Loaded Beef and Bean Nachos

By Simply Scratch

Ingredients

3 cups cheddar jack cheese (freshly grated/shredded)
1 cup diced bell peppers (I like a mix of red, orange and yellow )
1 medium red onion (finely diced)
1/2 cup sliced black olives
4 green onions (sliced)
1 to 2 medium roma tomatoes (seeded and finely diced)
2 teaspoons olive oil (or avocado oil)
1/2 medium yellow onion (finely diced)
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 pinch kosher salt
1 pound lean ground beef (I like to use 90/10)
5 tablespoons taco seasoning (see notes)
1 recipe fat free refried beans (or use store bought (I like La Preferida))
16 ounces thick/sturdy tortilla chips (or more as needed)
chopped fresh cilantro (for serving)
guacamole
sour cream
salsa
jalapeños (raw or pickled)
hot sauce

Servings6

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325°F (or 160°C).Prep your desired nacho veggies and shred 3 cups of cheddar jack cheese. We like a trio of bell peppers (for color of course), red onion, black olives, green onion and seeded and diced roma tomatoes. Set this off to the side.

MAKE THE BEEF AND BEAN MIXTURE:

Add oil, onion and garlic to a 10-inch skillet. Heat on medium to medium-low, stir and cook 5 to 8 minutes or until softened. Then add in the ground beef. Use a spatula to break up the meat into small crumbles and cook until no longer pink. About 10 minutes.

Next, add in taco seasoning. Stir until combined. Since we are making a saucy meat mixture, so you'll want to make sure your taco seasoning has a thickener in it (like cornstarch or tapioca powder). See my notes above (under ingredient photo) on how to do that. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and stir until thickened slightly.

Next add in the fat free refried beans (in a pinch? you can use a can of fat-free refried beans I like the La Preferida brand). Stir until combined, adding a little more water if needed to thin out. Remove the pan off of the heat.

BUILD THE NACHOS:

Arrange a single layer of thick sturdy chips on the bottom of a rimmed metal baking sheet. See blog post for the best size pan to use.

Top with a little of the beef and bean mixture and a sprinkle of cheese. Add a second even layer of chips, top with more beef and bean mixture, cheese, peppers, onions and olives.Bake on the middle rack for 10 to 15 minutes or until both layers of cheese have melted.

Once baked, remove and top with tomatoes, green onions and finely chopped cilantro.

Serve with desired toppings like sour cream, guacamole, salsa, jalapeños, hot sauce etc.