Name: Cast Iron Nachos with Chili
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Ingredients: 1 large bag (12 oz.) plain Corn Chips; ½ Avocado, cut into slices; 3 tbsp. Sour Cream; 1 tbsp. Pickled Jalapenos; 3 cups Cheddar Cheese; 5 slices of American Cheese; 1 tsp. Whole Milk; 2 Limes, cut into wedges; 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, roughly chopped; ¼ Red Onion, finely chopped; Juice of 2 Lemons; ½ cup Cilantro, roughly chopped; ½ tsp. of Salt; 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef; 2 tbsp. Tomato Paste; 2 tbsp. Chipotle in Adobo Sauce; 1 Yellow Onion, finely diced; 2 Celery Stalks, finely diced; 3 Garlic Cloves, finely diced; 2 tsp. Cumin Powder; 2 tsp. Smoked Paprika; 2 tsp. Coriander Powder; 1 tsp. Chili Powder; 2 tsp. Salt; 1 tsp. Neutral Oil (Vegetable Oil / Canola Oil)

Making Homemade Nachos is never a bad idea. Have you ever suggested to your partner / friend / housemate that we should make Nachos for dinner, and they say no? It doesn’t work like that! Whenever Nachos are floated as an option for dinner, there’s always universal agreement! They make for the perfect dinner when you can’t really be bothered fussing about, but still want something delicious. This is our recipe for our famous Cast Iron Nachos with Chili. They’re super-simple to make and taste so good!

Nachos are an all-time classic One Pot Meal

The most basic of Nachos are generally considered a One Pot Meal. If you consider sprinkling some Corn Chips onto a sheet pan, grating over some Cheese then adding some toppings like Pico de Gallo, Sour Cream, and Guac right before eating

For this recipe however, we’re ramping up the flavor significantly. These aren’t your run of the mill Friday night Nachos. We’re adding a delicious homemade Chili to the dish which packs such a powerful flavor that really elevates the dish. The good news is the entire dish can (of course) still be made using just one pot. In this instance, none other than the trust Cast Iron Skillet

Nachos one pot meal — Make no mistake about it, Nachos are one of the original One Pot Meals, and one of the best!

Kicking off the Dish, it’s time to make Chili!

The Chili preparation is the most labor-intensive part of the recipe, but it is what gives these Cast Iron Nachos all their flavor. You’ve got a few options here. You can either make our amazing One Pot Spicy Chili recipe, or follow the recipe outlined below for a simple, yet delicious tasting Chili

The key to Chili is to be heavy-handed on the seasoning. We’re not just talking about Salt and Pepper here either. I love to add a combination of Cumin Powder, Smoked Paprika, Coriander Powder, and Chili Powder to the Ground Beef. We’re not talking about a sprinkle or so either. No sir! We’re talking about heaped spoonful’s of the stuff!

The trade off with using a lower fat content Beef is there isn’t as much flavor. That’s where the addition of the spices comes in. The spices will infuse brilliant flavors into the Chili, and form the cornerstone flavor profile of the Cast Iron Nachos dish

Cast Iron Nachos Chili — Good quality Chili is the cornerstone of great tasting Cast Iron Nachos

Always layer the Meat and Cheese when building Nachos

This should be a universal rule for any restaurant or bar that serves Nachos. Don’t simply add a mountain of Nachos to the pan and then add your toppings to the top. This is the worst way to enjoy Nachos! Once you get through that top layer, all you’ve got to eat is Corn Chips!

The secret to perfect Nachos is to ensure that there will be the same flavors and textures from the first bite, to the very last. How to achieve this is by layering your flavors and ingredients as you build the Nachos in the pan

The three primary ingredients to include is a layer of Chips, a layer of Chili, and a layer of Cheese. Depending on how high your Cast Iron Pan is you could probably get 3 – 4 layers high. By layering the Nachos you’ll get a beautiful filling of Meat and Cheese. The Cheese will melt and bind the Chili and Chips together. This will result in a crispy, gooey, and flavorful texture with every bite

We personally feel that any restaurant or bar that simply stacks a bunch of toppings onto a massive pile of Chips without layering cheese and meat should have their Nacho license revoked! There needs to be a governing body for Nachos like the Michelin Guide. Anyone who fails to prepare Nachos in the proper, authentic way is banished from the Nacho making community forever!

Nachos in Cast Iron — Always layer the meat and cheese when building Nachos. There’s nothing worse than a plate of Nachos that is just a bunch of chips underneath the toppings!

Always use plain Corn Chips, and avoid the flavored versions

While chowing down on a big bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos is a great way to enjoy a Friday night, they don’t make for the best Chips to use in homemade Nachos. The flavors Chips are packed with so much flavoring that it’ll completely transform the taste of your Nachos

We’re going for fresh flavors in these Nachos, with flavors that we are controlling. So, while that bright orange powdery stuff may taste good on it’s own, it’s going to mess up the flavors of your other ingredients in the Nachos. The good news is that the plain / regular Corn Chips are usually a lot cheaper than the flavored stuff. So, save some bucks and enjoy a better tasting dish!

Cast Iron Nachos toppings — Finish off your Cast Iron Nachos with a mix of Pico de Gallo, Avocado, Sour Cream, Jalapenos, and more melty cheese!

Toppings for the perfect Cast Iron Nachos with Chili

We like to keep the toppings super-traditional for these Nachos. There’s no beating the combination of fresh Pico de Gallo, Pickled Jalapenos, Sour Cream, and Avocado to finish off your Nachos right before eating. They’re all so easy to make too, so once you’ve got your Nachos baking away in the oven you can whip up these toppings in less than 10 minutes

For our Pico de Gallo we like to follow this simple recipe. It’s a classic combination of fresh Tomatoes that have been roughly chopped into small pieces. They’re combined in a bowl with finely diced Red Onion and some freshly chopped Cilantro

Add some Lemon Juice and Salt then give it a good mix through. To get the best flavor from your Tomatoes, keep them at room temperature and try to avoid having them in the refrigerator. When cold their flavor is muted, so it is best to enjoy them at room temperature. They’re going to get warm anyway once sprinkled on top of the Nachos!

You can make a simple Guacamole, or, in this case, we just sliced up some Avocado and served it with a squeeze of Lime Juice and some Salt. They’re great this way, and save the hassle of mucking around with making a Guacamole