10 Inventive Ways to Make Crowd-Pleasing Nachos

Just in case you've fallen into a nacho rut, here are 10 different ways to dig yourself out, one cheesy, saucy, crispy, crunchy nacho at a time. How many of these variations have you tried?

Not Your Everyday Nachos

1. Schmancy nachos: Super Deluxe Steak Nachos

2. Buffalo-style: Buffalo Chicken Nacho Bowl

3. Under the sea: Shrimp and Jalapeno Nachos

4. When in Roma: Italian Nachos Restaurant-Style

5. Playing steel drums: Caribbean Nachos

6. Over Tater Tots: Totchos Libre

7. Put an egg on it: Breakfast Nachos!

8. Dip it good: Outrageous Warm Chicken Nacho Dip

9. In a casserole: Beef Nacho Casserole

10. For your sweet tooth: Chocolate Allspice Dessert Nachos

A Brief History of Nachos

Wait, nachos have a backstory? Yes, and you can flash it out the next time you're elbow-deep in nachos with your friends. Because you crush at food trivia.

First of all, there really was a guy nicknamed Nacho, who came up with this eponymous snack. His full name was Ignacio Anaya, and he worked at the El Moderno restaurant in Piedras Negras on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

One day in 1943, a group of wives from the Eagle Pass military base on the Texas side came in for a bite, but the cook had stepped away. So, although he was the maitre d', Nacho donned the apron himself. Using what he found in the kitchen — tortillas, cheese, and jalapeños — he whipped up a a pile of mmm mmm good, earning him and it an honored spot in Snacktown's Hall of Fame. (Well, if there really was one, Nacho's nachos would be in it.)

Mark your calendars to celebrate National Nachos Day on November 6.

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