Campfire Grilled Nachos
Everyone gets to customize their own nachos with this simple recipe made over the campfire or grill. Add your favorite ingredients and pile on the cheese!
Equipment
- Disposable foil pans (one per person for individual pans, or one large pan to share)
- Heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Campfire grate or grill grate
- Tongs or oven mitts
Ingredients
- Tortilla chips (corn or flour) - or thinly sliced sweet potato for a low-carb version
- 1 lb ground meat (ground turkey or ground beef), cooked with taco seasoning - or shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar recommended)
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 can (4 oz) green chiles
- Optional: jalapeños, pinto beans, refried beans, sour cream, salsa
Instructions
- Prepare your taco meat or protein according to your preferred method. Cook ground meat with taco seasoning in a skillet until fully cooked. If using rotisserie chicken, simply shred it.
- Chop all your toppings: dice the tomato, onion, and avocado. Drain and rinse the canned beans. Set everything out so assembly is fast and easy.
- Place a single layer of tortilla chips (or thinly sliced sweet potato) on the bottom of your foil pan.
- Add a layer of your desired toppings over the chips, including the taco meat, beans, onion, tomato, avocado, and green chiles.
- Add a layer of shredded cheese over the toppings.
- Repeat the layering - chips, toppings, cheese - until the pan is full.
- Finish with a thick, generous layer of shredded cheese on the very top.
- Cover the pan with a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and crimp it tightly around all the edges to seal in the heat.
- Place the covered pan on a grate over the campfire or on a grill set to medium heat. Do NOT place it directly over an open flame, or the bottom will burn.
- Cook for 15 to 30 minutes depending on the temperature of your fire. Sweet potato nachos will need closer to 25 to 30 minutes. Tortilla chip nachos are typically ready in 15 to 20 minutes.
- Carefully peel back a corner of the foil to check doneness. The cheese should be fully melted and bubbling, and all toppings should be hot and tender.
- Use tongs or oven mitts to carefully remove the pan from the fire. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving - the pan will be very hot.
- Add any cold toppings such as sour cream, fresh salsa, or extra guacamole right before eating. Serve directly from the foil pan.
Notes
- Always use indirect heat - a bed of coals rather than active flames - to prevent burning.
- Cast iron skillets also work great for this recipe and give a slightly crispier result. Handle with extreme care as cast iron holds heat for a long time.
- For camping trips, prep the taco meat, diced veggies, and shredded cheese at home before you leave to speed up assembly at the campsite.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, simply skip the meat and add extra beans and veggies.
- The sweet potato version is a delicious low-carb alternative - thinly slice the sweet potato and use in place of tortilla chips.