Jenna is a self taught, home cook with a passion for baking. She gets her culinary inspiration by travelling abroad, and learning new culinary techniques.
Nachos can be topped with some of your favorite foods, taking them to the next level with a burst of flavor.
We’ve complied a list of cheeses, meats, protein, vegetables and fruits for nacho topping ideas for you to try out.
Some pairings work better than others, so you’ll have to make your own custom nachos at home to figure out your favorite nacho toppings.
Cheese for Nacho Toppings
Cheddar Cheese
Cheddar cheese is a sharp, hard cheese that melts well in the oven over nachos. Since it has such a strong flavor, it’s best paired with mozzarella cheese to balance out the strong and mild flavors. Blending them together makes the nachos have more of a depth of cheese flavors.
Mozzarella Cheese
Mozzarella cheese has a mild flavor and melts well in the oven over nachos, giving it a creamy taste. Mozzarella cheese has a bit of a tangy, sour flavor, that pairs well with strong cheddar cheese over nachos.
Cotija Cheese
Cotija cheese is a specialty cheese to put on your nachos. It’s unique in that it doesn’t melt, it just softens. Therefore you get a burst of cheese on your nachos when you bite into it. It’s a salty and creamy cheese that is fairly mild and goes well as a nacho topping.
Meat or Protein for Nacho Toppings
Ground Beef
Ground beef can be flavored with your own version of taco seasoning (cumin, chili powder, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper). Once you’ve browned your ground beef and flavored it with taco seasoning, the beef should be drained. Then you can layer it on top of your nachos for a filling, satisfying, flavorful nachos.
Shrimp can be flavored with bit of garlic and chili powder for nachos. Shrimp have a dense, chewy texture to them, which is quite the contrast on top of nachos. If you’re wanting to try something a bit different on your nachos, add a few shrimp to your nacho toppings.
Black Beans
Black beans can be flavored with a simple taco seasoning using paprika, chili powder, and garlic. Fry them until they are fully coated, and then you can put them on top of your nachos. Black beans are soft when you bite into them and have a bit of a sweet flavor to them.
Vegetables for Nacho Toppings
Onions
A classic addition to the top of nachos are adding green onions. You can also use red onions which have a bit of a pungent flavor to them. Onions should be cut up into small pieces so you only get a little bit of flavor on top of your nachos.
Corn
Corn adds a ton of color, texture, and flavor to nachos. Corn goes well with beef, chicken, or black beans on top of nachos. Corn can also be paired with a little bit of chopped jalapeno and red onions for a flavor burst on top of your nachos.
Peppers
Bell peppers that are sweet such as red or yellow peppers work well on top of nachos. Peppers add texture, color and a sweet flavor to the top of nachos.
Fruit for Nacho Toppings
Jalapenos
Jalapenos add hot and spicy flavors to nachos. You can slice up jalapenos in rings for a nice look to your nachos but this adds a ton of heat to the nachos, so it can be overpowering. If you chop up the jalapeno into tiny pieces this adds the perfect amount of heat to the nachos so they will have a little bite to them.
Pineapple
Pineapple is sweet and tart flavor to add on top of nachos. It’s best to chop up the pineapple into small pieces and them use paper towel to remove the juices from the pineapple prior to putting them on top of nachos. The water can leak out of the pineapple pieces and make the nachos soggy! Pineapple can be paired with red pepper, red onions, and jalapenos for an incredible nacho topping flavor.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes have a neutral flavor that add some tang to the nachos. Tomatoes should be cut up into small pieces for nachos so the juices don’t leak too much on the nachos. Tomatoes can be paired with green onions and jalapenos for classic nacho toppings.
Garnishes for Nachos
Cilantro
Cilantro can be added to nachos after it comes out the oven for an earthy citrusy flavor. Cilantro adds depth of tanginess to nachos. Salsas are typically made with cilantro, which in turn makes it pair well with nachos.
Pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, vanilla extract, and sugar are added to create the base of the latte.
To prepare your latte, add strong coffee or a couple shots of espresso to a coffee cup. Slowly add milk until you’re happy with the taste. If you only want a hint of coffee, go with about 1/4-1/3 cup of coffee in your mug, and fill the rest with pumpkin spiced milk.
You can enjoy your fall latte with a bit of whipped cream, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.
Salted Caramel Latte
Salted caramel latte is made by heating milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Add salted caramel sauce and cocoa powder to the milk.
Once the milk comes almost to a boil, remove it from the heat. Your milk is ready to be added to fresh coffee or espresso.
Garnish this creamy fall latte with some whipped cream drizzled with salted caramel sauce.
Cardamom Latte
Cardamom latte is made by adding a little bit of cardamom spice and honey to your freshly brewed coffee or espresso.
