Forget The Sheet Pan: Make Loaded Nachos Like This And Never Go Back

Nachos may just be America's most beloved appetizer. So much so, they've actually been elevated from appetizer status multiple times: Breakfast nachos are an easy, delicious way to feed a crowd at brunch, for example, and dessert nachos loaded with fruit are absolutely a thing. Of course, nachos also have their pitfalls. Most notably, the sad, naked chips that are nearly always left at the bottom of the sheet pan. Enter the almighty bundt pan.

These donut-shaped baking pans are most frequently used to make gorgeous ring cakes with the embossed pattern in the bottom of the pan emblazoned into them. However, there are lots of ways to use bundt pans other than baking a cake, and making nachos may just be the best one. The idea is to layer your nacho toppings and chips into the ring-shaped pan just as you would when making a bundt pan lasagna. Layers of cheese, meat, and chips are repeated until the pan is full, then baked in the oven until the top layer is bubbly and hot.

As the pièce de résistance, you then flip the bundt pan over onto a serving platter and lift it away, leaving a beautiful ring of loaded nachos behind. Made properly, there are no naked chips because they're encased between layers of toppings. This technique also lets you make nearly twice as many nachos at once as the sheet pan method because the bundt pan holds lots more ingredients.

The order in which you layer your ingredients is less important than the ingredients' texture and how you treat the pan. It's extremely important to evenly coat the inside of your pan with nonstick spray to ensure your nacho tower slides out easily when you invert the pan onto the serving plate. A silicone basting brush is excellent for ensuring all the nooks and crannies inside your pan are coated.

As for ingredients, this mostly depends on whether you're trying to avoid soggy nachos. Some enjoy fork-tender nachos, while others crave crisp chips. Since this method surrounds the chips with moist ingredients, such as cheese and meat, the chips are a little softer than baked sheet pan nachos. However, adding additional watery ingredients, such as salsa or fajita veggies, increases the amount of moisture available for your chips to absorb, which inevitably affects their texture.

If you'd like to preserve some of the chips' crunch, stick with well-drained meat and cheese in your bundt pan, and serve additional toppings on the side. You can also add toppings after turning out your nacho tower, but anything you add to the top is only part of one layer; be sure to have extra on the side so those scooping from the lower layers can enjoy all the flavors on offer.