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A platter of Irish Nachos is pub food at its finest. Snack on the best parts of a loaded baked potato and Tex-Mex nachos all in one bite.
Table of Contents
Ingredient notes
- Potatoes: Opt for starchy potatoes like Russets so they’re sturdy enough to slice, cook, and hold toppings. For even cooking, cut into slices of equal thickness (I suggest using a mandolin).
- White vinegar: Parboil the potato slices in water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. The acid will help the potato slices hold their shape while cooking.
- Bacon: Crisp it up in a skillet or on the stove; here’s how to fry bacon perfectly.
- Scallions: You could also substitute chives, dill, or your other favorite herbs.
- Jalapeño: If you want to use this but are seeking a slightly less spicy option, remove the ribs and seeds before slicing; that’s where most of the heat is.
Step-by-step instructions
- Use a mandolin (or knife if you don’t have this tool) to slice 1/4-inch thick pieces of potato. Rinse slices under cold water, then store in a large bowl of water as you finish slicing the rest of the potatoes.
- Drain the potatoes. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 2 quarts water; bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
- Drain well and spread in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets lined with paper towels. Allow the par-boiled potato slices to dry for five minutes. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil to 400 degrees. Lower the potatoes into the oil in batches, turning them over with a slotted spoon until they stop releasing bubbles; depending on the thickness of the slice, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining potato slices.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and arrange the potatoes on a broiler-proof baking dish or pie pan. Top the potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese and cooked, chopped bacon. Bake for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
- Remove the nachos from the oven, and garnish with sour cream, tomato, scallions, and jalapeño slices, if using.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: Each recipe as listed makes 4 servings of Irish Nachos that include 4 ounces of potato slices each.
- Make ahead: This is best enjoyed hot from the oven, but feel free to slice and store the potatoes in a bowl of water up to 24 hours before to get a jumpstart on prep.
- Storage: If you have any leftover Irish Nachos, store in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 450 degrees until the potatoes are warm and the cheese gets melty again, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Baked Irish Nachos: To bake instead of fry the potato slices, follow step 1 and 2 as listed. Instead of step 3, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Toss the potato slices in oil, salt and pepper, and arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are crisp and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Then turn the oven up to 450 degrees and proceed with the recipe as written.
- Waffle fries: If desired, skip the first 3 steps and start with frozen waffle fries, cooked according to package instructions.
- Cheese swap: Feel free to replace the shredded cheddar with any crumbled cheese, shredded cheese, or cheese sauce that you like.
- Toppings bar: Consider serving with bowls of sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, finely diced white onion, chopped olives, and/or diced bell peppers so each diner can garnish their serving with personal favorites.
- Round out your ultimate St. Patrick’s Day menu: start with Hot Rueben Dip, and serve a basket of homemade Irish Soda Bread or Marble Rye bread along with your traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage and homemade Sauerkraut. Leftovers can be put to use in Corned Beef Hash for breakfast, a hot Rueben sandwich or Rachel Sandwich for lunch, topped with homemade Thousand Island dressing.
More crowd-pleasing potato recipes
Side Dish Recipes
Twice-Baked Potatoes
Side Dish Recipes
Scalloped Potatoes
Vegetable Recipes
Greek Roasted Potatoes
Side Dish Recipes
Homemade French Fries
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Irish Nachos (Potato Nachos)
A platter of Irish Nachos is pub food at its finest. Snack on the best parts of a loaded baked potato and Tex-Mex nachos all in one bite.
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 1 pound Russet potatoes sliced ¼ of an inch thick on a mandolin slicer, rinsed under cold running water and stored in water (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar (see note 2)
- 2 quarts canola oil or peanut oil
- Kosher salt
For the nachos:
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 slices cooked bacon (see note 3)
- Sour cream for serving
- 1 large tomato chopped, for serving
- 4 scallions thinly sliced, for serving (see note 4)
- 1 jalapeño pepper sliced, for serving (see note 5)
Instructions
To make the potatoes:
- Drain potatoes. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine vinegar and 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil.
- Add potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Drain well and spread in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets lined with paper towels. Dry five minutes.
- In a Dutch oven, large pot, or deep fryer, heat oil to 400 degrees. Add ½ of potato slices and cook, stirring and flipping constantly with wire mesh spider or slotted spoon, until potatoes release no more bubbles, about 3 to 5 minutes (smaller chips may cook faster than large ones and should be removed from the oil as they finish).
- Transfer potato slices to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels, and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining potato slices.
To make the nachos:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Transfer potato slices to a broiler-proof pie plate or serving platter.
- Top with cheese and bacon. Bake until the cheese is hot and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Remove from oven and top with sour cream, tomato, scallions, and jalapeño slices, if using.
Notes
- Potatoes: Opt for starchy potatoes like Russets so they’re sturdy enough to slice, cook, and hold toppings. For even cooking, cut into slices of equal thickness (I suggest using a mandolin).
- White vinegar: Parboil the potato slices in water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. The acid will help the potato slices hold their shape while cooking.
- Bacon: Crisp it up in a skillet or on the stove; here’s how to fry bacon perfectly.
- Scallions: You could also substitute chives, dill, or your other favorite herbs.
- Jalapeño: If you want to use this but are seeking a slightly less spicy option, remove the ribs and seeds before slicing; that’s where most of the heat resides.
- Yield: Each recipe as listed makes 4 servings of Irish Nachos that include 4 ounces of potato slices each.
- Make ahead: This is best enjoyed hot from the oven, but feel free to slice and store the potatoes in a bowl of water up to 24 hours before to get a jumpstart on prep.
- Storage: If you have any leftover Irish Nachos, store in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 450 degrees until the potatoes are warm and the cheese gets melty again, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Baked Irish Nachos: To bake instead of fry the potato slices, follow step 1 and 2 as listed. Instead of step 3, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Toss the potato slices in oil, salt and pepper, and arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are crisp and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Then turn the oven up to 450 degrees and proceed with the recipe as written.
- Waffle fries: If desired, skip the first 3 steps and start with frozen waffle fries, cooked according to package instructions.
- Cheese swap: Feel free to replace the shredded cheddar with any crumbled cheese, shredded cheese, or cheese sauce that you like.
- Toppings bar: Consider serving with bowls of sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, finely diced white onion, chopped olives, and/or diced bell peppers so each diner can garnish their serving with personal favorites.
Nutrition
Calories: 426kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 20gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 496mgPotassium: 677mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 949IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 428mgIron: 2mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Ooooo. Sounds delicious! The adaptations go by the same name?
Hi Kimberli! The adaptions probably don’t have specific names, naming recipes is just sort of whatever you want to call them. Adaptations are just random ideas we think of while we are testing that sound good, so we try them out. Thank you! -Meggan
Thank you so much for sharing this healthy recipe because of its appearance and looks delicious.
Perfect timing for this beautiful twist !