Add your favorite steamed warm milk to create this unique fall latte to enjoy.
You could also add cocoa powder, vanilla extract or a bit of sugar to enhance the flavor of your cardamom latte.
Chai Tea Latte
Chai tea latte is made by creating a chai concentrate in a saucepan over medium heat. To make the chai concentrate, Assam tea is used as a base flavor. Assam tea is a black tea with cocoa, and earthy flavors.
To strengthen the chai flavor, herbs are added to the concentrate to infused the tea (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, peppercorns).
The chai concentrate needs to have a sweet finish to it, so brown sugar is added along with the herbs.
Once the concentrate has finished brewing, a little vanilla extract is added.
The chai tea latte can now be prepared with a half and half mix of chai concentrate and hot, steamed milk for a flavorful fall latte. Top with whipped cream if desired.
Maple Cinnamon Latte
Maple cinnamon latte has a hint of sweet maple combined with cinnamon spice is one of the most tantalizing fall lattes you can taste.
Maple cinnamon latte is made by adding maple syrup, cinnamon spice, and vanilla extract to espresso or brewed coffee.
Add freshly steamed or warmed milk to the rest of your coffee mug and enjoy this incredible fall flavored latte!
Apple Spice Latte
Apple spice latte is the perfect fall latte to sip on a cold evening.
Apple spice latte is made by making an apple syrup.
To make the apple syrup, combine apple juice, water, apple pie spice (cinnamon, ground nutmeg, allspice, cloves and ginger), and brown sugar over medium heat in a saucepan. Let the mixture thicken over the next 5-10 minutes until it’s a syrup-like consistency.
Add about 4 tbsp of your apple spice syrup to your freshly brewed coffee or espresso.
Add warmed steam milk to make it a bit more of a creamy texture.
Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of apple pie spice.
Shortbread cookies are buttery and melt in your mouth when you bite into them. You can add extracts, zest, chocolate, toffee, or nuts to flavor shortbread cookies into your own custom cookies.
Here a few of our favorite shortbread cookies flavors to try out.
Orange is a flavor that entices your senses, and when paired with chocolate it’s an absolutely divine shortbread cookie flavor.
The orange shortbread cookies are half dipped into melted semi-sweet chocolate.
Chocolate orange shortbread cookies have a rich flavor that you’ll love!
Mint Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Mint chocolate chip shortbread cookies are full of minty flavor, with a hint of chocolate chips throughout the shortbread cookies.
Mint flavor is added by chopping up fresh mint leaves and adding them into the butter when it’s creaming with the sugar.
By chopping up the mint leaves, the flavor will release from the leaves and infuse the butter with the incredible mint flavor for your shortbread cookies.
Chocolate chips are added to the dough for the perfect combination of chocolate and mint in a shortbread cookie.
Another option would be to dip the shortbread cookies halfway into melted semi-sweet chocolate for a beautiful look to the cookies.
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Cranberry orange shortbread cookies are packed with a few different flavors to give them a unique flavor.
Cranberry orange shortbread cookies are flavored with almond extract, and orange zest. You can also add a little bit of orange juice for more of an orange flavor, but it’s not necessarily needed.
The orange zest will give a hint of orange flavor to your shortbread cookies.
Dried cranberries are added to the shortbread dough for a chewy texture and holiday flavor to your shortbread cookies.
To give these cookies a sweet finish, they are dusted with a bit of granulated sugar.
Coconut shortbread cookies are made by adding coconut extract and toasted shredded coconut to shortbread dough.
By toasting the shredded coconut it enhances the flavor of the coconut which adds more flavor to the cookies.
To decorate your shortbread cookies you can add a couple of pieces of shredded coconut to the tops of the shortbread cookies before they begin to cool.
Toffee pecan shortbread cookies are made by adding toffee bits and chopped pecans to shortbread dough.
Once the cookies have finished baking and are cooled, they are half dipped into semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkles with a few more toffee bits and pecans.
The shortbread cookies have a unique texture and flavor to them that will be sure to impress your taste buds!
There are many types of cookie that are made without using chocolate chips. Cookies can have nuts or raisins added to them instead of chocolate chips. Some cookies don’t have any fillings at all, and may have an icing on top or jam added to them for some added packed flavor.
Cookies by Sprinkles with Love
Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread cookies only have a few ingredients, and are full of buttery creamy flavor. When you place one in your hand, you can see the greasy film it leaves. Shortbread cookies can be flavored many different ways including with: earl grey, lemon, lavender, orange or chocolate. Shortbread cookies are made without chocolate chips because they have their own unique, powerful flavor.
Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are made with a similar dough to chocolate chip cookies, except instead of filling the dough with chocolate chips, they are glazed with icing stead. Sugar cookies can be decorated with royal icing, buttercream icing, sprinkles, or edible markers to make them beautiful and eye catching.
Gingersnap Cookies
Gingersnap cookies are made with molasses, ginger and cinnamon. Instead of adding chocolate chips to sweeten it, they are rolled in granulated sugar. Gingersnaps are packed with ginger flavor, and are wonderfully sweet to serve during the fall or winter.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter cookies are made by adding brown sugar and creamy peanut butter to cookie dough. The brown sugar gives a caramelized sugar flavor, therefor you do not need to add any chocolate chips for this delicious cookie dough. Peanut butter cookies are best served with a fresh glass of milk, due to their rich and creamy flavor.
Danish Butter Cookies
Danish butter cookies are made using only 4 ingredients. Danish butter cookies have a delicate dough that are piped using the flower tip. These cookies are crisp, buttery and melt in your mouth!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Oatmeal raisin cookies are made by adding rolled oats, raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to cookie dough. Oatmeal raisin cookies are chewy and have a cinnamon raisin flavored finish to them.
Thumbprint Cookies
Thumbprint cookies are made by creating cookie dough and rolling the dough into circles. Roll the dough in granulated sugar to give the cookie and sugar coating. Using your thumb, press the center of the cookie to create an indent in the cookie dough. Using your favorite jam, place a spoonful in the center and bake the cookies. The result is a jam filled decadent cookie.
The texture of a donut will tell you how fresh it is, and how it was made. A donut should be crumbly, delicate and melt in your mouth when you bite into the donut.
Texture of the Inside of the Donut
The texture of the inside of a donut should be moist, crumbly, and fluffy.
As you bite into the donut, the donut will crumble and be delicate. The donut should not be dense and hard, this can indicate overmixing of the donut dough, or it can be an older donut.
Donut dough should only be mixed until just combined, so it remains airy and light when it bakes.
When you touch the outside of the donut with your finger, you should be able to press it, and it will bounce back, or it may not come back fully. This will indicate a fresh donut with a fragile outside.
Texture of Glazed Donut
The glaze of the donut will be a smooth, thin layer. When you bite into the donut, the glaze should be effortlessly pierced by your teeth and be well adhered to the donut.
The glaze of the donut should be much thinner than frosting or icing. Glaze is a thinner version of the these types of sugared toppings.
Chocolate ganache is also a topping that is used for glazing donuts. For donuts, the ganache is thinned with butter to create a chocolate ganache glaze that is much thinner for topping donuts.
You should be able to grasp the donut, and easily dip the donut into the glaze, and let it dry on a cooling rack. If you’re adding a garnish, you’ll want to add it prior to the glaze drying.
Texture of Garnished and Glazed Donut
A garnish for a glazed donut can add both a unique flavor and texture to your glazed donut.
By adding toasted shredded coconut or nuts, this will add a crunchy texture and enhance the flavor of the donut, which will balance out the texture of the smooth, crumbly donuts as you bite into it.
By adding sprinkles, or lemon or lime zest, this will add a sweet or tart flavor to the donut. The texture of the donut won’t really change by adding these garnishes to your donuts.
Donut topping ideas
You can add many different toppings to glazed donuts including:
When you think about a donut, what flavor comes to mind? Donuts are best eaten fresh, so they have that airy, delicate, texture that crumbles apart when you bite into them.
The glaze of the donuts will enhance the flavor of the donut.
From chocolate ganache to matcha topped donuts, here are 6 of the best donut flavors to try!
Chai Tea Donuts
Chai tea donuts are made by infusing chai tea into warmed milk.
The milk is added to the dough of the donuts to create the chai tea flavored donuts.
Allspice, cinnamon and vanilla extract are added to enhance the flavor of the chai tea donuts.
The donuts are finished off by making a chai tea glaze using the same milk you made to make the donuts.
Pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and cinnamon are added to the donut dough to add more flavoring to the donut.
After the donuts are cooked, then are brushed with melted butter.
The donut is dipped in a mixture of cinnamon and granulated sugar to finish off the coating of the donut.
You’re left with a spiced donut flavor, combined with a sweetened sugar coating.
Key Lime Coconut Donuts
Key lime coconut donuts are made adding fresh lime zest, coconut oil, and coconut milk to donut dough.
The lime and coconut flavors added to the donut dough make the donuts have tangy and citrus flavors.
The key lime coconut donuts are topped with a layer of key lime glaze. The key lime glaze is made by added fresh lime juice and lime zest to powdered sugar.
To garnish the donut, add a little shredded coconut before the key lime glaze dries.
The shredded coconut adds more of a coconut flavor and texture to finish off this unique donut.
The donuts are filled with rich vanilla pastry cream.
