Nachos: Calories, Nutrition & Healthier Swaps

Nachos are fried tortilla chips with melted cheese: very high in calories, fat and salt, easy to overeat when shared.

Nachos nutrition facts per 100 g and per serving

Values per 100 g as eaten, averaged from food composition tables (USDA FoodData Central and others) and rounded — a specific brand or recipe will differ a little.

Nachos: what's in it

A serving (serving, 150 g) provides 12 g of protein — about 21% of the 56 g daily reference for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult (0.8 g per kg). It has 3.9 g of fiber per serving — roughly 16% of the 25 g a day most adults fall short of.

On the open Nutri-Score algorithm, nachos gets a D: more of a sometimes food than an everyday one. The score weighs calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt against protein, fiber and the share of fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts.

What to watch

• High in saturated fat: 7 g per 100 g, against a daily reference of about 20 g.
• High in salt: 1.9 g per 100 g, while the WHO suggests no more than 5 g of salt a day in total.
• It's low in fiber, so add vegetables, greens or beans to the plate.

How much movement is one serving?

One serving (serving, 150 g) is 465 kcal — roughly 2 h 32 min of easy walking or 58 min of cycling for a 70 kg (154 lb) person. In the diary, minutes are worked out for your weight and the activities you actually do.

Healthier swaps for Nachos

Swaps are picked the same way the app does it: from the same kind of food, with a serving matched to the same calories (±25%), and only when the swap is clearly better — not “salad instead of pizza”.

• Nachos with guacamole — 160 g, 470 kcal: −6.7 g saturated fat, −1.2 g salt.
• Nachos grande with beef — 160 g, 467 kcal: −1.7 g saturated fat, −1.2 g salt.
• Veggie burrito — 310 g, 468 kcal: −8.3 g saturated fat, −1 g salt.
• Shrimp tacos — 310 g, 468 kcal: −8.6 g saturated fat, −1 g salt.