Get ready for a fiesta of flavors with our delicious carne asada nachos recipe. Tender grilled steak, crispy tortilla chips, and an array of mouthwatering toppings come together for a crowd-pleasing appetizer or meal
Perfect for the campfire, these loaded nachos are layered with all the fixings, freshly grilled carne asada smothered in cheese, and cooked in an aluminum foil pack right on the coals before being pulled high with your favorite toppings. Which also means cleanup is a breeze.
Campfire meals in foil are perfect for when we don’t want to work too hard while camping, like these steak and potato packets, make-ahead breakfast burritos, or this crowd-pleasing grilled cheese! This Carne Asada Nachos recipe is another perfect low-effort camping meal with minimal cleanup. Juicy steak, beans, and thick tortilla chips come together to make the best nachos you’ve ever had! Cancel your reservation at the local Mexican joint because these babies will put all other nachos to shame!
What Are Carne Asada Nachos?
Making carne asada nachos is pretty easy. This recipe starts with a simple citrus marinade for the flank steak made with orange juice, jalapeno, oil, spices, lime juice, and cilantro, which can be made ahead of time and stored in a resealable ziplock container in the cooler or fridge until ready to grill. Then, all you have to do is grill the meat and load your homemade nachos with whatever toppings you like!
Carne Asada Nachos Ingredients
FOR THE STEAK MARINADE:
- Orange Juice
- Oil
- Limes
- Garlic Cloves
- Jalapeno
- Jalapeno Lime Rub from Spiceology
- Cumin
- Fresh Cilantro
FOR THE CARNE ASADA:
- Flank Steak
- Salt and Pepper
NACHOS:
- Refried Beans
- Tortilla Chips
- Colby Cheese
- Beans
NACHO TOPPINGS:
- Crema
- Queso Fresco
- Salsa
- Jalapeno
- Lime
- Scallions
- Avocado
- Cilantro
How to Make Carne Asada Nachos
MARINATE STEAK
- Mix the orange juice, oil, lime juice, garlic cloves, and jalapeno slices together with a gallon-sized resealable bag, and mix them all in.
- Pat the steak dry with paper towels and rub it with the Jalapeno rub and cumin.
- Add the steak and the cilantro to the bag and seal, pressing out as much air as possible.
- Using your hands, rub the bag, making sure all of the ingredients are mixed and coating the beef.
- Allow the steak to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in a chilled cooler or refrigerator.
GRILL STEAK
- Place the steak over direct heat and grill, flipping often, until the beef has cooked to your desired internal temp, at least 135 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes.
REST THE MEAT
- Wrap the flank steak in foil and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
SLICE THIN
- Slice the beef into thin strips working against the grain on a base for the best bite.
MAKE THE NACHOS:
- Arrange a long sheet of aluminum foil on a clean work surface.
- Dollop the refried beans onto the center of the foil, and using the back of a spoon, spread the refried beans into a circle, creating the base of your nachos. Make sure this isn’t too big, as you need to fold the foil up around the pile of chips.
- Once the base is made, add an even layer of tortilla chips.
- Top the layer with thin slices of carne asada, cheese, and black beans.
- Repeat for two or three more layers, making sure the top layer has plenty of cheese.
- Fold the long ends of the foil up over the chips carefully so you don’t break them, and pinch the edges shut.
- Carefully place the foil packet over indirect heat and allow the nachos to cook so the cheese melts through on every layer, checking every 7 minutes or so, depending on the heat of your fire.
- Once the remaining cheese has melted, carefully remove the foil pack nachos from the campfire and open the packet.
- Using a variety of toppings, cover the top of your nachos with sliced avocado, scallions, sliced jalapeno, red onion, and sweet peppers.
- Serve sour cream, guacamole, or salsa on the side to prevent soggy chips.
- Garnish with cilantro and fire-roasted poblano crema if desired. Enjoy!
girl Carnivore Expert Recipe Tips
- Marinate your steak ahead of time and pack it in. Place everything in a resealable ziplock container stored in a cooler or fridge until ready to grill.
- If you don’t have fresh grilled carne asada for this recipe, you can substitute store-bought carne asada, often preseasoned and found at the meat counter. But really, any meat works when making nachos, so use what you have.
- This nacho recipe is a base recipe, so if you have pulled pork, leftover grilled chicken, or even ground beef, anything works as the ‘meat’ layered in. It’s the layers of melted cheese and meat that makes it a-maze-ing.
- Nachos for One: For fun, you can customize these nachos by making individual packs for every person – because we all know that guy who doesn’t like beans on his nachos.
- Make packets for each person with just one layer of tortilla chips each – and cut the time over the coals down to make sure things don’t get too crispy.
