I’ve been craving nachos ever since the Super Bowl. Seeing every single blog and food website feature nachos during the weeks leading up to the big game made them impossible to resist, so I finally gave in and made these Nacho Taters
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I switched up my nachos to make them at least a little bit healthier. Instead of fried tortilla chips, I’m piling my nacho toppings on top of baked potatoes. Yeah, yeah, potatoes aren’t the best thing for you… or are they? Potatoes are quickly becoming the newest “bad for you” turned “good for you” food, like its predecessors butter and coconut oil. Just when you think something’s bad for you, science goes and discovers that it’s a miracle food (please note my sarcasm). So anyway, that helps me feel a little better about my nacho taters. ;)
I made my own red enchilada sauce for these Nacho Taters, but if you don’t feel like doing that you can use store bought enchilada sauce or even your favorite taco sauce (got a drawer full of Taco Bell packets? I kinda hope not, but if you do…). I stuffed my taters full of black beans, corn, pickled jalapeńos, cheddar cheese, and green onion. You can use whatever toppings you normally like on nachos, but here are a few more ideas: taco meat (ground beef, chicken, or turkey with taco seasoning), black olives, cilantro, diced tomato or pico de gallo, avocado, or sour cream. However you pile ’em up, potatoes make a great base for nachos. NOM.
Nacho Taters
Servings 4Ingredients
- 4 russet potatoes (about 1 lb. each) ($3.48)
- 2 tsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed ($0.37)
- 1/2 recipe red enchilada sauce* ($0.40)
- 4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) ($1.22)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.72)
- 3 green onions ($0.32)
- 2-3 jalapeños, pickled or fresh ($0.31)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Wash the potatoes well, then dry with a paper towel. Coat each potato in vegetable oil, then prick the skin a few times with a fork. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and transfer into the oven. Bake for 45 minute to an hour, or until soft all the way through.
- While the potatoes are baking, prepare the toppings. Prepare the enchilada sauce according to this recipe, then set aside. Slice the green onions and jalapeño, shred the cheese, rinse and drain the black beans, and allow the corn to thaw.
- Once the potatoes are cooked through, remove them from the oven (but leave it on, the potatoes will go back in). Cut each one lengthwise down the center, then once across. Open the potatoes up and mash the insides slightly.
- Drizzle a couple tablespoons of enchilada sauce over each potato, then top with black beans, corn, jalapeños, and a handful of cheddar cheese. Transfer the potatoes back into the oven for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Remove the potatoes from the oven, drizzle with more sauce if desired, then sprinkle with sliced green onions.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Nacho Taters – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Start out with four russet potatoes, about one pound each. Wash them well, then dry them off with a paper towel. Rub vegetable oil all over the outside of each one (this helps the skin get nice a crispy), then prick several times with a fork to allow steam to escape. No one wants exploding potatoes.
Place the potatoes on a baking sheet covered in foil, then bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft all the way through (you can test by piercing with a fork through the top, or squeezing gently with a towel covered hand).
While the potatoes are cooking, make the red enchilada sauce. This only takes about ten minutes, so once it’s done you can set it aside. You can cut the enchilada sauce recipe in half and use a very small pot, or just make the whole thing and make your taters extra saucy. If you don’t want to make your own, you can use store bought taco or enchilada sauce.
You can also prepare the toppings while the potatoes are baking. Slice three green onions and 2-3 jalapeños, shred 4oz. of cheddar, rinse and drain a 15oz. can of black beans, and let 1 cup of frozen corn thaw. Why does my corn look so funky (top right corner)? Because I decided to make cumin roasted corn in the oven while my potatoes were baking, but it added absolutely nothing to the end product, so I’m not writing that part into the recipe. They were dry and not so great, so just let your corn thaw so it’s nice and sweet and juicy instead.