The pastry cream is placed into the donut with a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip.
A small slit is made in the side of the donut, and then the pastry cream is piped into the side of the donut.
The donut is topped with chocolate ganache for a rich chocolate and vanilla donut.
Chocolate Donuts
Chocolate donuts are made by adding rich cocoa powder to donut dough.
Brown sugar is added to give the chocolate donuts more of a caramel sugar flavor.
The chocolate donuts are topped with rich chocolate ganache which has a bit of butter added to the ganache.
The butter smooths out the ganache, and adds more of a rich, buttery flavor to the chocolate glazed donuts.
Chocolate donuts are garnished with chocolate sprinkles, giving them a beautifully textured look to the donuts.
Ginger Matcha Donuts
Ginger matcha donuts are made by infusing warmed ginger beer in a saucepan with vanilla bean paste.
This vanilla infused ginger beer is added to the donut dough to give it its unique donut flavor.
The ginger vanilla donuts are topped with matcha glaze.
Matcha glaze is made by adding matcha tea powder and vanilla extra to a thin buttercream icing.
Ginger matcha donuts are one of the most unique, flavorful donuts you can eat.
Coffee Chocolate Donuts
Coffee Chocolate Donuts are made by adding fresh hot coffee, espresso powder, and cocoa powder to create this rich donut flavor.
Coffee chocolate donuts are topped with espresso chocolate ganache.
The espresso chocolate ganache is made by adding espresso powder to chocolate ganache.
The combination of coffee and chocolate gives the donut a rich mocha flavor with a sweet chocolate ganache finish.
Red Velvet Donuts
Red velvet donuts are made by adding vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and red food coloring to donut dough.
Red velvet donuts are topped with tangy cream cheese glaze.
This gives the chocolate and cream cheese flavors a balance in the donut, making it irresistible.
Carrot Cake Donuts
Carrot Cake Donuts are made by adding freshly grated carrots to donut dough. Ginger, cinnamon and vanilla extract are added to create the spiced carrot taste of the donuts.
Carrot cake donuts are topped with cream cheese icing, and garnished with toasted shredded coconut.
The coconut gives the donuts a crunchy texture, with the delicate inside of the donut, making it a flavorful and unique donut flavor.
Crostini appetizers are crunchy, flavorful, and can be made many different ways to mesmerize your taste buds.
Prosciutto is a sweet, smooth meat that goes well on top of crostini’s. Prosciutto appetizers are generally paired with spicy jams, jelly’s, and herbs to enhance it’s flavor.
To make crostini appetizers prepared with prosciutto, balsamic reduction is typically drizzled on top to add a sweet finish to the appetizer.
The balsamic glaze adds a beautiful, professional look to the prosciutto crostini appetizers.
Prosciutto Havarti Crostini
Prosciutto Havarti crostini is made by adding a thin layer of red pepper jelly on top of a freshly baked crostini.
A layer of Havarti cheese is placed on top of the red pepper jelly.
Arugula leaves are added on top of the Havarti.
Prosciutto is layered on top of the arugula, and then is topped with balsamic reduction for this colorful and flavorful crostini appetizer.
Tart filling recipes can be made from custard, sugar syrups, jam, or ganache. Tarts are a sweet dessert than be made with fruit, berry, chocolate or nut fillings.
Lemon Tart Filling
Lemon tarts are filled with lemon cream custard. Lemon cream has a thicker custard consistency, and is much more creamy and smooth than lemon curd.
Lemon cream is made by making a custard thickened with eggs over a double boiler.
At the end of the lemon custard it is thinned out by adding cubed butter to make it buttery and creamy.
Lemon tarts can be topped with drizzled white chocolate ganache to give the tarts a sweeter finish.
Butter Tart Filling
Butter tart filling is made by combining butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and an egg over medium head to create a sauce. Butter tarts get their syrupy makeup from adding corn syrup to thicken the sauce.
As the blueberries cook, they will become soft and easy to break and squeeze the juice out of them.
Once the heavy cream and blueberries are almost boiling, they are strained through a strainer to remove the skins of the blueberries.
The blueberry juice and heavy cream mixture is poured over a bowl of chopped up white chocolate to create the blueberry ganache tart filling.
Chocolate Tart Filling
Chocolate tart filling is made by heating butter and heavy cream in a saucepan until almost boiling.
The hot cream and butter mixture is poured over a combination of equal parts bittersweet dark chocolate and milk chocolate to create a chocolate ganache tart filling.
The chocolate and cream and mixed together until smooth, and then poured into a tart shell. The tart shell is made of crushed Oreo’s and butter to give it a bit of a sweeter shell.
The chocolate tart should be chilled for a few hours prior to serving.
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