Easy Beef Nachos

Anyone who knows me knows that I will take a plate of nachos over a taco ANYDAY. Hands down. I can’t explain the difference in holding everything neatly in a taco shell vs having it all laid over a bed of tortilla chips, but it’s just not as satisfying. As with my many other addictions, my family is subjected to nachos for dinner whenever I have a hankering. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also SUPER easy to make.

To start, dice up some bell peppers and onions. I personally hate even looking at onions, so I sub in dried minced onion wherever possible. I know it’s not as filling, but it works for me. If you don’t have a strong disdain for chopping onions, feel free to add the real thing! It is delicious.

Add the diced peppers and onions to a skillet along with a pound of ground beef and cook it up until the meat is browned and the veggies are starting to soften. Then, drain the grease and add in your water and taco seasoning packet.

Side note: I LOVE red, yellow, and orange bell peppers for this recipe, but my 5 year old daughter happens to love them too – as snacks. So, because I love her, she gets the colored peppers and my nachos get green bell peppers as you can see in the picture above. If you have the beautiful sweet bell peppers available to you, use them! They are fantastic for nachos!

Let’s get back on track though. Once you’ve added your water and taco seasoning, let it come to a simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce “thickens.” It’s ready now, and it’s time to assemble the nachos!!

Start with your bed of crunchy tortilla chips, add several spoonfuls of the meat mixture, and then add all the other scrumptious toppings you desire! Shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, salsa con queso dip – did I already mention sour cream? (I know I have a problem, but we can unpack that later). Let’s dig in to these nachos!! Enjoy!

Looking to make these even better? The only way I know to do that is to cook it up in cast iron! This is the skillet I’ve used for years, but if you need a smaller one, this one is a little easier to handle. Make sure to check out my Caring for Cast Iron post to ensure a long, healthy life for your cast iron!