Once the potatoes are finished baking, remove them from the oven, but leave the oven on (they’ll go back in for a few minutes once topped). Slice them open and mash up the insides just a bit. Drizzle a couple tablespoons of enchilada sauce over each one.
Then add your black beans, corn, and jalapeños.
Then pile a handful of cheddar cheese on each one… Oh my…
Pop them back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Once melted, drizzle a little more sauce on top and finish off with the sliced green onions.
Are those not the best looking spuds you’ve ever seen?
Whoever said baked potatoes were boring?
Such a great recipe to use up leftovers, WITHOUT feeling like I am just eating odds and ends. This site has so many great recipes for eating on a budget, this one being a prime example. Thank you!
I made this the other day. When cutting the potatoes, I did not want to touch them (they were to hot, and they kind of just fell apart. So I just kind of smushed them down and around, piled a bunch of the toppings on all of them and put it back in the over. Tasted the same, just a bit more messy!
We had leftover fries, so we made this using those instead of a baked potato. So delicious! Thank you!
These were delicious and would have been good with canned sauce, but your enchilada sauce is AMAZING! I kept sneaking spoonfuls as I waited for the potatoes to finish. (I used Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base.)
My father-in-law who is 90+ loved these taters
He is really picky about food ….easy for him to eat
Great receipe
Wonderful recipe, has anyone tried making baby potatoes like this for more of a bite size option? I’ll have to give it a go. Mmmm.
I am going to give these a try. I just wanted to say that twice-baked potatoes freeze really well and it’s easy to make a big batch. Not too labour intensive for what you get in the end. Green onions won’t freeze, and I’d go easy on the jalapeños and peppers but everything else is fair game.
Definitely making this tonight! Think the time would change if I used the large red potatoes? That’s all we have.
The time should be about the same. No matter what size or type of potato, you’ll want to test it with a fork just to make sure it’s cooked through. :)
Totally loved these and, even more importantly, so did my kiddos! The only change we made was to cube avocado so everyone could add their own. The kids even asked for them in their lunch boxes (and believe me, that’s quite a compliment). But that made me sad because now I can’t take them for lunch! Have to make more I guess…
I’ve made the Nacho Taters last night, and honestly, it is DELICIOUS!! I did have the ingredients to make the baked potatoes, but I tweaked the recipe by adding some ground beef, and some homemade pico de gallo. Also, I added some sour cream on top-since sour cream and baked potatoes go great together!! Thanks for the awesome recipe, Beth!! :-)
We made these and they were awesome.. I sliced my baked potatoes so they were more bite-sized, and browned them in a skillet before topping, a tasty treat we will make again! Thanks
The Nacho Taters looks so good, and I’m looking forward to making them. What other toppings would you recommend besides jalepenos, black beans, corn, and green onions? Thanks, Beth!! :-)
The sky’s the limit! Anything you can think of that you’d like on nachos. ANYTHING. (I listed a couple ideas up in the intro, too)
Chili!
We went to a baseball game last weekend and I really really wanted nachos but at $4.50 I was not going to buy them. I could not justify a bag of tortilla chips for one serving of nachos either. This recipe is an awesome idea! My prego belly will be happy to get some jalapenos.
The only change I will make when we have these is to cut the potatoes in half lengthwise before baking, to speed up the baking time. Also shredded BBQ beef! Yum.
Sounds really good! I’ll have to try that someday. :-)
These look fantastic! I am always a fan of swapping out a processed food for a veggie. These are perfect!
I made these last night (and have them for lunch) and we very much enjoyed them! Added a little sour cream topping, too. Thanks for a great idea and for all the wonderful recipes!
This looks delicious! How would you recommend storing/reheating these if you only plan to eat one at a time? Thanks!
I put them into individual resealable containers (like Ziploc or Gladware) for storage in the fridge. I’ve been reheating them in the microwave and they’re very tasty. :)
For those of you who live within walking or driving distance to an Aldis, you can reduce the entire cost almost in half by purchasing your potatoes there instead. I pay about 3 dollars for 10 lbs of potatoes there, making this an even more frugal meal.
