Preserving My Sanity

Loaded Potato Nachos

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No-Waste Kitchen

My husband and I try really hard to have as close to a no-waste kitchen as possible. With only two of us in the house, this sometimes means we eat leftovers more times than what we would like … and freezing leftover meals doesn’t work the greatest for us because we never remember to take them back out. In this episode of “What to Do with the Leftovers,” I made Loaded Potato Nachos!

The finished plate: Loaded Potato Nachos, made with leftover refrigerator ingredients

Creative Uses for Leftovers

So, many times we get creative with leftovers and come up with what I think are some pretty good meals. This week, I had 6 small red potatoes that needed to be used, some peppers and onions on hand, and some leftover hamburger patties with no buns to go with them.  So, Loaded Potato Nachos were born.

Loaded Potato Nachos

First, I took the potatoes, pricked a hole in each one and microwaved them for about 3 minutes. This kickstarts the cooking process and makes it so you don’t have to fry them for so long.  Once they were cool enough to touch, I sliced them into 1/4″ slices. The only knives in our kitchen are Rada Cutlery and Cutco – both made in the USA! Shown in the photo below is one of my Rada Paring Knives.

Slicing the potatoes before frying them

Here is a peek at a few of my “leftover” ingredients – 2 hamburger patties with cheese, grilled onions, and some peppers from our garden last year that I took out of the freezer.

The leftover items from the refrigerator that inspired the recipe

Frying the Potatoes

I started out with a nonstick skillet on medium heat and put 2-3 Tbsp of peanut oil in the pan.  I placed potato slices in the pan in a single layer, doing in batches to ensure they cooked and browned evenly. (Add additional peanut oil as needed.) I also sprinkled salt and pepper on the potatoes while they were cooking.
Frying the sliced potatoes for Loaded Potato Nachos

As the potato slices were done, I placed them on a paper towel on a baking sheet to drain a bit of the excess oil off and let them cool.

Draining the grease off the fried potatoes for Loaded Potato Nachos

Draining some grease off the fried potatoes for Loaded Potato Nachos

When all of the potato slices were cooked evenly, I removed the paper towel, made sure the potatoes were in a single layer and put the baking sheet in the preheated oven at 400 degrees. They will only bake like this for about 10 minutes or so, while you prepare the other ingredients.

The fried potato slices arranged on baking sheet for Loaded Potato Nacho prep

Prepping & Cooking Other Ingredients

Next, I diced the sweet peppers, green peppers, and yellow onion (with the same Rada Paring Knife.)

Chopping the onions and peppers for Loaded Potato Nachos

I sauteed the diced peppers and onion in the same nonstick skillet on medium heat, stirring occasionally, and cooking until tender.

Sauteeing the peppers and onions for Loaded Potato Nachos

I diced the 2 leftover hamburger patties.

The leftover cheeseburgers getting chopped for Loaded Potato Nachos

For the nachos, I grated about 6 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese. The pre-shredded cheese contains cellulose to prevent caking, so I always buy block cheese and grate my own. Cellulose is basically sawdust, so … no thanks. Anyway, I have the Pampered Chef Coarse Grater and love it!

The shredded cheese for the Loaded Potato Nachos

When the diced peppers and onions were done, I added the chopped burger in and cooked for another minute or two to heat through. I also added 1 teaspoon of Penzeys Adobo Seasoning to the mixture. You can use whatever taco or southwest seasoning you have on hand, too – but I highly recommend Penzeys! Their spices are high quality and delicious, and they always run great sales too. (They actually don’t have an affiliate program, so I’m just saying that because I want to.)

Meat, peppers and onions for the Loaded Potato Nachos

Assembling the Nachos

At this point, I took the baking sheet of potatoes from the oven and topped them with the onion, pepper and burger mixture, and then topped with the shredded cheese. Then, I put it back in the oven for 5-10 more minutes, basically just to melt the cheese.

Loaded Potato Nachos before the melted cheese

Time for Dinner!

We served them with some plain homemade Instant Pot yogurt (I haven’t bought sour cream in months), garden salsa, and some Skinnytaste Peruvian Green Sauce. Our garden grows volunteer cilantro like crazy in the spring, and last year I made a bunch of this amazing sauce to freeze. We like it on SO MANY THINGS. It really is delicious, and it freezes perfectly.

Condiments for Loaded Potato Nachos: Yogurt, Salsa, and Peruvian Green Sauce

And there we have it – Loaded Potato Nachos!

Loaded Potato Nachos out of the oven

This made 3 servings – my husband and I each ate it for dinner, and he had the 3rd serving for lunch. You could very easily adjust the recipe to make more or less – depending on what ingredients you have. You could also easily make it with other toppings – it would be a great meal idea following taco night when you have just a bit of everything leftover!

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Loaded Potato Nachos

These Loaded Potato Nachos are a great recipe for a quick weeknight meal! Potato slices topped with peppers, onions, meat, and cheese - you can't go wrong!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: loaded-potato, nachos, onions, peppers, potatoes
Servings: 3

Ingredients

  • 6 small red potatoes
  • 2-3 Tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 medium green bell pepper
  • 1 medium sweet red, yellow or orange pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 1/2 pound hamburger or other meat of your choice I used 2 cooked hamburger patties
  • 1 tsp Penzeys Adobo Seasoning
  • 6 ounces shredded cheese of your choice I used Monterey Jack
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • First, prick a hole in each potato and microwave them for about 3 minutes. This kickstarts the cooking process so you don't have to fry them for so long.  
  • Once they are cool enough to touch, cut the potatoes into 1/4" slices.
  • Preheat a nonstick skillet on medium heat with 2-3 Tbsp of peanut oil in the pan. Place the potato slices in the pan in a single layer, doing in batches to ensure they cooked and browned evenly. (Add additional peanut oil as needed.) Sprinkle salt and pepper on the potatoes while they are cooking.
  • As each batch of potato slices gets done, place them on a paper towel on a baking sheet to drain a bit of the excess oil off and let them cool.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When all of the batches of potato slices are cooked evenly, remove the paper towel, make sure the potatoes are in a single layer and put the baking sheet into the oven. They will only bake like this for about 10 minutes or so, while you prepare the other ingredients.
  • Next, dice the sweet peppers, green peppers, and yellow onion. Put them in the same nonstick skillet and saute on medium heat, stirring occasionally and cooking until tender. Add 1 teaspoon of Penzey's Adobo Seasoning (or other southwest/taco seasoning of your choice.)
  • Dice the 2 hamburger patties (or whatever meat you are using), and add them to the pepper and onion mixture during the last minute or two of cooking, just to heat through.
  • Grate the cheese and set aside.
  • Take the baking sheet of potatoes from the oven, and top with the mixture of onion, pepper, and meat. Then, top with the grated cheese. Put back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.
  • Serve with sauces of your choice. We use plain yogurt, salsa, and a spicy cilantro sauce (recipe linked above within blog text.)

Notes

You can use whatever combination of ingredients you have on hand that sounds good on top of potatoes, and you can also easily increase the recipe to make more.

If you like this recipe, please check out some of my other recipes too!

5 thoughts on “Loaded Potato Nachos”

  1. We have an abundance of smaller potatoes from our garden that we need to use up and I love this idea! My husband loves to cook also and it looks quick and easy. Thanks for the convenience of having the recipe ready to print!

  2. What a great idea as a way to use up those leftovers! They look delicious and super easy to make. Thanks for sharing this. I am sure that I will be doing this very soon!

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