Brisket Nachos Recipe

This easy brisket nachos recipe is a perfect at-home dupe of Applebee’s brisket nachos! Make them at home for double the flavor and half the price!

Table of Contents

1. Applebee’s Brisket Nachos Homemade Even Better
2. How to Make Homemade Brisket Nachos
3. The Best Toppings for Brisket Nachos
4. Homemade Brisket Nachos

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Hey Cousins! Today, I’m showing you how to make homemade brisket nachos. In a previous post, I showed y’all how I make an oven-baked beef brisket. That recipe makes a 6–7-pound brisket…that’s a lotta meat! There was plenty to go around, and I had some leftovers. We made some brisket sandwiches (which were to die for!), but I still had too much brisket left over. Then I remembered I wanted to make some brisket nachos!

Applebee’s Brisket Nachos Homemade Even Better

Y’all remember when I made my homemade version of Applebee’s popular wonton tacos?! That recipe came about because I was so disappointed in the restaurant version. This beef brisket nachos recipe was inspired the same way!

One night, my hubby and I went to Applebee’s for dinner. The night before, when we were watching TV, an Applebee’s commercial came on and showed brisket nachos, and boy did that get my attention! The next day, we went to Applebee’s, and I ordered the nachos, our drinks, and some other appetizers. I was ready to go IN, y’all.

Well, when they brought our food to the table, the nachos didn’t look anything like the commercial. I was so disappointed that I even shared a picture on Instagram!

As you can see, these “nachos” barely had any cheese, brisket, or anything else. I actually thought I received the wrong nachos! I asked my waitress if there was a mistake, but she assured me I had the right plate. Now, I am NOT against Applebee’s, and I don’t want to bash them because I LOVE a lot of the food on their menu; however, their brisket nachos were a darn NO-GO for me! It just didn’t cut it, boo!

After sharing my picture on Instagram, some of my lovely cousins gave me the idea to make my own brisket nachos at home—and make them even better, so that’s exactly what I did! Making your own homemade brisket nachos will save you a ton of money, and the taste is ten times better!

How to Make Homemade Brisket Nachos

Ingredients

Now, before I tell y’all how I made these brisket nachos, there are a few essential things to know. First off, you don’t need exact measurements for this recipe—use what you have! You can get as creative as you want with your topping preferences. Below is just everything I used. If you don’t like it, of course, leave it out!

Brisket nachos are the perfect way to repurpose leftover brisket into a delicious recipe the whole family will devour. Whether you want a simple dinner or make nachos as part of your game day spread, this recipe is a must-try!

• Beef Brisket: I used leftover oven-baked brisket. You can also use my slow cooker beef brisket recipe!
• Your Favorite Toppings: The sky’s the limit! I used fresh cilantro, sweet red bell peppers, green onions, and yellow onions.
• Seasoning: I used Flavor Mate Southwest Chipotle, which is a little sweet, a little hot, and a little smoky.
• Cheese: Any typical blend of shredded cheese will do! I used sharp cheddar cheese, but you can use a Mexican blend, Monterey Jack, cheddar, pepper jack… whatever you like!
• Tortilla Chips: Can’t forget the base of the whole recipe! You want thick, strong chips that withstand a loaded nacho.

Instructions

Okay, fam. We’re ready to jump into the good stuff—how to make this delicious brisket nacho recipe! There’s nothing NOT to love about these brisket nachos…the layers of cheese, fresh toppings, tender brisket, crunchy tortilla chips?! You can’t go wrong. Let’s start from the beginning.

Step 1: Prep the Leftover Brisket

I started with some leftover brisket I made in the oven and chopped it into small pieces. Again, I didn’t really use measurements, but I would say I used 1 to 1.5 cups of chopped brisket.

If you want to kick it up a notch, toss some of your favorite BBQ sauce with the beef brisket for tasty, sweet-and-smoky BBQ brisket nachos!

Step 2: Chop Your Vegetables, Herbs, and Toppings

The next step is to prep the veggies. Besides the beef brisket, I chopped up fresh cilantro, sweet red bell peppers, and green and yellow onions. This is just what I had on hand, so it’s what I used. Like I said, the sky is the limit!

If you want to add more veggies to your brisket nachos, here are some ideas:

• Jalapenos—if you like a kick of heat, diced, chopped, or sliced jalapenos are a must-have.
• Red onions are a bit sweeter than yellow onions and pair well with BBQ sauce and smoky brisket.
• Beans—black beans or pinto beans not only add protein to your nachos, but also tons of flavor! Beans can also bulk up the recipe if you don’t have quite enough leftover brisket.
• Corn is sweet and crunchy, perfect for nachos!

Step 3: Season Everything

Next, we’re going to pile everything—our brisket, veggies, and cilantro—into a bowl and season it to the heavens! I used a sweet, spicy, and smoky Southwest Chipotle seasoning. It is salt-free, but if that’s not a concern, feel free to use regular seasoning!

How exactly do you season brisket nachos, you ask? If you don’t have a favorite Mexican seasoning blend, use your favorite taco or chili seasoning. Mrs. Dash has a salt-free Southwest seasoning (and y’all know how I love my Mrs. Dash!). Otherwise, just use a combination of chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, and parsley for a quick DIY seasoning.

