Loaded Pizza Nachos
Loaded pizza nachos layer Italian sausage, mini pepperoni, pizza sauce, and melty mozzarella over crispy tortilla chips on a single sheet pan. They bake in 8 minutes and disappear even faster.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small green bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoons salted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 12 ounce bag tortilla chips
- 1 pound loose Italian sausage cooked and crumbled
- 12 ounce jar pizza sauce Rao’s is recommended
- 2 cups freshly grated mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 3.8 ounce can sliced black olives drained
- ⅓ cup red onion finely diced
- 5 ounce bag mini pepperoni
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up.
- Heat a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the diced bell pepper. Saute 3 minutes, until bright green and beginning to soften. Remove from heat.
- Stir the melted butter and garlic salt together in a small bowl. Have all remaining toppings prepped and within reach before you start assembling.
- Spread the tortilla chips in a single even layer on the prepared pan. Top with the crumbled Italian sausage, then spoon half the pizza sauce over the chips. Add the mozzarella and parmesan.
- Scatter on the olives, red onion, sauteed bell pepper, and mini pepperoni. Drizzle the garlic butter evenly over everything.
- Bake 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni edges have curled. Serve immediately with the remaining pizza sauce, warmed, for dipping.
Notes
- Assemble fast: Have every topping ready before the sauce goes on. Chips start softening as soon as they're wet.
- Use a thick pizza sauce: Thin sauces soak straight into the chips. Rao's or something similarly thick holds up best.
- One even layer only: Piling chips traps steam underneath and creates soggy spots.
- For extra crispy chips, skip the sauce during assembly and drizzle it on right out of the oven.
- Grate your own mozzarella. Pre-shredded cheese is coated to keep it from clumping, so it never melts quite as smoothly.
- Mini pepperoni spreads more evenly and crisps up better than full-size slices. Quarter regular pepperoni if that's what you have.
- Air fryer method: Assemble a half batch in a parchment air fryer liner. Air fry at 400°F for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.
- Meat swaps: Mild or hot Italian sausage both work. For ground beef or turkey, add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning plus a pinch each of salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and crushed red pepper.
- Topping ideas: Mushrooms, cooked bacon, diced jalapeños, banana peppers, or cooked diced onion. Skip watery vegetables, which soften the chips.
- Ranch makes a great second dipper alongside the extra pizza sauce.
Try ranch Doritos in place of plain tortilla chips for a different spin.
Nutrition
Calories: 864kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 63g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 2192mg | Potassium: 620mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 796IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 326mg | Iron: 3mg
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