Cheesy Air Fryer Nachos

Air Fryer Nachos will become one of your favorite family quick snacks. All you will need for these loaded nachos are a few tortilla chips topped with heaps of cheese, canned beans, corn, avocado, and tomatoes. Absolutely delicious. These cheese air fryer nachos are loaded full of flavors and you can make them in less than 10 minutes from start to finish with whatever topping you prefer.

I like this recipe because it is very flexible and it is great to use some leftovers from the fridge. You can keep it vegetarian, or go an extra mile, to include some ground beef and to make a nice and to make hearty snack.

Also, these loaded nachos are great for those that don’t like exact measurements in the recipes. You can change the proportions as you like and make them to your own taste.

Doesn’t matter if you are looking for a snack for a game day, a get-together snack, a party, or just s snack for a good movie night, the air fryer nachos in all these cases will be a great pick. It is absolutely delicious and very easy and quick to make.

All you will need to do is just throw all the ingredients in the air fryer basket in a layer or two and sprinkle over them with shredded cheese. After that, the remaining step to do is just to put in the air fryer for 4-6 minutes until it will melt the cheese and will heat a little bit all the ingredients which combine the taste of all the ingredients.

What You Will Find in This Post?

• Expert tips. How to make this recipe better.
• Toppings to add before baking and after baking.
• Dipping Sauce suggestions for the air fryer nachos.
• Substitutes for the main ingredients of this recipe.
• Detailed step-by-step recipe instructions.
• and answer a few of your questions that you may have.

👩‍🍳How to Make Air Fryer Nachos

1. Put the parchment paper in the air fryer basket.
2. Throw half of the amount of the tortilla chips, canned corn, and black beans, and half of the amount of the shredded cheese. Repeat this step to make one more layer with those ingredients.
3. Add the fresh sliced tomatoes and cook everything at 400°F / 200°C for about 6 minutes or until the cheese melts.
4. In the end, before serving, add the avocado and sour cream.
5. Optionally, add some chopped parsley for extra color and freshness to the plate.

🥰 Why You Will Love This Recipe?

• It is a quick snack that you can make in less than 10 minutes to serve a crowd. Ideally for a movie night.
• You will save time and you don’t need to clean after yourself. Usually, I put parchment paper in the air fryer basket and I’m serving them right on it.
• Air fryer nachos are a very versatile snack because you can use any toppings you have. Also, almost any leftovers.
• It cooks from ingredients that are stored in the fridge or pantry. All you have to do is put them on top of each other and heat them in the air fryer until the cheese will melt.

🥘 Ingredients and Substitutes

• Tortilla Chips. I used corn tortilla chips, but just as well you could use wheat tortilla chips to pick whatever taste you like. I usually go with the classic tortilla chips with salt, but if you want you can try the ones with paprika or cheese. Go with your favorite brand but don’t pick the tortilla chips that are thin because they will just break and you will lose all the topping in your hands.
• Cheese. For the air fryer nachos recipe, I will recommend cheeses that have a creamy taste. Usually, for this recipe, I chose gruyere cheese, but you can also use cheddar cheese or any other cheese you prefer.
• Black Beans and Corn. I used the canned black beans and canned corn because I have them all the time in my kitchen and they let me prepare this delicious and quick snack whatever I like. Just pick a brand that you trust then you will not lose anything in terms of taste and health. Read the labels and make sure that these canned products do not contain unhealthy ingredients.
• Avocado. I prefer to add a small fresh avocado to this recipe because it adds freshness and creaminess to the recipe. Make sure that you pick a mature and tasty avocado for the best taste.
• Sour Cream. I used the sour cream as a topping because I like how it goes in the combination with the rest of the ingredients. But you can use any other topping you prefer, such as mayonnaise, greek yogurt, or homemade sweet chilli sauce.
• Tomatoes. We need to use a few tomatoes because they add extra acidity, juiciness, and color to this dish. You could also replace them with other vegetables such as hot peppers, bell peppers, pickled onions, or pickled peppers. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes at hand, replace them with whole canned tomatoes. The result will be just as delicious.
• Parsley. I usually add some chopped parsley or other aromatic herbs for extra freshness and color to the plate.

