What type of chips are used as the base for nachos?

Tortilla chips are the traditional base used for nachos.

Nachos begin with crisp pieces of fried tortilla, usually arranged on a plate or baking tray before cheese and other toppings are added. In Mexico, these pieces may also be called totopos. The tortilla base gives nachos their characteristic corn flavor, sturdy crunch, and ability to carry melted cheese, beans, meat, salsa, and other toppings.

Tortilla chips are generally made from corn tortillas. Their corn is commonly nixtamalized, a traditional process in which corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution before being ground into dough. This helps distinguish tortilla chips from corn chips, which are made from processed cornmeal rather than cut-up tortillas.

Pita chips, potato chips, and tater tots can appear in creative variations, but they are substitutions rather than the canonical base. For example, “totchos” replace tortilla chips with tater tots. Traditional nachos are most closely associated with tortilla chips topped with melted cheese and jalapeños.