Get ready to upgrade your nacho game with these crispy, easy to eat air fryer nachos. Made using the traditional single-chip method, each chip is perfectly topped with melty cheese and Tex-Mex flavor. No messy piles of chips and no chips left cheese-less. Say good-bye to those hard to handle nacho mountains and try these individual chip nachos in the air fryer.
Why Air Fryer Nachos Are Better
Nachos have always been a wildly popular appetizer. And a popular prep style is to heap as many ingredients as possible on a pile of chips for a big showy display. Commonly referred to as “loaded nachos”.
And, no matter what recipe I’ve tried, the end result is chips in an unruly pile where you’ll find many bare of ingredients, or soggy because too much salsa landed their way. A tangled mountain where nachos are hard to serve and messy to eat.
- Individual chip nachos cooked in the air fryer result in evenly melted cheese and crispy chips every time.
- No soggy chips.
- Every single chip will be evenly topped with ingredients.
- Air fryer nachos will result in a faster cook time.
- This method is easy to eat and perfect for small batch snacking.
- Simply stated, air fryer nachos turn out crispy, cheesy and and are a no-mess alternative.
- Nachos in the air fryer are a simple appetizer for a game day, or a light lunch or dinner.
The Traditional Nacho Method, Why Individual Chips Matter
What “Traditional Nachos” Really Means
Preparing nachos with ingredients placed on individual chips are not only a better idea, but also the traditional way to prepare them.
- Original style nachos are prepared where toppings are added to individual tortilla chips.
- They are not stacked and they are not layered.
- Invented in Mexico, nachos were prepared with simple ingredients of fried corn tortilla chips, shredded cheddar or longhorn cheese, and sliced pickled jalapeno peppers.
Why “Piled Nachos” Fail In The Air Fryer
Let’s take that traditional individual chip nacho theory and use the modern method of cooking them in the air fryer.
- Believe me, I’ve tried it and piled nachos don’t work well in an air fryer. Results are uneven melting and spots of burnt cheese.
- Not to mention the mess. Due to the designs of air fryer trays, ingredients and toppings will fall off during cooking.
- Simply Stated, if every chip doesn’t have cheese, it’s not a nacho.
With this single serve nacho experience, your guests will appreciate these small bite easy to eat nachos. And you’ll appreciate the ease in making air fryer tortilla chip nachos.
Table of contents
Best Ingredients For Air Fryer Nachos
Best Chips For Individual Nachos
- Choose thick, sturdy, round, yellow corn tortilla chips. I’ve tried using thin white corn chips and they break and burn more easily.
Best Cheese For Air Fryer Nachos
- Grate the cheese yourself and choose a good quality cheddar, Longhorn or even a Pepper Jack Blend. Packaged pre-grated cheese contain ingredients to keep the cheese from clumping. This results in a cheese that doesn’t melt as creamy or evenly.
Toppings That Cook Evenly, Keep It Simple
- Refried beans are soft and will stay put on that chip. And the small amount added to each chip will heat quickly. Choose canned refried beans for convenience, or take a look at my recipe for Instant Pot Refried Beans.
- A simple round of fresh or pickled jalapeno. If using pickled jalapenos place the slices on a paper towel to wick away the moisture. A jalapeno dripping in the brine solution may result ina soggy nacho. This I know because I’ve made the mistake.
Salsa Tip: If purchasing jarred salsa at the store, choose a thick and chunky style salsa. A watery salsa will make dipping or spooning more difficult. And try Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa, or even a homemade Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde.
How Do You Make Nachos In The Air Fryer? It’s Easy
This method is quick, easy, mess free and yields perfect little appetizer bites.
- Step 1: Arrange chips on a cutting board in a single layer. Using a fork, place about one tablespoon of refried beans on each tortilla chip.
- Step 2: Add a slice of fresh jalapeno pepper on top of the refried beans.
- Step 3: Place about a tablespoon of grated cheese on top of the jalapeno pepper and the refried beans. Press the cheese a bit with your fingers so it will stay on the chip.
- Step 4: Preheat your air fryer to 380 degrees and place the prepared nachos on your air fryer tray or fryer basket. My tray will hold 9 chips at a time, with no overlapping, so working in batches, cook for each batch two minutes, or until cheese is nicely melted.
Variations – Toppings To Add After Cooking
Variations for these air fryer nachos, individual chip method, will come in the way of toppings. But since we’re making single chips nachos, be careful not to load the chips up with too many ingredients. They’ll just fall off. The beauty of these nachos is their simplicity.
- Once the nachos are out of the air fryer, use a small spoon and drizzle with Mexican Crema. Mexican Crema is a thinner version of our commercial sour cream and will drizzle easier.
- Guacamole is a perfect and traditional topping for nachos. Provide a bowl of guacamole and small spoon.
- Cotija Cheese. We love Cotija cheese and use it a lot in practically every Mexican dish we make. It’s not a good melting cheese, as it resembles feta, so just crumble Cotija over the finished nachos.