Toppings for the Air Fryer Nachos

When someone asks me about the toppings for the loaded nachos, I’m always asking if they refer to the toppings added before or after baking, because you can add both.

Before baking, you can add some onions, tomatoes, olives, salsa, and chili pepper.

After baking, you can add some more sauces, sour cream, guacamole, avocado, or fresh parsley for extra color and freshness.

I prepared for you a list full of ideas on how to make different variations of air fryer nachos.

Best Dipping Sauces for the Air Fryer Nachos

Usually, I prefer serving it with a spice sauce like a homemade sweet chili sauce, romesco sauce, or buffalo sauce. But of course, you can pick a more neutral sauce and serve the air fryer nachos near an avocado sauce, a yogurt and dill sauce, or near a Greek Tzatziki sauce.

👩‍🍳 Step-by-step Directions

As you may omit the first step, for this recipe, I almost all the time cover the air fryer basket with parchment paper because it is easier to serve later this snack and in that way, I make sure that I will not leave any pieces of topping in the air fryer basket. Also, by putting the parchment paper on the air fryer basket, you will avoid the unpleasant procedure of washing the air fryer basket from melted cheese.

Quick Note: If you decided to use parchment paper but don’t have any specialized parchment paper for the air fryer, you can use your regular parchment paper and by using scissors to adjust it to the size of your air fryer basket. There is no need of buying the special air fryer parchment paper.

After that, decide how many layers you want to make. I will go with two layers of tortilla chips, so I will put half of the total amount of tortilla chips in the air fryer basket, and then I put half of the total amount of canned corn.

Quick Note: If this is your first time while you’re doing this recipe, I recommend starting with two layers. The next time, you can reduce it to one layer, or even increase it to three layers if you have a bigger air fryer that allows you that. Put the first layer of half the amount of nachos and then put half of the corn on top of it

Now, pour in the air fryer basket half of the amount of the canned beans and half of the grated gruyere cheese on top of all the ingredients.

If you decided to go with two layers as I did, repeat all the steps again, starting with adding the rest of the tortilla chips.

Then add the rest of the canned corn and black beans. Optionally, you can some more ingredients for the second layer.

Sprinkle everything well with grated cheese in the end, and put the cubed tomatoes over all the ingredients in the air fryer basket.

Bake everything for 6 minutes at 400°F / 200°C. Our goal is just to melt the cheese and heat all the ingredients a little to help the tastes combine better with each other.

Quick Note: At this step, you can add also other vegetables such as hot or bell peppers, red onions, or anything else you like.

Remove the baking paper with nachos from the tray and place it on the plate on which you plan to serve this quick snack. Help yourself with a large spatula and carefully remove the parchment paper with all the tortilla chips and ingredients.

Now, you can add avocado, sour cream, and aromatic herbs for extra taste and color.

So with a few simple ingredients and a few easy steps you obtained a quick and delicious air fryer snack that looks appetizing and is extremely delicious.

🍽️ Serving Suggestions

Serve while the tortilla chips are still hot, along with other air fryer snacks near a few soft drinks for a pleasant evening with your friends or family. Or just take the bowl of this delicious snack with you in front of the TV to enjoy a movie night.

🏆 Expert Tips. What to Pay Attention To?

• As this recipe contains only a few simple ingredients, try to pick them off the best quality.
• In this recipe, you can make a few layers and make different toppings on each layer.
• Are you a meat lover? Consider adding some ground beef or shredded chicken. In that case, make sure that the meat will be cooked enough before serving. Another option is to add some bacon to this recipe.
• Want to go further? Serve near your favorite dipping sauce.
• If it is possible, grate your own cheeses for the best taste.
• Distribute evenly the topping on all the tortilla chips. Who likes the naked tortillas?
• For the best results, you can layer two or even three layers of tortilla chips. It all depends on the size of your air fryer.
• Use cheese that stretches well when it will be hot so you get extra texture and fun while you will enjoy this meal.
• If you will not serve this dish to kids, don’t hesitate to add some extra spicy toppings. They will fit perfectly here.

♻️ Make Ahead and Storage:

📋 Recipe Card: