Air Fryer Nachos

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!

Course Snack

Cuisine American, Mexican

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 2

Total Time 7

Servings servings

Calories 339kcal

Author Alana Lieberman

Cost $10

Equipment

air fryer

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon chili powder more or less
¼ teaspoon cumin more or less
¼ teaspoon garlic powder more or less
¼ teaspoon paprika more or less
¼ teaspoon onion powder more or less
a pinch of cayenne pepper OPTIONAL, if you like spice
30 to 50 tortilla chips (see notes)
1 cup canned corn drained, rinsed, and dried
1 cup canned black beans drained, rinsed, and dried
1 to 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese freshly shredded by hand with a cheese grater

Toppings

½ cup romaine lettuce chopped
1 green onion sliced thin
½ an avocado diced
½ cup grape or cherry tomatoes sliced
1 jalapeño sliced 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.
Serve with your favorite homemade salsa or guacamole.

Notes

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.

Nutrition