reheat nachos
verb
to produce a lesser version of or poor tribute to an earlier song, album, etc.
What does reheat nachos mean?
Reheating nachos is internet-speak for producing creative work—such as a song, album, acting performance, lewk, etc.—that is similar to, but (usually) not as good as, one that came before. In other words, to reheat nachos is to build on someone else’s work (or one’s own) without adding anything new or fresh.
Examples of reheat nachos
“Reheating nachos” is so funny because some nachos are somebody else’s reheated nachos. Pharrell reheated Off The Wall & prince’s nachos for this sound. Lmao.
—@SoualiganAmazon, X (formerly Twitter), 22 Feb. 2025
I find it interesting that Gaga’s New Album/Singles have a somewhat similar performance as Dua Lipa’s Last Album/Singles. But the Dua Lipa Album is online considered a flop … while Gaga’s Album is a hit and she is reheating Nachos.
—Chappell Roan reheating Halsey’s nachos who reheated nachos from the '90s 😍😍
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Where does reheat nachos come from?
Some commenters have suggested that reheat nachos originated on Twitter when someone suggested that the singer Shakira was reheating Beyoncé’s nachos (specifically, the album Renaissance) with her new music, but the general consensus is that the whole idea of such metaphorical nachos came from a viral clip of the reality show Baddies West in which Natalie Nunn and Stunna Girl are talking and Stunna Girl is eating nachos. The account sharing the clip captioned it “you can tell natalie lowkey wanted stunna girls nachos.” The verbal phrase caught fire in early 2025 in corners of social media devoted to pop culture fandom.
If you’ve spent any time on the internet you’ve probably heard the term “reheating nachos.” Thrust from the linguistic ingenuity of Stan Twitter, this term is mainly aimed at pop stars who revisit older elements of their career and revive them in an attempt to replicate previous success.
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How is reheat nachos used?
Reheat nachos seems straightforward as an idiom used to mildly criticize someone for unoriginality. However, it is quite new, and people are asking questions.
is reheating nachos inherently bad? someone get me a young person
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To answer stachional’s question: at least at the moment, almost always. Just as literally reheating literal nachos tends to produce less-than-desirable results (that often make their way into the metaphor) …
She’s the blueprint of reheating nachos She [Madonna] tried reheating Ray of Light in 2012 by working with Orbit again but that failed HARD. The cheese was all crusty and gross.
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… revisiting one’s own past artistic output/fashion triumphs/etc., or someone else’s, is usually viewed disapprovingly.
It’s a bit early in [her] carreer to be reheating nachos….
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However, as many people commenting on the term point out, not only are people’s views on art subjective, but it’s next-to-impossible to create something new that doesn’t draw on what has come before.
For the record I like the song but she is reheating some nachos here and there and that’s okay we all reheat nachos sometimes
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Furthermore, the phrase has seen playful pushback from those accused of reheating their own nachos.
My nachos are mine. I invented them, and I’m proud of them.
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