Animal Style Nachos (In-N-Out copycat)

No ratings yet

Animal Style Nachos (In-N-Out copycat)

With sweet caramelized onions and a copycat special sauce, these In-N-Out animal-style nachos will become your new dinner staple. Like your favorite cheeseburger in nacho form, this recipe comes together in just 20 minutes and is perfect for feeding a crowd.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 20 minute, high protein

Servings:

Calories: 779kcal

Author: Mika Kinney

Ingredients

6 cups tortilla chips

Beef

1 lb ground beef
6 teaspoon yellow mustard

Caramelized Onions

½ diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon salt and pepper
½ teaspoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon soy sauce

Toppings (feel free to use more or less of each topping)

2 cups cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
⅓ cup diced pickles
⅓ cup diced tomatoes
6 tablespoon high protein special sauce or thousand island dressing

Instructions

Caramelize the onions by sautéing ½ diced yellow onion over low heat in 1 tablespoon butter. After a few minutes, add the ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper, ½ teaspoon brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon soy sauce, and keep cooking on low for another 10 minutes until fragrant and translucent. Once done, set aside.
While the onions cook, brown 1 lb ground beef in 6 teaspoon yellow mustard. Turn the oven on to low broil.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and spread out the tortilla chips (feel free to use more or less than 6 cups, but about half a bag felt right for us). Top with the ground beef and 2 cups cheddar cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Remove from the oven and top with caramelized onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, and high protein special sauce. Serve up family style and enjoy!

Video

Notes

get creative

These are the toppings to make these nachos animal-style but feel free to get creative. You can make:

Big Mac nachos with a Big Mac sauce
California-style with guacamole, jalapenos, and chipotle sauce
Add a sweet twist with pineapple, chicken, and teriyaki sauce.

some quick tips

Line a super large rimmed baking sheet with foil to make clean up a breeze.
To prep this ahead of time, brown the beef, make the caramelized onions, shred the cheese, and chop the veggies up to 2 days in advance. Then when you're ready to eat, just layer, broil, layer, and enjoy!

Storage: I'll be honest, these nachos don't keep very well. I would try to just make what you think you'll eat. If you aren't sure, you can give everyone a small pan or cast iron and they can make their own plate of nachos.

Nutrition