These nacho themed cupcakes are a fun treat to serve up to the kiddos. Perfect for any taco theme party, fiesta, or when you're looking to get creative with your desserts.
These are nacho average cupcakes (get it? haha..food pun)
These cupcakes are sweet little works of art and each one can be customized to look unique. They are sure to turn a few heads at any get together.
We love to create fun and unique cupcakes for the kids and these nacho themed treats are only one of the many. For more ideas make sure to check out my Easy Dinosaur Cupcakes, Earth Day Cupcakes, and Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
Why This Recipe Works
- The recipe is easy! From boxed mixes to canned frosting, this recipe is super quick and easy to assemble. Just a few ingredients and steps from start to finish.
- They're fun! My kids talked about them for days because they couldn't get over the idea of nachos for dessert (they must have forgotten about me making them Ice Cream Nachos a few months ago).
- These are kid friendly. From the prep steps to the assembly and of course, the snacking, this recipe is very easy to put together and can enjoy. Grab your kids and set up an assembly line and everyone can decorate their own!
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
Yellow cake mix- you will need to use a box of yellow cake mix that has been prepared according to the package directions for making cupcakes.
Vanilla frosting- Use a can of vanilla frosting to cut down on time and effort. Any brand will work fine.
Yellow food coloring- This is what is needed to give the frosting a melted cheese appearance.
Cinnamon toast crunch cereal- For a nacho chip look but with a better taste, I recommend using cinnamon toast crunch cereal.
Mike & Ike candy- We only need the red and green candies from the box, so feel free to enjoy the other colors as a snack while prepping!
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make nacho cupcakes with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Add your cake mix, eggs, oil and water to a large mixing bowl.
Whisk together to combine.
Divide the batter into paper lined muffin pans.
Bake as directed on the cake mix package.
Swirl the yellow food coloring into the frosting until completely blended.
You want a few drops of yellow so that it looks like melted cheese. Adjust the color as needed.
Separate the red and green Mike and Ikes from the rest. You can discard the other colors.
Chop the red ones into pieces and slice the green ones thinly.
Place the frosting into a piping bag or a sandwich baggie with the corner snipped.
Pipe a smooth flat swirl of frosting onto each cupcake.
Spread out the frosting to make a cheesy base.
Place a few cereal pieces on top of the frosting. Pipe a little more frosting on top of the cereal to resemble melted cheese.
Put a few pieces of the cut candy on top of the “cheese.”
Serve & enjoy!
🧾 Substitutions
Cupcake flavors
If desired, you can use any flavor of cake mix underneath your nacho-like toppings. This means you can select chocolate cake mix, or any other flavor you may already have on hand.
Nacho chip variation
Instead of cinnamon toast crunch cereal, you can select cinnamon sugar chips (like Pita chips) or homemade Air Fried Cinnamon Sugar Chips. This will give you larger cinnamon chip pieces but they can also help to really achieve a more believable appearance.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
Room temp
These cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 to 5 days at room temperature. The cereal will soften as the cupcakes age, so if you want them crispy, it's best to assemble them right before serving.
Freezer
Yes, these cupcakes can be frozen and thawed later. To freeze them, assemble them in a single layer in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
💭 FAQs
Absolutely! I used boxed cake mixes because it's so convenient and easy, but you are more than welcome to use homemade cakes and frostings for this!
Mix together ¼ cup of granulated sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon until blended. Cut 2 large flour tortillas into small triangles with a pizza cutter. Spray the tortillas with olive oil and coat all sides in the sugar mixture. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 5 minutes at 425F.
If desired, you can add a dollop of strawberry jam to the toppings on your nachos. This will look a lot like salsa, which adds a little more color, flavor and helps to make your nachos look a little more realistic.
More great kid-approved recipes to check out soon
- PBJ On A Stick
- No Bake Apple Donuts
- Air Fried Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
- Peanut Butter Apple Nachos
📖 Recipe
Nacho Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box Yellow cake mix + additional ingredients ($1.48)
- 1 can Vanilla frosting ($1.74)
- 4-6 drops Yellow food coloring
- 1 cup Cinnamon toast crunch cereal ($0.44)
- 1 box (5oz) Mike and Ike Candy ($1.24)
Instructions
- Bake cupcakes per package recipe and cool completely.
- Separate the Mike and Ike candies by color. Chop the red ones into pieces and slice the green ones thinly. Discard the remaining colors.
- Swirl the yellow food coloring into the frosting until completely blended. You want a few drops of yellow so that it looks like melted cheese. Adjust the color as needed.
- Place the frosting into a piping bag or a sandwich baggie with the corner snipped.
- Pipe a smooth flat swirl of frosting onto each cupcake.
- Place a few cereal pieces on top of the frosting.
- Pipe a little more frosting on top of cereal to resemble melted cheese.
- Put a few pieces of the cut candy on top of the “cheese.”
- Serve & enjoy!
Notes
- If desired, you can use any flavor of cake mix underneath your nacho-like toppings. This means you can select chocolate cake mix, or any other flavor you may already have on hand.
- Instead of cinnamon toast crunch cereal, you can select cinnamon sugar chips (like Pita chips) or homemade Cinnamon Sugar Chips.
- This will give you larger cinnamon chip pieces but they can also help to really achieve a more believable appearance.
- These cupcakes can be store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 5 days at room temperature. The cereal will soften as the cupcakes age, so if you want them crispy, it's best to assemble right before serving.
- These cupcakes can be frozen and thawed later. To freeze them, assemble them in a single layer in an air-tight container for up to 3 months.
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