Ice Cream Nachos Recipe

What do you get when you combine ice cream and nachos? Pure magic. When most people think of nacho toppings, they think of sour cream, guac, and salsa. While these are delicious on your standard, salted tortilla chips, we have another fun and innovative way to make nachos for dessert. This tasty recipe includes crunchy tortilla chips coated in a sweet, cinnamon-sugar mixture. Simply add some ice cream, caramel, and chocolate to the top, and you've got a delicious mess of nachos for dessert.

Recipe developer Susan Olayinka came up with this fun dessert. "I wouldn't ever think to add ice cream to nachos, so this is a different recipe for me, too. I think I like that uniqueness and the different textures produced by the soft ice cream and hard tortilla chips," she raves. "I think I saw a similar version on social media one day with broken-up ice cream cones." And Olayinka loves to serve them when the weather is hot. "This will be wonderful at a summer barbecue or [as] a treat after dinner [on] the weekend," she adds.

Keep reading to find out how to make this dish!

The first thing you'll need to do is make a grocery list and head to the store. This is the beginning step in any recipe. For starters, you will need to pick up some plain tortilla chips ... because what nachos are complete without them? You will also need some white granulated sugar and a little cinnamon for this dessert-inspired dish. Next, be sure to grab some vanilla ice cream. If you have another go-to ice cream, you can get that, too! 

Instead of traditional nacho toppings, these dessert nachos could use chocolate and caramel sauces, and sprinkles. Once you have everything together, you may begin!

Now that you have gathered all of the ingredients, it's time to begin the prep work. The good news is, it won't take long ... just 10 minutes from start to finish. Take out a large serving bowl and the tortilla chips. Open the package of tortilla chips and dump them in the serving bowl. First step? Done! 

In terms of tortilla chips, be sure to use plain ones since you will be adding sweetness. "Unsalted plain is best," Olayinka notes. 

Most brands carry this kind of chip, so you can still use your go-to brand in most cases. 

The next thing you'll need to do is get out a small bowl to mix together your chip topping. Add the cinnamon and sugar to the bowl. Using a whisk, spoon, or something similar, mix the two together. Be sure to mix well, so there are equal amounts of sugar and cinnamon throughout.

Some stores sell pre-made cinnamon and sugar mixture, so if you see that at your local grocery store, you can use it instead. It never hurts to save a little time, right? 

Now that you have separate bowls with cinnamon and sugar and the chips, it's time to combine them together. Pour the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the tortilla chips and carefully mix, being mindful so you don't break the tortilla chips. Be sure each chip gets coated with this wonderful cinnamon-sugar mixture so that no chip is left out. 

The contrast of the crunchy tortilla chip and the sweet, cinnamon-sugar coating reminds us of a funnel cake or even an elephant ear. Yep, it's that good.

Once you finish mixing up your chips, you can scoop ice cream on top. Olayinka suggests vanilla, but you can use your favorite. "You can definitely use any flavor ice cream — chocolate, strawberry, [you name it]," Olayinka says. Next, drizzle some chocolate and caramel sauce over the top. Olayinka provides the proper serving amount, but there's no such thing as too much chocolate and caramel, so feel free to add more if you would like. 

The last thing you need to add is the sprinkles. Voila, that's all it takes to make one of the best dessert recipes. Leftovers won't keep because of the ice cream, but you could save any extra chips without ice cream on them.