Bundt pan nachos are the reason my cake pan comes out on football Sundays. I fill it with layers of chips, taco beef and Colby jack, which bake together into a tall ring that rivals any bundt cake. The shape is what gets everyone over to the table, but it isn’t why I keep making it.
It practically serves itself. Everyone pulls off a piece already loaded with beef and melted cheese, and the salsa has its own spot in the middle. I cook the beef and shred the cheese ahead, so when everyone’s hungry, there’s just a pan to layer and 10 minutes in the oven. I get to sit down and enjoy it, too.
Cook The Beef Ahead If You Can
The taco beef is the only part of bundt pan nachos that needs a skillet and your attention, and it keeps in the refrigerator for two days. I cook it, let it cool, and put it in an airtight container. Reheat it in a skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes before it goes into the pan.
Shred the cheese while the beef is cooling, and chop the tomatoes and cilantro then too. That’s the afternoon’s work done, and there’s nothing left but layering. Colby jack is what I use. Pepper jack, cheddar or Monterey jack all work in its place, and ground chicken works in place of the beef.
Spray The Pan Lightly
Cooking spray is the one place here where more doesn’t help. Over-spraying is what makes the cheese stick to the pan, and it leaves the chips at the bottom soggy. One light pass over the inside of the pan is all it needs.
If a little cheese does stay behind when you turn the ring out, lift it off with a spoon and put it back on top.
Use A Sturdy Chip And Only Two Thirds Of The Bag
A thin chip folds under the weight of the beef and the cheese, and you end up with a bite of topping and no chip holding it. I use Tostitos originals, thick enough that they’re still chips after the oven, and any sturdy tortilla chip does the same job. Two thirds of a 12-ounce bag fills a 12-cup bundt pan.
Start With The Cheese So It Lands On Top
When you make nachos in a bundt pan, the bottom of the pan becomes the top of the ring, so whatever goes in first is what people see when it comes out. Half the cheese goes down against the metal before any beef or chips, and the chips finish up on the inside of the ring, where the heat reaches them last.
Keep each layer even instead of pressing it down. The layer you’re looking at in the pan is the one that’ll be facing up on the plate, so a side that’s heaped higher than the rest goes out to the table that way.
Bake It Until The Cheese Is Bubbling
The bake is 10 minutes at 450°F, and what you’re looking for when you open the oven is cheese bubbling where it meets the side of the pan. If the cheese still looks dry and grainy, give it another minute instead of going by the clock.
Let It Sit Before You Turn It Out
Cheese that just came out of a 450°F oven is still loose, and a ring turned out on top of loose cheese can slide apart on the plate.
Set the pan on the counter for two to three minutes first. That’s long enough for the cheese to firm up and hold the layers together, and not long enough for the chips to lose their crunch.
Then I put a plate over the top of the pan and the two turn over together.
Fill The Hole In The Middle Last
Anything wet belongs in the hole in the middle rather than in the layers. If you spoon salsa or refried beans in between the chips, it will soften them too much.
Fill the hole in the middle once the ring is on the plate. A small ramekin or bowl filled with salsa goes in mine. I’ll put sour cream, guacamole or warmed refried beans in bowls beside the plate. Sometimes I’ll even sprinkle diced tomatoes and cilantro over the top.
Serve It Hot The Day You Make It
The chips stay crisp while the ring is hot, so I make sure the bundt pan nachos get served as soon as they come out of the oven. Leave it on the table no more than two hours, or one hour if the room is above 90°F. I don’t refrigerate or freeze what’s left, because the chips don’t come back.
A pan of bundt pan nachos feeds four at dinner, and it stretches further as one of many appetizers at a party. For a bigger group, make a second pan instead of forcing more ingredients into one.
More Taco Night Recipes
- Tater tot nachos put the same taco beef and melted cheese over tots when you’d rather skip the chips.
- Campfire nachos are the ones for a night outside, cooked over the fire instead of in the oven.
- Taco ring puts taco filling and melted cheese inside flaky pastry, and it comes to the table as a ring people pull apart the same way.
Bundt Pan Nachos
Equipment
- 12-cup bundt pan, large skillet
Ingredients
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 8 ounces Colby jack cheese, shredded
- 12 ounces tortilla chips, Tostitos brand – you will only use about ⅔ of the bag
Optional Garnish
- Sour cream
- Diced tomatoes
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly spray a bundt pan (12-cup capacity) with cooking spray, using just enough to coat the inside. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the lean ground beef, diced yellow onion, salt, and black pepper. Cook the meat for 6-7 minutes or until no pink remains. Drain as much excess fat as possible from the skillet.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and stir in the water and taco seasoning until all the ground beef is coated in the seasoning. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat.
- Add a layer of half the shredded cheese to the bottom of the sprayed bundt pan, followed by half the ground beef mixture and then ⅓ of the bag of tortilla chips. Do not pack the chips down into the bundt pan.
- Add the remaining shredded Colby jack cheese, ground beef mixture, and another ⅓ of the tortilla chips. You do not want to overfill your bundt pan with all the tortilla chips; however, you want an even layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the bundt pan from the oven and place a heat-proof large plate (larger than the width of the bundt pan) inverted over the top of the bundt pan. Carefully flip the bundt pan over so that the plate now has the bundt pan placed on it upside down. Carefully remove the bundt pan to reveal the nachos on the plate. If you have some of the cheese stuck to the bottom of the pan, you can carefully remove it and place it back onto the top of the nachos.
- You can serve these bundt pan nachos just as they are, or you can top them with some optional nacho toppings such as sour cream, diced tomatoes, and chopped fresh cilantro.
Notes
- A standard-sized bag of Tostitos original nachos is 12 ounces and slightly too much for using the whole bag for this recipe. If your favorite brand comes in smaller bags, they will work for this recipe. Resist the urge to stuff the bundt pan full of cheese, meat, and chips. When it is too full, the cheese sticks to the sides and the chips do not warm through evenly.
- The ground beef mixture can be cooked up to two days ahead. Let it cool, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and reheat it in a skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes before layering the pan.
- Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your nachos as the suggested baking time approaches.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in October 2023. It was updated for clarity in September 2026.
Comments
diane says
Good recipe, could have doubled it. My grandson’s ate these very fast.