Irish Nachos with Corned Beef are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Thin, crispy potatoes topped with corned beef and tons of cheddar cheese.
Making Corned Beef for St. Patrick’s Day? Make extra so you have enough to make this epic Irish nacho recipe. Pro tip – if you have leftover cooked cabbage you can throw that on these nachos, too!
What Are Irish Nachos?
So what are Irish Nachos you ask? Good question because I had the same one. Irish Nachos are actually made with baked or fried, sliced potatoes instead of tortilla chips.
Traditionally, Irish Nachos are topped with bacon, cheese, picked jalapeños, tomatoes, sour cream and onions. We’re taking this recipe a step further and using leftover corned beef to keep in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit!
If you want to make this nacho recipe for St. Patrick’s Day and not after…continue reading and we’ll tell you how to do it!
How Do You Make Irish Nachos?
Getting the potato chips sliced thin and frying them up until they are crispy is an important part of this recipe. If you’ve never made homemade potato chips at home you’re in for a treat! We loves making homemade potato chips and French Fries all the time, you can even oven bake or air fry them instead of frying!
Definitely make the homemade potato chips – but if you really, really didn’t want to you could grab a bag of thick cut potato chips from the store and use those as your base.
Tips For Success
- Don’t be afraid to deep fry. It’s really not all that difficult or scary as long as you follow some basic tips. Only fill whatever pot you’re using halfway with cooking oil so it doesn’t boil over when you’re cooking.
- Also, make make sure that the oil is hot enough. If the oil isn’t the right temperature, the potatoes will take too long to cook and they will absorb more of the oil, making them soggy instead of crispy
- Make sure that you season these potatoes as soon as they come out of the oil with lots of kosher salt. If you let them cool off and dry the salt won’t stick to the chips.
So after you are done slicing and frying your potatoes you can start to load on the toppings….here’s where the fun starts!
Layer the potato slices on a baking sheet. Top with shredded corned beef, thinly sliced cabbage and lots of sharp cheddar cheese. And Irish cheddar like Dubliner works great for these Irish Nachos!
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the toppings are warmed through. We like to add a fresh crunch at the end with some sweet sprouts. Of course, to also keep in theme with the St. Patrick’s Day colors.
What If I Don’t Have Leftover Corned Beef?
Now, if you want to make this nacho recipe for your St. Patrick’s Day party and you don’t have leftover corned beef (yet) you can just grab some right at your deli counter.
Yes, you can buy corned beef right at your deli, thick or thinly sliced. Get your corned beef sliced a little thicker if you’re using it to make these Irish Nachos so that you can chop it into larger pieces.
Variations
There’s so many different ways that you can top these potato nachos. Top them like a regular nacho recipe like we mentioned before, using all your favorite toppings. Or think outside the box like we did here!
- Use Different Proteins: Instead of corned beef, try using thick cut bacon, pulled pork, BBQ chicken thighs, or our super easy homemade taco meat.
- Cheese: We’re using a sharp Irish cheddar, but any kind of cheddar will work. Gruyere or Swiss, gouda, even mozzarella. Any melting cheese that you like the flavor of.
- Crunch: Ditch the sprouts and cabbage, bake the nachos and them top with shredded lettuce when they come out of the oven.
- Vegetables: Bell peppers, onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, corn, and diced avocados are favorites.
- Bake or Air Fry: instead of frying, you can bake or air fry the potato chips. See the recipe card below for details.
Now that we’ve got the food covered, we know you’re going to start looking for some fun St. Patrick’s Day cocktails, and we’ve got them.
Try these super cool Irish Flag Shots, to get the party going. This Baileys Martini is a delicious, sweet after dinner drink that we love to serve with dessert. Try one of my favorites, this Nutty Irishman, one of my go-to after dinner drinks orders when eating out.
More of a coffee fan? Try a classic Irish Coffee recipe with a very slightly sweet whipped cream topping.
Looking For More Leftover Corned Beef Recipes?
- Corned Beef Hash
- Cheesy Corned Beef Tater Tots
- Corned Beef Stuffed Mushrooms
- Reuben Fritters
- Corned Beef & Cabbage Fried Rice
- Creamy Potato & Corned Beef Chowder
- Corned Beef Stuffed Mushrooms
Irish Nachos with Corned Beef
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings for appetizers 1x
Irish Nachos with Corned Beef are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Thin, crispy potatoes topped with corned beef and tons of cheddar cheese.
Ingredients
- Canola or vegetable oil for frying
- 2 pounds russet potatoes
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups leftover corned beef, shredded or diced
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
- Sprouts for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Add the oil to a deep pot, no more than halfway full, over medium heat until it reached 400 degrees. Alternately, you can bake or air fry the potato chips. See the note section below for details.
- Slice potatoes 1/4″ thick on a mandoline slicer (or carefully with a sharp knife) and then place in a bowl of ice water to soak for 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and dry very well with paper towels. Water will make the oil splatter so the potatoes must be dry!
- Once the oil comes to temperature, fry the potatoes in batches for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. Remove the potatoes to a paper towel lined baking sheet, then lightly season the potatoes with salt while still hot. Repeat with the remaining potato slices.
- Place the fried potatoes onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Top with the corned beef, cabbage and cheese and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the nachos from the oven, top with the sprouts and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
To bake the potatoes: Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking oil and place the potato slices on in an even layer. Season the potatoes with salt and then spray oil. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, flip the potatoes and bake another 7-8 minutes until brown and crispy.
Air fry: Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees. Season the potato slices with salt and add them to the air fryer. You’ll have to do this in a couple of batches, depending on how large of an air fryer you have. Spray the potatoes with oil and toss. Air fry for 15-20 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes.
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Stove Top/Oven
- Cuisine: American
What are the sprouts?
You can use alfalfa sprouts or whatever kind is at your market!
These look so great!
Thanks Shelly, we should have had you back over for them!