If you have leftover nachos, (1) your self-control is more powerful than the combined force of 1,000 tsunamis; and (2) you’re going to need help heating them back up, because nobody likes soggy chips. As your digital acquaintance and personal nacho advisor, I’m happy to lend some advice. Here’s how to reheat nachos, depending on what you have in your kitchen.
The Pre-Reheat Procedure
Storing your leftover nachos is just as important as how you reheat them. That means you need to deconstruct them by removing all the toppings and storing them in the fridge. Put your cold toppings (guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, jalapeños) in one Tupperware or airtight container, your warm toppings (meat, beans, cheese) in another and your already-saturated chips in yet another. This will prevent even more mugginess when you go to reheat them the next day. It’s also easier to separate the ingredients before they’ve spent the night together in the fridge and become one gelatinous mass.
How to Reheat Nachos in the Oven
It’s a new day, and you’re hungry for the nachos you spent an hour pulling apart last night. Without a doubt, the best way to reheat them is in the oven (or toaster oven), like this:
- Preheat your oven to somewhere around 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread out your chips on a baking sheet, and add your warm toppings back on top.
- Add more cheese if necessary, which it is.
- Bake for five minutes. You can add more time if they’re still not warm enough, but keep a close eye on your nachos, as they burn quickly.
- Add your cold toppings back on top, and shove everything into your mouth.
You can also follow virtually the same directions but using an air fryer — just check your nachos a minute or two earlier.
P.S. You can crank the temperature up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit if you want to speed up the process, but your chips may burn before your meat and beans are warmed through. In other words, hotter temperatures are better for cheese-only nachos.
The Other Options
If you accidentally blew up a turkey in your oven and need another way to reheat nachos, there are a couple other approaches. You can warm them up in a large pan, like so:
- Put your chips and warm toppings in an oiled pan.
- Cover with aluminum foil, and put a lid over the foil. This traps the heat in, basically making your pan into a little oven.
- Turn the heat up to medium, and cook for about five minutes.
- Check if your nachos are done, and eat them up.
You can also blast your warm ingredients in the microwave for a minute or so, zap your chips for about 30 seconds, then add everything together. But that’s a recipe for sad, soggy nachos.
Now does your favorite personal nacho advisor get a chip?
Ian Lecklitner
Ian Lecklitner is a staff writer at MEL Magazine. He mostly writes about everyone's favorite things: Sex, drugs and food.
