Mexican Dessert Nachos

Mexican dessert nachos are one of my favorite things to make on Taco Tuesday or for a party. None of my friends or family can resist these cinnamon sugar tortilla chips, cut fruit, chocolate sauce with cinnamon and chili stirred in, and whipped cream on top.

They work really well as a dessert after my cheesy chicken enchiladas when I want something lighter after all that cheese, and I bring them when someone else is hosting taco night. The chips travel in a container, the fruit goes in another one, and I assemble the dessert on their counter in a couple of minutes, including the time to slice the banana there.

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How to Make Mexican Dessert Nachos

Start with the sauce. Make a batch of espresso hot fudge sauce, then stir in half to three-quarters of a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of chili powder. The chili doesn’t make it spicy. It makes the cinnamon taste warmer, which is the whole point.

If you don’t want to make the sauce from scratch, grab a good-quality hot fudge sauce from the store and doctor it up with the cinnamon and chili powder. Don’t let the fudge sauce stop you from making this Mexican dessert.

Buy unbaked tortillas if your store has them. You’ll find them in the refrigerated case, usually near the cheese, and they’ve become a lot easier to find over the past few years.

They puff into blistered pillowy chips in the oven, like the best tortilla chips you get at good Mexican restaurants. I’ve made this both ways, and regular flour tortillas give you a flat cracker instead.

Brush melted butter on one side only, all the way to the edges. The cinnamon sugar has nothing to grab onto if you leave a dry spot, and you’ll taste every bare chip.

Cut the tortillas into triangles with a pizza wheel, not a knife. Halve the tortilla, then cut each half into thirds for six wedges. A knife drags across the buttered surface and shoves the sugar into piles.

Bake at 425 degrees for eight to nine minutes. Remove when the edges turn golden brown and the centers puff up. They keep crisping as they cool, so a chip that feels slightly soft coming out of the oven is right where it should be.

Whip the cream while the chips bake. Using heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla, start on slow speed until it’s frothy, then beat to soft peaks.

You also have time to slice your fruit now. While you can slice the strawberries ahead of time, wait until just a little before assembly time to slice the bananas so they don’t get slimy and old-looking.

Just before you plan to serve them, place a layer of chips on a large plate or platter. Top with a layer of the fruit, and use a fork to drizzle the chocolate sauce.

Add another layer of chips, the rest of the fruit, and the last of the chocolate sauce. Use a spoon to place dollops of your whipped cream on top, then serve immediately.

Remind yourself that if you steal a bite now, everyone will know.

What Is Mexican Hot Chocolate Sauce?

It’s hot fudge sauce with cinnamon and a touch of chili powder, warming spices many Mexican desserts add to chocolate flavors. I start with my espresso hot fudge sauce and stir in half to three-quarters of a teaspoon of cinnamon plus a pinch of chili powder for a full batch.

You can do the same thing to any hot fudge sauce you already like, jarred included. The chili isn’t there for heat. If you skip it, the sauce tastes flatter, which surprises people the first time they test it side by side.

How Do I Cook Unbaked Tortillas?

This recipe calls for unbaked flour tortillas, which you can find in the refrigerated section of many stores. If not, you can buy unbaked tortillas online.

These work great in the oven, as I’ve written the recipe, but I use my pancake griddle to do batches when we need a bunch. It’s fastest, and it lets me keep an eye on how they cook.

How Do I Avoid Tearing Raw Tortillas?

Raw tortillas tend to stick to each other in the bag, and if you aren’t careful, you can rip them easily. They’ll still taste good if they aren’t perfect triangles, but they won’t look quite as pretty.

Just like regular tortillas, to help the tortillas separate cleanly, before I open the bag, I bend it back and forth in each direction, which helps loosen them without ripping the individual tortillas.

When separating each tortilla, peel slowly and from each edge toward the center. And of course, seal the bag after each use to ensure the unbaked tortillas don’t dry out (I’m looking at my son for that one).

What Dessert Goes With Mexican Food?

You want something bright and light, because most Mexican dinners are already rich. That’s exactly why these work: fresh fruit and a thin crisp chip work better after enchiladas than another dense chocolate thing would.

If I want something I can make ahead and enjoy straight from the pan, I make Mexican sheetcake brownies instead. They have the same cinnamon-and-chili-powder warmth, and they hold for two days.

Are These a Traditional Mexican Dessert?

No, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. You won’t find dessert nachos in a Mexican restaurant or in anyone’s abuela’s kitchen. The cinnamon sugar chips are a cousin of buñuelos and the sauce borrows from Mexican hot chocolate, but the dish itself is mine.

If you want traditional, you want flan, tres leches, churros, or arroz con leche. If you want something with those flavors that you can make on a Tuesday, stay here.

Can I Make Mexican Dessert Nachos Ahead of Time?

Most of it, yes. Bake the chips, cool them for a full 10 minutes, then store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to two days. Don’t pack them tightly, or they may break.

Make the whipped cream before your guests arrive and keep it in the coldest part of the fridge under plastic wrap. Whisk it for about 30 seconds right before you use it to bring it back if it’s started to fall.

Wash the berries and slice the strawberries ahead of time. Leave the banana until the last minute, because no one likes a slimy browning banana. Assembly takes under a minute once you’ve prepped everything.

Can I Use Corn Tortillas?

I haven’t tested it, but corn tortillas have a completely different flavor and texture that doesn’t really work in this dish. Flour tortillas are mild enough that you taste just the cinnamon sugar, but you don’t want to taste corn with that flavor profile.

If you decide you want to try it, your corn tortillas are almost certainly already cooked, so start checking their doneness at five minutes instead of eight. Come back and tell me how it went, because I’m a little curious.

What Fruit Works Best?

You want fruit that’s small enough to sit on the chip and that doesn’t weep. I use thinly sliced strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and bananas. Blueberries or sliced kiwi would be a fun twist to try.

Skip watermelon and orange segments. They release too much liquid, and your chips go soft while you’re still assembling.

Troubleshooting the Recipe

Your fruit keeps rolling off the chips. You piled all the fruit on at once instead of layering as you go. Put down a layer of chips, add fruit and sauce, then repeat, so every piece of fruit has somewhere to sit.

One reader ran the fruit through a blender and spooned it on as a compote instead, which works like nacho cheese does, and it’s a fun alternative that tastes great. You’ll want to eat them right away if you try this, as the chips will get soggy faster.

The chips came out flat and cracker-like. You used regular flour tortillas. Those are already cooked, so there’s nothing left in them to puff. Make sure to buy unbaked tortillas from the refrigerated case, as they bake up completely differently.

Your cinnamon sugar slid off in the oven. You either brushed on too little butter, or you sprinkled the sugar before the butter went on. Brush on the melted butter first, edge to edge, then sugar. Be more heavy-handed than feels reasonable.

Everything was soggy when you served it. You assembled the nachos too early. These are best for about 20 minutes once the fruit and cream are on, so build the platter just before everyone is ready to dig in.

It’s just like regular nachos from a restaurant where the toppings soften the chips after a bit. You want to eat them right away and not in an hour.

Your chocolate sauce seized into a stiff blob. You let it cool too far before drizzling. Warm it for 15 seconds in the microwave (mine is 800 watts, so give yours longer if it runs weaker), then stir it before you drizzle.

If it turned grainy and tastes bitter instead of going stiff, you overheated it. Chocolate scorches at a low temperature, so warm it in short bursts and stir between each one.

What are you serving yours with?

Tell me in the comments. I’m always curious whether people go the taco night route or save these for a party, and the fruit combinations people come up with are better than mine half the time.

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