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Post Updated 11/24/2019
Game day nachos go soul-deep—crispy chips loaded with smoky pork ham hocks, melty cheese, and big bold flavor perfect for tailgates, parties, or late-night soul food cravings.
Your flavor DJ on the wheels of steel, spinning heat hotter than a jalapeño and smoother than a Tribe bassline. These loaded nachos ain’t your average gameday nachos—they’re soul food nachos, dripping with smoky pork love, creamy cheese, and layers of crunch. Flavor peeps, pull up a plate and let your taste buds get in formation.
Sure you can make these nachos with traditional seasoned ground beef, but where is the fun in that?!
If you like unique fun appetizers like this then checkout the entire collection of appetizers.
Flavor Profile: Deep, savory pork balanced by creamy cheese and just enough heat from fresh chilies. Pork ham hocks are typically used to season Southern style beans recipes like these Instant Pot Ham and Beans or Soul food collard greens.
Texture Profile: Crispy tortilla chips meet tender, fall-apart smoked pork, oozy melted cheese, and fresh toppings that bring crunch and brightness in every bite.
Cooking Technique & Time: Tortilla chips are layered with shredded cheese, diced ham hocks, jalapenos, and black beans in a cast iron skillet or baking sheet and baked at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Key Flavor Ingedient - Smoked Ham Hocks
Smoked ham hocks bring deep, soulful flavor—salty, smoky, and pork-rich. They infuse the nachos with that low-and-slow BBQ essence you just can’t fake, adding a layer of complexity that transforms snack food into a full meal.
Beats and Eats (music to pair with Baked Nachos)
Like Tribe’s “Find a Way,” these pork nachos are all about balance—smooth beats, playful lyrics, and layers that keep you vibin’. Every topping, every flavor, finds its way into harmony on one chip. Put on the track, dig into your soul food nachos, and let the groove carry you from the first crunch to the last smoky bite.
Secrets to Making This a Great Dish
Heed a few tried and true steps mastered in my test kitchen:
- Balance the richness with acid (salsa, lime, or pickled veggies) so flavors don’t get heavy.
- Layer cheese in between chips, not just on top, for ultimate gooey coverage.
- Finish with fresh herbs (cilantro or scallions) to brighten the bite.
Top these ham hock nachos with a dollop of sour cream and green onions. Eat nachos with a medley of chicken wings - smoked wings with red soda glaze, crispy lemon pepper wings, and air fryer jerk wings.
Keep up with my food exploits on Instagram and YouTube. If you like any of the music you find on the site, visit me at Spotify to find curated playlists.
Smoked Ham Hock Nachos
Ingredients
- 1 Standard Size Bag Of Tortilla Chips
- 1 bag of Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack cheese
- 1 smoked ham hock
- 1 cup Black beans
- 2 fresh jalapenos sliced
- 1 avocado half
- 1 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ¼ red onions chopped
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare ham hocks - cut away meaty part with a sharp knife. Then cut-off the thick layer of skin (discard). Cut the meat into small to medium chunks
- Quickly sear hocks on medium-high heat in a greased skillet (1-2 minutes). Remove and pat dry.
- Rinse and dry the skillet. Spread half the chips over cookie sheet. Layer half the hocks, jalapenos, black beans, and onions on top of the chips. Top with half the cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and add another layer of chips, ham hocks, jalapenos, beans, onions and cheese and repeat in oven
- Remove and top with avocado, cilantro and your choice of salsa.
Nutrition
Notes
- Hocks, because they are smoked, are essentially already cooked so you technically do not need to cook them before baking them as part of the nachos. However, my preference is to give them a quick simmer in the skillet before assembling the nachos for baking.
- Since nachos require a short cook time, a pre-simmer is good for releasing some of that rich smokey flavor from the hocks. You are basically priming it for the nachos.
- Another trick I like to employ is cooking the nachos in two stages. I made one layer and then cooked it for about 10 minutes, then added a second layer and cooked for another 10 minutes. This ensures all the cheese including the cheese on the bottom layer melts fully.
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