Serve your guests a tray of Halloween Nachos this year. The spooky bat and ghost-shaped tortilla chips put a fun festive spin on ultimate nachos and are frightfully delicious!
Loaded with taco meat, beans, lots of topping and gooey melted cheese, these supremely scary Halloween nachos are simply boo-tastic.
Why This Recipe Works
Halloween nachos include everything you love about supreme nachos with the added twist of homemade Halloween-shaped tortilla chips. Layers and layers of cheesy goodness!
Ingredient Notes
- Tortillas – I used a combination of flour tortillas and corn tortillas. You can use both or just choose your favorite. I like the flavor of corn tortillas in nachos a little bit more. (If you have leftovers, try these corn tortilla quesadillas next.)
- Halloween cookie cutters – I used bats (this exact cookie cutter) and ghosts, but you could try pumpkins, witch hats, cats, Frankenstein heads, spiders… anything really! The shape should be easily identifiable and without too many details and intricacies to cut around.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step 1: Use cookie cutters to cut Halloween shapes from tortillas. Make enough for three layers on a cookie sheet.
Tip: Save the tortilla scraps for the bottom layer. Nobody will see them, so the shape doesn’t matter!
Step 2: Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry tortillas until golden brown or desired crispness, about 2 minutes. You may want to flip over halfway through to brown both sides. Let drain on a paper towel-lined tray; sprinkle with salt immediately. Cook those scraps too!
Step 3: Line the bottom of a rimmed cookie sheet with fried tortilla chips. This is the layer you can use all those scraps if you cooked them.
Step 4: Layer 1/3 of taco beef, beans, green onions, jalapeno slices, cilantro, salsa and cheese. Repeat layers using up scraps and some of the Halloween shapes.
Step 5: For the final layer, use all the Halloween shapes, then top with shapes and around the edges. Place chips creatively for a fun Halloween presentation.
Step 6: Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Recipe FAQ
Baking nachos allows the toppings and cheese to mingle and marry. Broiling just melts the cheese so the toppings stick to the chips. I much prefer baking for the ultimate flavor.
If you want to maintain crisp tortilla chips, you can sprinkle the bottom layer of chips with shredded cheese and bake for a minute or two, before layering the remaining toppings. That will create a bit of a barrier between the chips and the wet, saucy toppings.
Cheddar and Monterey Jack are good melting cheeses for nachos. I also often use PepperJack cheese with good results. Keep in mind that thin strands won’t melt as well as thicker cuts.
Related Recipes
More Halloween Recipes
Halloween Nachos
Ingredients
- 22 corn tortillas Adjust amount as desired
- 6 burrito-sized flour tortillas Adjust amount as desired
- 1 lb ground beef seasoned with taco mix Prepared as you would when making tacos. I use a pouch of taco seasoning mix.
- 15 oz spicy black beans drained but not rinsed
- 15 oz chili beans drained but not rinsed
- ¾ cup chopped green onions
- ¾ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 jalapenos thinly sliced
- 2 cups Mexican cheddar
- 2 cups Pepper Jack cheese
- Serve with salsa sour cream, tomato, lettuce, taco sauce, as desired
Instructions
- Use cookie cutters to cut Halloween shapes from tortillas. Make enough for three layers on a cookie sheet. Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry tortillas until golden brown or desired crispness, about 2 minutes. You may want to flip over halfway through to brown both sides. Let drain on a paper towel-lined tray; sprinkle with salt immediately. Cook those scraps too! Don't overcrowd the fryer with the Halloween shapes. (When cooking the scraps, that won't matter.
- Line the bottom of a rimmed cookie sheet with fried tortilla chips. This is the layer you can use all those scraps if you cooked them.
- Layer 1/3 of taco beef, beans, green onions, jalapeno slices, cilantro, salsa and cheese. Repeat layers using up scraps and some of the Halloween shapes. For the final layer, use all the Halloween shapes, then top with shapes and around the edges. Place chips creatively for a fun Halloween presentation.
- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
- Tortillas – I used a combination of flour tortillas and corn tortillas. You can use both or just choose your favorite. I like the flavor of corn tortillas in nachos a little bit more. (I put the exact amounts I used in the ingredients list above, but you can make as many or as few as you need.)
- Halloween cookie cutters – I used bats (this exact cookie cutter) and ghosts, but you could try pumpkins, witch hats, cats, Frankenstein heads, spiders… anything really! The shape should be easily identifiable and without too many details and intricacies to cut around.
- After cutting out your Halloween shapes, save the tortilla scraps for the bottom layer. Nobody will see them, so the shape doesn’t matter!
