Inspired by the Tri-Tip Nachos from Petco Park, these delicious nachos are an easy and fun family dinner that comes together fast using leftover steak. Whether you’re gearing up for a game day, planning a family movie night, or just craving something crunchy and indulgent, these nachos are sure to hit the spot.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Great Use of Leftovers: Transform your leftover tri tip steak into a mouthwatering new meal.
- Easy Homemade Cheese Sauce: Homemade cheese sauce is surprisingly simple to make. Plus, there's always the option to use a store-bought sauce to save even more time.
- Fully Customizable: Make them your own by adding any of your favorite nacho toppings.
- Perfect for Sharing: These nachos are perfect for gatherings. Serve them right off the baking sheet for a casual and fun meal.
Let's Get Started! Here's What You'll Need:
Ingredients
Leftover Tri Tip Steak- About as much as you use in chips. If you don't have tri-tip you can always swap in a different cut of beef.
Corn Tortilla Chips- Any shape will do here, triangles, rounds, or strips will all work great.
Cheddar Cheese- We're not even shredding it. I find cubes melt well and are less prep work. You can also swap in a store bought queso, or use another cheese if cheddar isn't your favorite.
Milk- To melt our cheese into- if you buy cheese sauce already made you won't need this.
Garnishes & Dips- The version sold at the Padres stadium features BBQ Sauce, Sour Cream, and Green Onions, which is what I used here. You can of course top with whatever you'd like! Salsa, guacamole, or avocado slices and lime juice are great options too.
Equipment
For the nacho base we'll need a small baking sheet sometimes called a quarter sheet, which I recommend lining with aluminum foil for easy clean up. You'll also need a knife and cutting board if your tri tip isn't already diced up, and a small saucepan and whisk to make the cheese sauce. The whisk is a necessity if you're making the sauce, it's difficult to get it to come together properly with just a spatula.
If you want to drizzle your BBQ sauce and sour cream over top and don't have the fancy squeeze bottle containers, ziplock bags and scissors are handy too. You can also just serve those on the side if you prefer.
How to Make Tri Tip Nachos
Step 1: Preheat & Prep
First, preheat your oven to 350°F so it'll be ready when you are. Then line your baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, and cover it with about half a bag of tortilla chips (about 5 or 6 oz, not half a Costco bag). If your tri tip isn't already diced or shredded, go ahead and chop that into bite sized pieces that we'll sprinkle on the chips in a bit.
Step 2: Make the Cheese Sauce
Cube your cheese, then in a small saucepan melt the cheddar cheese into the milk over medium heat. Once it starts to melt you'll want to whisk constantly until you have a smooth and creamy sauce. If it seems too thick you can add another splash of milk.
Step 3: Assemble the Nachos & Warm
Drizzle the cheese sauce over the chips as evenly as you can, then top with your tri tip. Or do tri tip first then cheese, the order of those two really isn't important. Place the baking sheet in your preheated oven for 5-10 minutes, just enough to lightly toast our nacho chips and warm up the steak. While that's in the oven chop your green onions, and if you need to put some condiments in zip baggies for squeezing this is a good time to do that too.
Step 4: Garnish & Enjoy
Once they're out of the oven, sprinkle on some green onions and either drizzle your sauces on top or serve them on the side for dipping. Enjoy!
FAQs
No problem! This recipe is versatile; feel free to substitute with any cooked meat you have on hand. If you only have a little bit of leftover steak you can also supplement it with some black beans.
If you are starting with raw tri tip you need to cook first, my favorite way is to prepare the tri tip in a sous vide and finish it on the grill, or for a faster option to simply cook the tri tip in a cast iron skillet.
Sort of- I've only been to Petco Park once and was overwhelmed with the food options, but these are definitely inspired by the San Diego ballpark favorite. If you've not tried barbeque sauce with sour cream on nachos before, it's a winning combination!
The options are nearly limitless! I think the best part of nachos is their flexibility. Feel free to get creative with additional toppings like jalapeños, pico de gallo, guacamole, or black olives.
More Leftover Focused Dishes
Need some other ways to easily repurpose your leftovers? Check out these Pot Roast Quesadillas and Salmon Spring Rolls.
Enjoy!
I hope you love these nachos and that this becomes one of your favorite ways to use leftover tri tip. Don't forget to come back and let me know how it turned out. Happy cooking, and enjoy the game (or movie)!
📖 Recipe
Leftover Tri Tip Nachos Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz tortilla chips
- 6 oz tri tip cooked
- 4 oz cheese
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup bbq sauce
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 ea green onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange tortilla chips on pan and cut tri tip into bite sized pieces.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the cheddar cheese into the milk, whisking continuously until you have a smooth and creamy sauce. Immediately pour over prepared tortilla chips.
- Top cheesy chips evenly with tri tip and bake for 5-10 minutes, until meat is warm. While in the oven chop green onions and any other desired toppings.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with sour cream, bbq sauce, green onions, and enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. It is recommended to use your preferred calculator with the actual ingredients you use for optimal accuracy.
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