- Make a nacho bar! Allow everyone to assemble their own nachos toppings of choice by letting them pick and choose from a myriad of toppings and keep it fun without worrying about who likes what and fighting over the desirable chips (we’ve all been there).
What to Serve With Carne Asada Nachos
If you have leftover carne asada meat, layer it on top of some French fries and make carne asada fries or carne asada tacos! Or, save the leftovers for breakfast and whip up a frittata or hash!
Leftovers & Reheating
Store any leftover carne asada meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Then, when you’re ready to eat, heat up the meat in a small pan on the stove or in the microwave until heated through. Then, grab your chips, beans, and veggies, and arrange your nachos!
Recipe FAQs
Making this recipe in a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven is also a perfect way to whip up a big batch of campfire nachos for everyone. Follow the recipe as instructed, just placing foil over the top of the nachos to make them for a while so every layer of the cheese gets melted through. By wrapping the nachos in foil, we trap the heat inside, creating a little convection pocket of warmth, making sure all the layers get heated through.
Absolutely! You can use Monterey Jack cheese, pepper jack, or any other pre-shredded cheese you like! You can also shred the cheese yourself if you prefer.
Some great options include adding a drizzle of queso, fresh pico de Gallo, lime crema, jalapeño slices, and a dash of hot sauce!
More camping recipes
Recipes With Pork
Camping Breakfast Burritos
Dinner Recipes
Foil Packet Whiskey Brats
Campfire Recipes
Steak in Foil Packets with Potatoes
Sandwich
Smoked Pit Beef Sandwich
These easy Carne Asada Nachos will leave you thinking twice about consuming crappy camping food while you’re out in the wilderness. Who knew making good food while camping was even possible?! Whether you’re roughing it in the wild or are just tired of the same old basic Mexican food, these Carne Asada Nachos will become your new favorite recipe! All you have to do is fire up the grill, and you can make this delicious guilty pleasure in no time! Also, please rate the recipe card and leave a comment below to help out the next reader!
Carne Asada Nachos
Ingredients
For the Marinade:
- 1/2 cup Orange juice
- 1/2 cup Oil
- 2 limes juiced
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 Jalapeno stemmed seeded and sliced
- 1 tbsp Jalapeno Lime Rub from Spiceology
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 2 tbsp fresh Cilantro chopped
For the Carne Asada:
- 1.5 lbs Flank Steak
- Salt and pepper
Nachos:
- 10 oz Refried Beans
- 13 oz Tortilla Chips
- 8 oz Colby Cheese shredded
- 4 oz Beans rinsed and drained
Nacho Toppings
- Crema see note
- 1/4 cup queso fresco crumbled
- Salsa
- 1 Jalapeno sliced
- 1 Lime sliced
- 2 Scallions chopped
- Avocado chopped
- Cilantro chopped
Instructions
Marinate Steak
- Using a gallon sized resealable bag, mix the orange juice, oil, lime juice, garlic cloves, and jalapeno slices together by tossing them all in.
- Pat the steak dry with paper towels and rub it with the Jalapeno rub and cumin.
- Add the steak and the cilantro to the bag and seal, pressing out as much air as possible.
- Using your hands, rub the bag, making sure all of the ingredients are mixed and coating the beef.
- Allow the steak to marinate at least 2 hours, or up to over night in a chilled cooler or refrigerator.
Grill Steak
- Place the steak over direct heat and grill, flipping often, until the beef has cooked to your desired internal temp, at least 135 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes.
Rest the Meat
- Wrap the flank steak in foil and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Slice thin
- Slice the beef into thin strips working aginst the grain on a biase for the best bite.
Make the Nachos:
- Arrange a long sheet of aluminum foil on a clean work surface.
- Dollop the refried beans onto the center of the foil and using the back of a spoon, spread the refried beans into a circle, creating the base of your nachos. Make sure this isn't too big as you need to fold the foil up around the pile of chips.
- Once the base is make, add a thin layer of tortilla chips.
- Top the layer with thin slices of hte carne asada, cheese, and black beans.
- Repeat for two or three more layers, making sure the top layer has extra cheese.
- Fold the long ends up the foil up over the chips carefully, as to not break the chips, and pinch the edges shut.
- Carefully place the foil packet over indirect heat and allow the nachos to cook, so the cheese melted through on every layer, checking every 7 minutes or so depending on the heat of your fire.
- Once the cheese has melted through, carefully remvoe the foil pack nachos from the campfire and open the packet.
- Using a variety of topping, cover the top of your nachos with sliced avocado, scallions, sliced jalapeno, red onion, and sweet peppers.
- Serve liquid items like sour cream, guacamole or salsa on the side to prevent soggy chips.
- Garnish with cilantro and crema if desired.
- Devour.
Nutrition
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