I saw a video for fried quesadilla nachos the other day, and they looked so freakin’ delicious that I had to make my own fried nachos. What makes these fried nachos so special? Glad you asked. It’s the cheese stuffed chips. Yeah, that’s right, cheese stuffed chips!!!
And, of course, I had to do this recipe Over the Fire Cooking style: steak with an insanely flavorful marinade, the homemade chips and the absolute best nacho toppings. Nothing beats a great plate of nachos, and these ones are next level. I’m always happy when a viral recipe (like smoked party ribs) lives up to the hype!
Why You’ll Love Fried Nachos
Let’s talk homemade chips. How are they cheese stuffed? Well first, we’ll make a handful of mini quesadillas. Warm up the tortillas, cover them with cheese, and then top them with another tortilla. Then all we have to do is slice the tortilla into chips and fry them! Easy enough for the best nacho chips ever.
These fried nachos also amp up the flavor with skirt steaks in a spicy lime marinade, lots of shredded cheese, and loads of toppings. If you’re crunched for time, you can skip the marinade if you want. I highly recommend making time for it because this marinade will only add more flavor to your fried nachos. Last thing: if it’s your first time frying tortillas, keep an eye on them, as our quesadilla chips will get super crispy super fast!
Want more ideas for game day eats? Check out my roundups for The Best Tailgating Recipes, Grilled Appetizer Recipes and The Best Slider Recipes.
Fried Nachos Ingredients
- Steak & Marinade: We’ll season whole skirt steaks with FYR BLK Hot Sauce, lime juice, Chipotle Garlic Rub and some canola oil.
- Quesadilla Chips: These crunchy chips are so freakin’ delicious. Grab shredded cheese (either Monterey Jack or cheddar works), six large tortillas and some frying oil to make these bad boys.
- Nacho Toppings: My go-to toppings for these fried homemade nachos are diced red onions, chopped cilantro, more shredded cheese, sliced jalapeño, sour cream and guacamole.
Homemade Guacamole
Making your own guacamole is one of the easiest ways to take this dish to the next level. Grab 3 ripe avocados, then halve, pit and cut them into 1/2-inch pieces. Put those pieces in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion, 1/4 teaspoon of grated lime zest, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 minced serrano chile and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro. Mash it all together in a bowl, season it with kosher salt and pepper and serve ASAP.
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How to Make Fried Nachos
Prepping the Steak
In a large food safe bowl, thoroughly mix together 2 tablespoons FYR BLK Hot Sauce, juice from two medium limes, 2 tablespoons Chipotle Garlic Rub and 1.5 tablespoons canola oil. Then, drop in 2 whole skirt steaks, mix them into the marinade and cover. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight.
Making the Quesadilla Chips
When you’re ready to cook, preheat your grill to medium high (about 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Place a cast iron skillet to the grill so we can make our quesadillas. You’ll need about 3 cups of shredded cheese and 6 large tortillas.
Add one tortilla, top it with a handful of cheese, then place another tortilla on top. Cook the quesadilla until it’s crispy golden brown and the cheese has melted. Flip and continue cooking until done. Once it’s done cooking, remove it from the skillet and repeat for the rest of the quesadillas.
Heat your frying oil to 350 degrees F and cut up your quesadillas into a “tortilla chip” shape. Add to the frying oil to cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, then pull off and let cool. Do this step in batches so you don’t overcrowd the oil.
Grilling the Steaks
Now, it’s time to grill those skirt steaks. Heat up the grill to high heat (about 400 degrees F). Next, add the steaks to the grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side until medium rare (about 120 degrees F internal temperature). When the steaks are done, pull them off the grill and let rest for 10 minutes.
Assembling the Fried Nachos
Slice up your steak into cubes and begin building your nachos.
Start with a layer of fried quesadilla tortilla chips, shredded cheese, chopped steak, sliced jalapeños and diced red onions. Then, drizzle sour cream over everything, Finally, top with guacamole and pico de gallo. Serve and enjoy!
What to Serve with Fried Nachos
This is a freakin’ loaded plate of fried nachos, so you won’t need much in terms of sides. A simple slaw with lots of lime and green onions and a beer to wash it down should do the trick.
Leftovers and Reheating
The truth is you’re best off eating nachos the day you make them. I don’t know many people who like a soggy tortilla chip! But if you have extra steak, it’s easy to make these nachos again. For your leftover steak, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. To reheat, throw the aluminum foil packet on a warm grill and let it heat through for about 10-15 minutes.
If you’ve got leftover quesadilla chips, let them cool down all the way and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Normally, I’d say leave chips at room temperature so they don’t get stale, but we’ll have to refrigerate these ones because of the cheese. Reheat in the oven or the air fryer so they don’t get soggy.
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FAQs
Since tortilla chips tend to be made out of corn, I’d use corn tortillas for this fried nachos recipe. Corn tortillas tend to have an earthier flavor and aren’t as soft as flour tortillas, so they’ll hold up better in the frying process.
Flank steak is a good substitution. If you want to go in a different direction and are planning to skip the marinade anyway, you could also make these fried nachos with ground beef, seasoned with your favorite taco seasoning.
The best thing about homemade nachos is that you can add whatever toppings you want. I’ve got my favorites, but you could top your fried nachos with refried beans or black beans, black olives, green onions or other hot peppers. Whatever you think is the best flavor, go with it!
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Fried Nachos
Ingredients
Steak & Marinade:
- 2 Whole Skirt Steaks
- 2 tbsp FYR BLK Hot Sauce
- 2 medium Limes juiced
- 2 tbsp Chipotle Garlic Rub
- 1.5 tbsp Canola Oil
Quesadilla Chips:
- 3 cups Shredded Cheese Jack or Cheddar
- 6 Large Tortillas
- Frying Oil
Nacho Toppings:
- Diced Red Onions
- Chopped Cilantro
- Shredded Cheese
- Sliced Jalapeño
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
Instructions
- In a large food safe bowl, add all the ingredients for the steak marinade and mix thoroughly. Add your steak into the marinade, mix, cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.
- Preheat your grill to medium-high temperature about 350F.
- Add a skillet to the grill. Add one tortilla down topping with a handful of cheese and another tortilla. Cook until crispy golden brown and the cheese has melted. Flip and continue cooking until done. Pull off and repeat for the rest of the quesadillas.
- Heat up frying oil to 350F and cut up your quesadillas into a “tortilla chip” shape. Add to the frying oil to cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, then pull off and let cool. Do in batches so as to not overcrowd the oil!
- Heat up the grill to high heat (about 400F). Next, add the steaks to the grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side until medium rare (about 120 internal). When the steaks are done, pull off and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice up your steak into cubes and begin building your nachos. Start with a layer of fried quesadilla tortilla chips, shredded cheese, chopped steak, sliced jalapenos and diced red onions. Drizzle sour cream over everything and top with guacamole and pico de gallo. Serve and enjoy!
