Get ready for the ultimate steak nachos layered high and loaded with flavor. Crispy tortilla chips piled with tender seared steak, rich refried beans, creamy cheese sauce, and a generous sprinkle of melted shredded cheese. Topped with fresh homemade pico de gallo, zesty pickled jalapeños, cool sour cream, and a big scoop of guacamole. Every bite is savory, spicy, and completely irresistible.
This recipe calls for making all the components from scratch (except the beans) since these are ultimate nachos! However, you can sub any part with store bought that you like. Making homemade chips is really easy, but it does take a little time. You can sub store bought chips, cheese sauce, salsa or guac to meet your time constraints or desired effort. If you have time to make the components though, they make some darn good nachos.
If you are in the mood for Asian food – try these fusion sushi roll nachos instead!
Ultimate Steak Nachos
Ingredients
For the steak:
- 1 1/2 lbs flank steak
- salt and pepper
- oil for searing
For the chips:
- 20-30 corn tortillas cut into 4ths
- oil for frying
- salt
For the cheese sauce:
- 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1-2 tsp franks red hot sauce or other hot sauce
- salt to taste optional
For the beans:
- 1 can refried beans thinned to almost pouring consistency and seasoned with a little salt if needed
For the pico de gallo:
- 1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes cut into 1/4 inch dice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 white onion diced finely
- 1-2 serrano peppers seeded and diced finely
- 1/2 cup cilantro diced
- 1 tbsp lime juice
For the guac:
- 4 ripe avocados roughly mashed
- 1-2 tbsp mayo
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp lime juice more to taste
- few dashes of Tabasco
- salt to taste
For serving:
- 1/2 cup pickled jalapeno slices
- 8 oz shredded Monterey jack cheese
- Mexican crema for drizzling
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
For the steak:
- Trim the steak and cut into thin bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a wok or heavy duty skillet. Heat over high heat until very hot. Add a small amount of steak and allow to sear deeply before stirring and cooking just a few seconds so it is medium. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the meat.
For the chips:
- Cut each tortilla into 4 triangles and heat a wide pot of oil to 350. Add a few chips and fry until lightly golden brown, flipping them over a few times. Mine took maybe 2 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels and season with salt. Continue until you've fried all the chips.
For the cheese sauce:
- Toss the shredded cheddar and cornstarch in a sauce pan. Add 1 cup evaporated milk and whisk the mixture over low heat until the cheese begins to melt. It will look clumpy at first but end up smooth after a bit. Use more evaporated milk to reach desired consistency once it has thickened up. Set aside and rewarm when ready to serve.
For the pico:
- Toss tomatoes and 1 tsp salt and set in a colander or strainer over a bowl to remove the liquid. Let this sit for 30 minutes. Mix the tomatoes with the peppers, onion, lime, and cilantro. Discard the liquid.
For the guac:
- Mash the avocado and mix with the mayo, garlic powder, salt and lime juice. Add the tabasco. Taste and season further if needed.
To serve:
- Heat the oven to 350. Spread the chips out on a baking sheet leaving a circle free in the center. Top chips with cheese sauce, steak, refried beans, grated cheese and jalapenos. Bake until grated cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Top with pico and cilantro and drizzle crema over. Fill the open circle with guacamole and sour cream for dipping and serve!