Step 4: Sauté the Brisket and Vegetables

Get out a skillet and heat a few tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil over medium heat. Toss in your seasoned brisket and veg mixture and sauté everything until the veggies are tender. Since the brisket is already cooked, we just want to heat everything up and soften the veggies a bit, so you only need to cook everything for about five minutes.

Step 5: Assemble the Brisket Nachos

Now, here’s where the real fun begins—assembling the brisket nachos! First, decide whether you will use a sheet pan or a cast iron skillet. I used a sheet pan, but you could use either!

Sheet Pan Nachos:

• Pro: you can spread out your tortilla chips into a nice, even layer and cover it all with toppings. Sheet pan nachos are also great if you’re feeding a larger crowd.
• Con: depending on the size of your sheet pan, you’ll need more ingredients to fill it up. You can also only make one solid layer of nachos on a normal-sized rimmed baking sheet.

Cast Iron Skillet Nachos:

• Pro: layers upon layers of goodness, fam! You can assemble multiple layers of chips, cheese, and topping for the cheesiest, tastiest nachos packed with all the good stuff.
• Con: unless you have a huge cast iron skillet, you’ll end up with a smaller serving. Cast iron skillet brisket nachos are best for 2-3 people, easily (unless you’re really determined to eat the whole thing yourself!).

Since I used a baking sheet, I spread the tortilla chips out in an even layer, then topped them with my brisket and veggie mixture. Then I sprinkled some sharp cheddar cheese across the whole thing—no chip untouched!

Step 7: Broil the Nachos

My next (and last) step is to broil the nachos! Since all the ingredients are already cooked, we don’t need to bake the nachos long. All we want is to get that layer of cheese nice and melted, and it only takes about 5-10 minutes.

And that’s it! That’s how you make the most delicious leftover brisket nachos—super easy, right, cousins?! It’s super easy to make this as a main dish for your family, an alternative to taco night, or a party appetizer. Anytime that I make brisket, I will definitely save some for nachos.

The Best Toppings for Brisket Nachos

Wondering what extras to serve with brisket nachos? Since we’ve already packed those chips as high as the sky with flavorful toppings, the next best thing is a few extras. Serve your brisket nachos along with some of these extra topping options:

• Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (a lighter option for sour cream)
• Diced tomatoes
• Your favorite brand of store-bought salsa
• Sliced avocado or Homemade guacamole
• Pico de Gallo or Texas caviar
• A drizzle of BBQ sauce, hot sauce, or taco sauce
• Lime wedges

These homemade brisket nachos were an instant hit with my family—and waaaaaay better than those wimpy nachos from Applebee’s!

More Recipes to Try

If you loved this brisket nachos recipe, try some of my other recipes! You can always subscribe to I Heart Recipes on YouTube, where you’ll find tons of easy-to-follow recipe videos.

• Nacho Layer Dip Cups
• Easy Chicken Nachos Recipe
• Family Night Ground Beef Nachos
• Doritos Taco Salad
• Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
• Chili Cheese Frito Pie
• Taco Pita Pizzas

Tried and loved this recipe? Tag me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest! Follow along with all these Rosie and I Heart Recipes, and check out my cookbooks on sale everywhere!

Homemade Brisket Nachos

Brisket nachos are the perfect way to use leftover brisket to make an easy, delicious, family-friendly meal!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Appetizers

Cuisine American

Keyword Brisket Nachos, nachos

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1.5-2 cups Chopped brisket I used leftover from a previous recipe
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 1 sweet red bell pepper diced
• 1/2 cup green onions chopped
• 1 whole yellow onion diced
• 2 tsp Southwest Seasoning
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 bag tortilla chips
• 2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

Instructions

• Chop the brisket into small pieces.
  1.5-2 cups Chopped brisket
• Chop up peppers, cilantro, green and yellow onions into small pieces.
  1/4 cup fresh cilantro, 1 sweet red bell pepper, 1/2 cup green onions, 1 whole yellow onion
• Add southwest seasoning, veggies, and brisket to a bowl and mix.
  2 tsp Southwest Seasoning
• Add a few tbsp of vegetable oil to a large pan over medium heat. Cook the brisket and vegetable mix for about five minutes until the veggies are tender.
  2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• Place tortilla chips spread out on a cookie sheet.
  1 bag tortilla chips
• Top tortilla chips with brisket and vegetables mixture. Sprinkle sharm cheddar cheese on top.
  2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Place nachos in the oven (set to broil) until the cheese starts to bubble, about 5-10 minutes.

Notes

The ingredient measurements listed don’t have to be exact – use what you have! Some additional topping ideas: 

• Jalapenos—if you like a kick of heat, diced, chopped, or sliced jalapenos are a must-have.
• Red onions are a bit sweeter than yellow onions and pair well with BBQ sauce and smoky brisket.
• Beans—black beans or pinto beans not only add protein to your nachos, but also tons of flavor! Beans can also bulk up the recipe if you don’t have quite enough leftover brisket.
• Corn is sweet and crunchy, perfect for nachos!

Optional toppings for serving: 

• Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (a lighter option for sour cream)
• Diced tomatoes
• Your favorite brand of store-bought salsa
• Sliced avocado or Homemade guacamole
• Pico de Gallo or Texas caviar
• A drizzle of BBQ sauce, hot sauce, or taco sauce
• Lime wedges

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Recipe by: I Heart Recipes