{Healthier} Restaurant Style Nachos Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is nachos healthy for diet? ›

Nachos can be a healthy snack or meal if they're made the right way. For healthy nachos be sure to use whole grain tortilla chips, load up on vegetables, and use leaner meats and cheeses. You could also skip the sour cream and opt for plain Greek yogurt instead. And, don't forget to practice portion control!

The best options include Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Queso Blanco. Q: Can I use pre-shredded cheese for nachos? A: Pre-shredded cheese can be convenient, but it may not melt as well as freshly shredded cheese.

To avoid a nacho nightmare, I toughen the chips up with a quick pre-bake in a 350°F oven, and then sprinkle a protective layer of the shredded cheese on them to create a buffer between the chips and the rest of the toppings. The cheese will melt slightly.

Green bean chips are an easy swap for standard potato chips since they can easily be purchased at most grocery stores. You can also make green bean chips from scratch by baking them in the oven or using an air fryer. These chips offer the health benefits of antioxidants, potassium and calcium.

Best: Beanitos White Bean Chips

When you're looking for a simple tortilla chip with nothing more than just a little bit of sea salt, Beanitos White Bean Tortilla Chips are a healthy option. "These tortilla chips are made with white beans and have 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein per serving," says Goodson.

Eating a lot of spicy nacho flavored Dorito chips can increase the risk of weight gain, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol due to their high calorie, sodium, and unhealthy fat content. Additionally, consuming spicy foods in excess may cause digestive discomfort such as heartburn or indigestion.

Monterey Jack

It's a semi-hard cheese with a mellow yellow color and buttery taste that compliments tangy spices, like jalapenos, chilis, hot sauces, and other flavors commonly paired with Mexican cuisines.

Sharp cheddar gets my vote for nacho cheese. It melts smoothly without being stringy, while having a nice flavorful punch. You can use mild or medium cheddar if you prefer, but the flavor will be a bit blander. Monterey jack and pepper jack also melt really well into sauces and make a great white nacho cheese sauce.

Two of the most common Mexican cheeses you probably heard are cotija and queso fresco. These two popular Mexican kinds of cheese have distinctive characters that they add to various Mexican dishes. Queso fresco and cotija cheese are the most common and are often compared to each other for multiple reasons.

Nachos are a notorious calorie bomb

WebMD calls nachos one of the "worst Mexican dishes for your health," as the gut-busting combo of fried chips, heaps of cheese, beef, beans, sour cream, and guac can lead even diners who share an order to take in more than a cheeseburger's worth of calories and fat.

Are nachos better in the oven or grill? ›

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.

Here's a fact: If you put a plate of tortilla chips topped with cheese in the microwave and zap them until the cheese melts, the cheese will melt way before the tortilla chips have the chance to take on any color or toasted flavor. With nachos baked in the oven, the chips toast while the cheese melts.

What goes onto a plate of nachos is completely subjective. The basic ingredients remain the same – tortilla chips, cheese, and jalapeños. Beyond these, your choices may range from meats, sour cream, salsa to guacamole. The foundation of any plate of nachos is the humble tortilla chip.

Crisp fried bacon, steak, salami slices and cheese sticks can also be lined up on a platter with salsas for dipping on the side. As an experiment, try putting one of these plates out next to your veggie platter and see which one disappears faster, just for fun.