Who doesn’t love some nachos during a movie or game night? The crunch of the chips and the gooey melted cheese are a match made in heaven. However, if you want to switch it up a bit, you can try out this recipe for Irish nachos that uses potatoes instead of tortilla chips. Here’s how to make them at home.
What Are Irish Nachos?
To make Irish nachos, you need to replace the tortilla chips with fresh, thinly sliced potatoes. You cook them until golden brown and customize them with your favorite nacho toppings. They’ll look a bit different to traditional nachos, but you might like them even better than the original ones. These “nachos” were first made at a restaurant in Texas, but the name was inspired by Ireland due to its historic abundance of potatoes.
Potatoes add more nutrition to the dish and are rich in vitamins and minerals compared to tortilla chips, which are higher in unhealthy fats. Baked potatoes are a healthier alternative, and you can always customize the dish using the sweet or red varieties.
How to Make Them
Ingredients:
- 3 large white potatoes
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese (or preferred cheese)
- ½ cup chopped fresh cherry tomatoes
- ⅓ cup diced green onion
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- Guacamole and salsa, for garnish
Directions:
- Start by preheating the oven to 400°F. Spray some cooking spray on a sheet pan or use parchment paper.
- Thinly slice the potatoes with a mandoline slicer or knife.
- Line the potatoes onto the baking sheet and brush with oil. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and bake for 15-20 minutes. Once they get crispy, you can take them out.
- In the meantime, cook the ground beef over medium-high heat with a bit of oil until brown.
- Mix paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt and add to the cooked ground beef.
- Layer the cooked potatoes onto a sheet pan, spread the cheese and ground beef on top, and bake until the cheese is fully melted.
- After taking them out of the oven, you can top the nachos with tomato, onion, cilantro, guacamole, or salsa. Serve while hot!