Air Fryer Nachos Ready In 10 Minutes

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Some nights I plan out a whole fancy dinner. But on busy weeknights, I pretty much stare into the cupboards and fridge, and hope for the best. Enter this southwestern style lifesaving dish, that gets me through those days.

These Air fryer nachos as are quick, cheesy and a little messy. Aka proper comfort food, but minimal effort. As in layer everything, cook for a few minutes and the whole family is happy. These loaded nachos recipe is great served with Guacamole, for dinners, Cinco De Mayo, Mexican night, snack, as Game day party food, and late-night “just one plate” situation.

Here Is What Makes These Air Fryer Nachos Great

I make these probably way more than I should. Join me?

• Easy to make: Air Fryer loaded nachos equals layer, air fry, eat and repeat.
• Quick: Ready in minutes, before anyone can complain they’re hungry.
• Budget friendly: Made with affordable pantry ingredients.
• Versatile: Add in your favorite toppings, and change up for different audiences.
• Dietary: suitable for gluten-free diets.
• Delicious: Just like these Air Fryer Chili Cheese Dogs, juicy Air fryer Shrimp Skewers and Air Fryer Chicken Wings. So much yum.

Key Ingredient Notes

This is super simple. Recipe measurements and instructions in the recipe card below.

• Tortilla chips: I used gluten-free corn tortilla chips but use whichever you already have. Restaurant-style tortilla chips (or thicker chips) are the best to use as they are thicker and hold their shape. I suggest using plain chips so that the chili and cheese flavors shine through. Avoid chips with coating on as they can burn.
• Chili or ground beef: We’re using cooked leftover ground beef chili. #makeslifesoeasy. Vary the protein aka it can be beef, chicken chili, venison or veggie chili. If you don’t have chili, you can cook ground beef seasoned with cumin and chili powder and tomatoes to use instead. Honestly, I sometimes grab some canned chili from the grocery store.
• Cheese: I prefer a combination of Mexican cheese and cheddar cheese for that proper gooey cheesy treat. Please Use your favorite cheese blend mix. And whilst pre-shredded works, freshly grated melts a bit smoother. So see what works.

How To Make Air Fryer Nachos

Full recipe measurements and instructions in the recipe card below.

1. Fill the air fryer basket one-third full with tortilla chips.
2. Top with a third of the ground beef chili / or cooked ground beef or refried beans and salsa, and a third of the cheese.
3. Top with more chips, to almost two-thirds of the way full.
4. Layer on the remaining cooked chili and remaining cheese. 
5. Air Fry nachos at 350°F / 180°C for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
6. Remove from air fryer, add any toppings and best served hot immediately.

Air fryer temperatures will vary depending on the type and model, so use the cook time as a guide only and adjust as needed.

Bintu’s Tips For Success and Storage

Whilst Air fried nachos are super easy, I have a few tips that make a big difference.

• Nachos cook fast, so watch closely so they don’t burn. Ask me how I know?
• Layer nachos evenly, so every bit of tortilla has some chili and cheese. Yum!
• Avoid overcrowding the basket, fill to no more than two-thirds full. Too many layers means the middle will stay cold. Go for 2, but a max of 3 layers.
• Overlap the tortilla chips, to keep the melted cheese dripping into the basket.
• Line basket with aluminum foil and create handles to make removing the nachos easier. Or add parchment paper in the bottom of the basket for easier cleaning.
• To make these lowcarb, use low carb chips or roasted cauliflower instead.
• Nachos don’t store well, the chips will get soggy. So cook just before serving.
• To reheat, preheat the air fryer to 350°F / 180°C and reheat nachos for about 2-3 mins until nachos are warmed through and the chips crisp up again.

Make These Ground Beef Nachos In The Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C / gas 6.
2. On a rimmed sheet plan, layer tortilla chips, the ground beef chili / or cooked ground beef or refried beans and salsa, and then shredded cheese.
3. Bake for 5-10 minutes, or until the chips are toasted and the cheese is melted.

Favorite Toppings (The Seriously Fun Part)

Sometimes I keep it basic. And other times friend, I go aaaaaaaaaall in. I am a fan of adding in or, mixing and matching in things likes shredded chicken, shredded pork or smoky bacon and cooked salmon before cooking. For a veggie version, I swap out the meat for either simple refried beans, cooked black beans or cooked pinto beans along with a whole load of chunky salsa. Oh yes and extra cheese. Always extra cheese.

After the nachos are cooked, I love topping with the classics like salsa or pico de gallo, homemade guacamole, jalapeños, sour cream, sliced green onions, olives or just extra juicy diced tomatoes.

More Air Fryer Snacks

Want more easy air fryer recipes and snacks? Then try these below.

Best Equipment To Use

Get The Easy Air Fryer Chili Nachos Recipe:

Don’t forget to tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter if you try Air Fryer Nachos! It is really, really awesome for me when you make one of my recipes and I’d love to see it. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thank you for reading Recipes from a Pantry.

Air Fryer Nachos

This meal or snack is made with pantry staples and cook in less than 5 minutes.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Snack

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: 6

Calories: 597kcal

• Fill the air fryer basket to one-third full with tortilla chips.

• Top with half the ground beef chili (or cooked ground beef, or refried beans and salsa) and cheese.

• Top with more nachos to about two-thirds of the way full.

• Top with remaining cooked chili and cheese.

• Cook at 350F / 180C for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

• Remove from air fryer and serve.

• Nachos do cook up fast in the Air Fryer and oven, so watch these closely to make sure they don’t burn.
• If you don’t have chili, just fry up some beef with cumin and chili and use that instead.
• Fill the air fryer basket two-thirds with tortilla chips to avoid over crowding and risk these not cooking well.
• To avoid loosing most of the cheese from dripping make sure to overlap the tortilla chips.
• Feel free to line the Air Fryer basket with some foil with handles to make it easy to remove the nachos, before adding in the chips.

Calories: 597kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 790mg | Potassium: 313mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 423mg | Iron: 3mg