TheKitchn.com

This sheet pan nacho recipe makes enough for a crowd, whether you're feeding a large family or serving friends on game day. Plus, you can add different toppings to different sections of the sheet pan, meaning it's totally customizable for picky kids (and grown-ups). Here's how to make the very best beefy nachos at home.

Cheese sauce is the secret to restaurant-style nachos at home

If you've ever felt like your homemade nachos were lacking the luxe creaminess of restaurant nachos, you're not alone. But I've got a hot tip for you: Making a quick stovetop cheese sauce, complete with crispy browned beef and a handful of seasonings, is the secret to making the most incredible nachos at home. The velvety sauce can coat the edges of the chips much better than a sprinkling of grated cheese can, so you'll get more cheesy coverage on every single chip.

Key steps for better nachos

--Give your meat the cheese sauce treatment. This recipe calls for ground beef, but you can skip the beef all together for a vegetarian version, or use another cooked meat such as shredded chicken or pork. Coating the protein in the cheese sauce prevents it from drying out in the oven.

--Use restaurant-style chips. Nachos with this much cheese call for sturdy chips! Look for "restaurant-style" chips, which are thicker and hold up best under the creamy cheese.

--Add more cheese. Is there a lot of cheese in this recipe? Yes, and the nachos are better for it. The second round of shredded cheese (the first goes in the sauce) adds texture and more cheesy flavor, and it holds additional toppings like beans and corn in place.

--Bake, don't broil. To ensure that every bite of cheesy chip goodness is warm, don't just rely in your oven's broiler to melt the cheese. A hot bake for less than 10 minutes will evenly heat everything on the sheet pan.

Topping and serving sheet pan nachos

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