The Best Nachos and Dips - WHAT TO HAVE FOR DINNER TONIGHT

I don’t like soggy nachos, so I always feel a bit of dread when I see a recipe for ‘loaded nachos’. I can’t think of anything worse than a stodge of mushy tortilla chips under a gloopy mess of chilli and soured cream.

So, this might not seem much like the nacho dishes you’re used to, but I think it’s probably more traditional. Here, I just cook the nachos with cheese, and have the other delicious bits and pieces as separate dips. It means you can dive in to the bits you like the most and – even better – the whole dish lasts longer. There’s no rushing to finish them (unless you want to, of course!); instead, you can enjoy them over the course of a film or a football game without the texture going wrong.

You could also make these alongside my 4 hour slow cooked chilli to create an amazing dinner party spread.

I made a few elements here, you can choose the bits you like the most:

Goes without saying that these are the most important bit. You can make your own tortilla chips if you like, but shop bought ones work just as well here.

Make sure that you don’t buy highly flavoured ones, though (Doritos, I’m looking at you…) – stick with plain. Supermarket own brand ones are usually pretty good.

The cheese mix is important here. It’s not authentic, but mozzarella gives a nice fun stretch and I highly recommend it!

This is a side you don’t often find with nachos in the U.K., but it’s so, so good. These black beans are simply simmered down with smoked paprika and give a meaty, satisfying hit of flavour in a vegetarian dish.

Scooping up that delicious black bean dip with the nachos is a special kind of delight.

I made a basic guacamole (more just a mashed avocado) with a hint of spice, along with some sliced avocado too to give a bit of variance in texture.

This is a seriously simple mild salsa. You can add spice if you like too – simply add as much chopped fresh chilli as you want to. The key to making this is using the best tinned chopped tomatoes you can afford. Try to avoid using the cheapest ones if you can – they’re full of added water and will make a disappointing salsa.

This recipe will take 30 minutes and serves 4.