Air fryer nachos incorporate the same cheesy, crispy, goey, crunchy deliciousness that oven baked nachos provide, but they come together in less than 5 minutes with absolutely no preheating needed! Just throw all your favorite fixings on top of your chips, give it a whirl in the air fryer, and you’ll have a wonderfully tasty snack in no time! With fresh and flavorful ingredients, they're also healthy for you too!
a pinch of cayenne pepperOPTIONAL, if you like spice
30 to 50tortilla chips(see notes)
1cupcanned corndrained, rinsed, and dried
1cupcanned black beansdrained, rinsed, and dried
1 to 2cupssharp cheddar cheesefreshly shredded by hand with a cheese grater
Toppings
½cupromaine lettucechopped
1green onionsliced thin
½an avocadodiced
½cupgrape or cherry tomatoessliced
1jalapeñosliced thin and seeds removed
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together all of the dried seasonings from the chili powder to the onion powder, or cayenne powder (if using).
Prepare your air fryer basket or tray by spraying it with nonstick spray.
Add a single layer of chips to the bottom. Sprinkle some of the seasoning mix over the top. Then, top the chips with a layer of shredded cheese, black beans, and corn.
If you don’t mind your chips sticking together a bit, you can continue the process above until your air fryer basket is halfway full. Because you will be alternating the layers, the chips will still get all the delicious flavor and cheesy goodness. However, if you prefer, you can also cook the nachos in separate batches so the layers don’t stick as much.
Air fry at 350 degrees F for about 2 minutes or until the cheese melts completely.
You can remove the nachos from the air fryer tray or basket and place them on a serving platter or simply leave them in there to serve.
Top with any of your favorite fixings. I like to add lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, and avocado on top of mine.
I highly recommend making the tortilla chips from scratch, either in your oven or in the air fryer. You eliminate a ton of extra oil and fat by making your own and they still get perfectly golden brown and crispy. Plus, you get to season them any way you’d like!
I prefer to use blocks of cheese that I shred myself because it melts much better than pre-shredded cheese. Packaged shredded cheese that you buy in the grocery store is full of anti-caking agents which prevent it from sticking together in the bag. This also impacts its ability to melt properly. If you want the perfect gooey nachoey cheese pull, then you should not buy pre-shredded cheese.
These nachos are vegetarian as the recipe is written, but you can always top them with some cooked and seasoned shredded chicken or ground beef if you prefer.
If you don’t have an air fryer, nachos can easily be made right in your oven. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Then spread the chips, beans, corn, and cheese out on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove the pan from the oven and top with your favorite fresh fixings!
You can use any leftover seasoning to season meats, seafood, or vegetables.