Ooooh how I love Aldi!!!!! I regularly shop there. Yesterday I bought two week’s worth of groceries for under $70!! Can’t beat it!
OOOO thank you for this. I made a veggie and a beef spaghetti sauce a couple of nights ago, and we are now done with eating spaghetti – but there is more sauce in the fridge. I have 4 potatoes in the oven and – yes – it won’t make your nachos but it sure is a great idea for a start. we’ll grate some cheese, heat the sauces, cook a few veggies for a side, and have supper with hardly any effort. OOOHHH and I will go hunting for a jar of home-canned jalapeños, they would be AWESOME on these. My Daughter will eat the sauce on the side (she thinks tomato sauce and potatoes is ‘weird’ and I asked her what about ketchup and SHE said ‘I don’t like ketchup on chips’ so… she will eat her sauce like soup….). but we all will eat better tonight thanks to your brilliant ‘starter’ idea…. YIPPEE.
Why didn’t you call these potatchos??
Oooh! If only I had thought of that! :P
They look amazingly yummy! (I can see my Grands wolfing these down.)
These would be amazing with some smoked pork on top, but pretty much perfect on their own! I have some potatoes and cheese to use up, looks like nachos are back on the menu!
Beth, are you doing any Valentines Day meals? I’d like to splurge a little this year on a good steak but cut costs on those side dishes to fit it into a reasonable budget. Any suggestions for something delectable?
Parmesan roasted potatoes would be awesome with steak (it’s an old recipe, so the photos suck, sorry) and you definitely want something green to balance things… So maybe a simple spinach salad or even just some steamed broccoli. Go simple on the sides so that the steak stands out!
Hey Beth,
These look great! The red enchilada sauce reminds me of chilaquiles though, and was just wondering if you have a recipe for it. Would love to see a budget bytes chilaquiles recipe thst I could use the other half of the red sauce recipe for!
Thanks for all the great recipes!
Hmm, I’ve never had those! I’ll have to look it up. :)
It’s a busy night with the kids’ activities and you’ve saved me! This recipe is just the ticket. BTW I’m kind of new to this site and you’re amazing. Your recipes are a tremendous help in making our crazy lives less so and sure make me look good! Thank you!!!
these look AMAZING.
These nacho potatoes look like the appetizer I’m always trying to order at a restaurant, but can’t because it’s not on the menu. Or, buy frozen from the grocery store. I love russet potatoes in recipes like this. And I agree!! For years, everyone was a potato hater…..now like the Backstreet Boys….they’re revived. What’s going on? They are loaded in nutrients so I’m just going to eat them.
Brilliant! I haven’t craved nachos for years, but potatoes are another matter altogether. So glad they’ve finally moved from the “bad for you” to “good for you” food list :-)
And where is the sour cream and black olives??? ;)
This might be a good way to use up some of the Saucy Southwest Beef of yours that I made last night :)
You took the words right out of my mouth. Its on the meal plan this week and putting it on top of the potatoes would totally work. Mmmmmmmm
YUM! We love making our own enchilada sauce, too–this is a great idea for another use for it!
I wasn’t hungry before I started reading your blog today, but I am now. These look great!
ZOMmmmmmmmmmg
I was all set to make sweet potato enchiladas this week, but maybe I’ll do these instead…
These look great! I love how you take an idea and change it up – for health and budget. And in defence of nutrition science, often it is the media and public that vilify a food, misrepresenting the science side of the equation!
Susan (RD)
I agree. I actually place most of the blame on people who demonize foods to begin with, not the ones who finally figure out that they’re good for you. :) I’m all about moderation, so I hate it when food gets a “never eat this” label.
I happen to be on the “good for you” side of the issue on potatoes. And with my dietary limitations, I eat a lot of potatoes! Nacho toppings sound great.