Nachos, tortilla chips topped with melted cheese, were invented by Ignacio Anaya in Mexico.
Anaya created the dish in 1943 at the Victory Club restaurant in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a Mexican city near the Texas border. According to the commonly told origin story, a group of American military wives arrived when the restaurant’s chef was unavailable. Anaya improvised with fried tortilla pieces, cheese, and sliced jalapeños, then heated the dish until the cheese melted.
The restaurant listed the creation as “Nacho’s Especiales.” “Nacho” was Anaya’s nickname, a familiar Spanish diminutive of Ignacio, and the name eventually became the everyday word for the dish. Nachos therefore originated in Mexico, even though they later became especially prominent in Tex-Mex cooking and in American cinemas, stadiums, and sporting events.
The original preparation was much simpler than many modern versions. Today, nachos may include beans, meat, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, olives, or multiple cheeses. Their spread in the United States accelerated in the 1970s, when concession-style nachos using processed cheese sauce became popular. That later commercialization is sometimes confused with the dish’s invention, but Anaya’s original creation was Mexican.