Chicken Nachos Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to crispy nachos? ›

Limiting the number of ingredients baked with the chips is the key to crispiness. Top chips with no more than two or three toppings. Choose from items such as black beans, refried beans, chopped grilled chicken, seasoned ground beef (browned and drained), or chopped jalapenos.

* Bring refrigerated toppings to room temperature before piling them onto the warm chips. * To prevent the chips from getting soggy, sprinkle grated or crumbled cheese on top and bake them in the oven for a few minutes. When melted, the cheese will act as a buffer between the chips and toppings.

He sliced and fried fresh tortilla chips, covered them in shredded cheddar cheese and sliced jalapenos, threw the mixture in the oven for a few minutes and named the dish after his nickname and thus created “Nachos Especials”!

Start with a base of tortilla chips, cheese, salsa, jalapeño, and any warm fillings like meats and veggies. Once the cheese melts, remove from the oven, add another layer, and repeat. This extra step ensures your nachos are well-covered and evenly baked from top to bottom.

A: While you can technically use any type of cheese for nachos, some cheeses work better than others. The best options include Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Queso Blanco.

Tip tortilla chips on to a baking tray, pour over salsa and scatter over a few sliced spring onions. Grate over a good chunk of cheese (fontina is perfect, but cheddar will do). Add a pinch of crushed chilli flakes, then put under a hot grill for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese.

Arrange half of tortilla chips onto prepared baking sheet in single layer, overlapping chips slightly. Top with half each of meat mixture, corn and black beans. Top with 2 cups cheese. Repeat Step 3 to create second layer with remaining beef, corn, beans and cheese.

Spread 5 cups chips in a 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron). Top with 1 cup chili, then half the beans and 1 cup cheese. Layer with remaining 5 cups chips, 1 cup chili, remaining beans, and 1 cup cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, 5 to 7 minutes.

Ignacio Anaya, a maître d'hôtel at a restaurant in Piedras Negras, in Coahuila, Mexico, created nachos in 1940. The original recipe has just three elements: tortilla chips, cheese and pickled jalapeños.

The cooking method

Drummond "nukes" the nachos in a microwave and the NYT grills them, but the best results, I find, come from baking, which heats the dish all the way through without making the base layer soft and chewy.

What is the best combination for nachos? ›

Control the Moisture. Moisture is the enemy of crispy nachos, so it's important to choose your toppings wisely. Avoid using watery vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers, as well as overly saucy ingredients.

On the stovetop

Make sure your layer of nachos isn't too thick, and be sure not to overcrowd the pan — two moves that can lead to soggy nachos. Place a layer of aluminum foil over the top of the pan, then replace the pan's lid. Heat the pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the nachos are crisp and warm.

Seriously, that's all it takes: a quick blast in a super-hot oven for a few minutes. Once the chips come out of the oven, you may fancy giving them a sprinkle of salt, but that's about all there is to it.

Melting Salts:

We've found that the secret to perfectly velvety-smooth nacho cheese sauce is a combination of keeping the cheese at low temperature while cooking, and the use of sodium citrate (derived from citric acid) and SHMP (sodium hexametaphosphate).