenne pepper , optional
• 2 tbsp crushed tortilla chips , can also use cornmeal
• 1 14 oz (400 gram) can red kidney beans drained and rinsed, can use black beans instead
• 1 14 oz (400 gram) can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth can use chicken broth
• 1 tsp each kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp molasses or brown sugar optional, it's there just in case you like your chilli a touch sweet.
• 1 lime juiced

Nachos

• 5-6 large handfulls Tortilla Chips you can eyeball the amount based on the amount of people you are feeding
• 1/2- 3/4 red pepper diced
• 1/2- 3/4 green pepper diced
• 1 white red or spanish onion, diced
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper minced or sliced
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup olives sliced
• 1 cup Sour cream for serving
• 1 cup Guacamole for serving
• 1 cup Salsa for serving
• 2 Limes for serving
• 3-4 cups grated cheese you can use Monterey Jack, Cheddar, provolone, mozzarella, or even a combination of all of the above!

Instructions

Chilli

1. Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and sauté until just turning soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
2. Add the meat and cook, breaking up the meat and browning it evenly, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper and cook till just softened, about 5 or 6 minutes.

4. Add all the ground spices and cook through the meat and veggies, about 2 minutes. Add the cayenne if desired. Add the crushed tortilla chips and stir to coat it throughout. This will help thicken the chilli.

5. Add the beans and tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well. Add the stock. Bring to a rolling simmer and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced, and you are left with a thick glossy chilli. This could take 1 hour or more, depending on how thick you want it, and what heat you are using. Don't stop when it is still too liquidy though, this will make for a soggy nachos.
6. Season with salt and pepper. Taste to see how you like it, adjust any seasonings now.
7. You can add the molassses at this point, if you want to add a slight sweetness.
8. Finish it off with a splash of lime juice.
9. If not using right away, store in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer. Bring to room temperature before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

Sheet Pan Nachos

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Lay out half of the amount of tortilla chips you want to use. You really want one even layer with no paper showing through. The amount of chips you use will depend on how many you are feeding. I usually find that for the two of us, two or so large handfuls per layer works great.

3. Sprinkle half of the veggies you have chopped up over the chips. Do the same with the cheese. I probably use a good 1 1/2- 2 cups of cheese per layer. You do you!! Make sure each of the chips gets cheese!

4. Repeat with a second layer.
5. Spoon out the chilli over the centre of the loaded nachos. Again, you can use only as much of the chilli as you want to. Sprinkle the chilli with a bit more cheese.

6. Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and starting to bubble, and the chilli is nice and warm.

7. Serve it on the sheet pan at the table (even if this means the coffee table!) with the sour cream, guacamole, salsa and limes on the side.

Recipe Notes

You can make the chilli in advance and store in the fridge.  Freeze any unused portions for future Nacho evenings.  Or else feel free to add some more tomatoes etc and flesh it out to make chilli and rice for another evening.