- Pickled Onions: Friends don’t let friends eat Mexican food without pickled red onions. Pull out a few rings of pickled onions. Pat them dry and slice them into one-inch strands. Once you’ve dipped the air fryer nacho into the salsa, top with a little sliver of this wonderfully sweet condiment. Again, this is a topping to be used once the nachos are cooked and after taking that dip in the salsa.
- Cilantro: Provide a small bowl of single cilantro leaves. Once you’ve dipped the cooked nacho into the salsa, top with a small cilantro leaf.
- Ground Beef: Want to make air fryer nachos with ground beef? Use ground beef instead of refried beans. Simply cook and prepare ground beef using my Homemade Taco Seasoning. Using a small spoon, mound a tablespoon of the ground beef onto the chip. Use a lean ground beef, so there’s no grease to make the chip soggy. Press the ground beef as firmly as you can on the chip as to not break it. Seasoned cooked ground chicken would also work well here.
Pro Tip: Make your own homemade tortilla chips. Cut white or yellow soft corn tortillas into quarters (wedges). Heat about ½ inch of canola or other neutral oil in a fry pan until it reaches 350 degrees. I like to use my cast iron skillet. Fry the tortilla chip wedges 1 – 2 minutes per side or until they turn golden. Drain on paper towels and while the chips are still hot, sprinkle lightly with salt and a dash of chile powder, or even Tajine seasoning works well here.
Tips For Success
- What Not To Use: Toppings such as sliced olives, chopped avocado or chopped tomatoes will simply fall off when dipping the chips into salsa. I don’t recommend these and my vote once again goes for simplicity. You want a finished nacho chip where the melted cheese has enclosed the ingredients into a nice little cheesy package.
- Watch Them Close: Nachos in the air fryer cook in a jiff. And just like conventional ovens, air fryers vary in their capacity and cooking power. As soon as that cheese is nice and bubbly, your air fryer nachos are ready to eat.
- Use Air Fryer Tray Liners: Once that cheese starts melting, some is surely bound to melt onto the tray of your air fryer. Use air fryer tray liners for easy clean up. Before I purchased my liners, I’d line the tray with aluminum foil and poke lots of holes in the foil. (so the air could circulate). The liners are much more efficient and easier.
FAQ’s
There are so many brands, shapes and sizes of air fryers. I have found with my air-fryer and chips cooked in a single layer that 380 degrees is a good temperature to evenly heat the refried beans and melt the cheese.
Easy! The heat of a jalapeno pepper lies in the veins and seeds. To lessen the heat index of a jalapeno pepper, simply cut off the top of the pepper, and using a narrow handle of a spoon or fork, simply scrape out the inside of the pepper. This will allow you to still be able to slice the pepper into rings.
That all depends on your air fryer capacity. I can make two tray-fulls at once with nine nachos per tray. I do switch the trays half way through cooking so the bottom tray cooks at the same rate as the top tray.
Absolutely. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Simply place the chips and the toppings on a sheet pan. Cook for five minutes, or until that cheese is nice and bubbly.
Recipe for Air Fryer Nachos
Simple and fun, these air fryer nachos are much easier to eat than a pile of chips with the toppings piled high. Your guests will thank you for a true Tex-Mex nacho that’s a joy to eat.
And if you’re looking for even more appetizer recipes, don’t miss my Appetizer Category. You’ll find lots of great small bite recipes, including the most popular on my site for Campechana, Mexican Shrimp Cocktail.
Where did I learn to make this recipe? My son served air fryer nachos as an appetizer for our Mother’s Day Mexican themed brunch. A recipe adapted from Lisa Fain.
More Mexican Appetizer Recipes
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Easy Air Fryer Nachos
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- 24 corn tortillas round or triangle shape
- ½ cup refried beans canned or homemade
- 1 ½ cups Medium cheddar cheese grated
- 24 slices jalapeno pepper sliced thin. Or use pickled jalapeno peppers.
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees.
- Top each chip with 1 tablespoon of refried beans,. Top that with one slice of jalapeno pepper. Then 1 tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese. As you build the nachos, place them on the air fryer rack, single layer.
- Working in batches, cook each batch for two minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve with guacamole, sour cream and salsa for dipping.
Notes
Tips For Success
- What Not To Use: Toppings such as sliced olives, chopped avocado or chopped tomatoes will simply fall off when dipping the chips into salsa. I don’t recommend these and my vote once again goes for simplicity. You want a finished nacho chip where the melted cheese has enclosed the ingredients into a nice little cheesy package.
- Watch Them Close: Air fryer tacos cook in a jiff. And just like conventional ovens, air fryers vary in their capacity and cooking power. As soon as that cheese is nice and bubbly, your air fryer nachos are ready to eat.
- Grate Your Own Cheese: I’m a big cheerleader for grating your own cheese. Packaged grated cheese contain ingredients to keep the cheese from clumping. This results in a cheese that doesn’t melt as creamy or evenly.
- Use Air Fryer Tray Liners: Once that cheese starts melting, some is surely bound to melt onto the tray of your air fryer. Use air fryer tray liners for easy clean up.
Nutrition
Air Fryer Nachos … They’re What’s for An Appetizer
