Vegetarian Nachos

Vegetarian Nachos are easy and delicious Mexican snack or appetizers made with tortilla chips, beans, veggies and cheese. These are baked and best served hot and crispy with sour cream, guacamole and salsa on side. These are perfect for Cinco de Mayo or game-day or simply when entertaining!

Nachos is one of the initial Tex-Mex recipes I got introduced to during college times and has been a major contributor to my affinity towards Mexican cuisine since then. 

What are Nachos

Nachos are these easy appetizer, snack recipe form Mexican cuisine. Its consist of crispy tortilla chips layered with beans (or meat), veggies, cheese and then baked until the cheese is melted and bubbly. It is served hot and crispy with some guacamole, sour cream and salsa to be relished with.

There are many ways to make Nachos. Most simple version is tortilla chip with cheese sauce. But my personal favorite is a fully loaded nachos with beans and veggies which I'm sharing in today's post. 

These easy nachos are perfect appetizers for cinco de mayo or game day or simply for entertaining, snacking or even as dinner when you want to switch things up!! 

What do you put on Nachos

Vegetarian nachos are pretty versatile and you can easily switch things as per availability. This is what you will need to make Nachos

Tortilla chips - I find the best tortilla chips for nachos are restaurant style but even better is a combination of these with and nacho cheese flavor Doritos. Try if you haven't tried this combo yet!!Some spicy Tortilla chips would be nice addition too, if you like the heat! 

Beans -  Since this a meatless Nachos recipe, we will be using beans as source of protein. For a quick option, use canned beans like black beans, pinto beans, refried beans or tri color beans which are mix of red kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans (I've used this).

For more flavor, make some black beans curry, dry it out (as we don't want moisture) and add these to nachos. Other option is to add the black beans filling that I've used on crunchwrap supreme, its so delicious!! 

Veggies - red onions, bell peppers (use colorful ones for more visually appeal), corn kernels, tomato are some pretty basic choices. All or combination of these and more can be used. 

Cheese - I've used a combination of store bought nachos cheese sauce and shredded Mexican blend cheese for making these homemade nachos. You can easily switch up the cheese sauce with just cheese (I have done that before). or use other types of shredded cheese like cheddar, monterey jack or American cheese. 

Garnishes - Avocado, pickled jalapeños, spring onion greens and cilantro leaves are my go to choices. Shredded lettuce would be nice too! Add these over the hot baked nachos but these are totally optional and can be adjusted to taste. 

How do you make Nachos

To make nachos all you need is to assemble the layers, bake until cheese has melted and then garnish and serve with your favorite dip/sauce to go along. Lets see the step by step for making these. 

Assembling the Nachos: 

Line a 9X13 inch baking tray with parchment paper. We will be making two layers (you can make just one too) so divide everything into 2 equal portions reserving few veggies for garnishing at the end. You can also use any oven safe dish to make these, I just prefer the baking sheet.  

Layer 1 - Line the tortilla chips and Doritos (nachos cheese) in a single layer covering all gaps. Drizzle some queso (or sprinkle shredded cheese). This is must as it acts as glue for rest of ingredients. Top it with beans and veggies - red onions, green and red bell pepper, corn kernels, tomato and 1 cup of cheese (feel free to add more). Season with salt, oregano and freshly cracked pepper.

Layer 2 -  Make the second layer similarly on top of first by layering Tortilla chips, Doritos, queso (or cheese), black beans, red onions, green and red bell pepper, corn, tomato (reserve few veggies for garnishing - optional) and cheese. Sprinkle some salt, oregano and freshly cracked pepper on top.

To Bake Nachos:

I prefer to use the oven to make big batches on a sheet pan where as for individual serving or smaller portion, I prefer to use micrwave or air-fryer. Its just easier and quicker. 

Using Oven:  Preheat oven to 400F. Bake the assembled sheet pan nachos in a preheated oven at 400F for 10-15 mins or until the cheese has melted. 

Alternately you can also broil these on high (keep close watch) for 5 mins until the cheese has melted. This method may not warm up all the layers so switch back to baking mode (350F-375F) and bake for 5 mins. 

Using Microwave:  Layer nachos on microwave safe plate and microwave for 2 mins or until the cheese has melted. 

Using Air fryer: Line the air-fryer basket with aluminium foil and assemble the nachos. Bake at 370F for 5-7 mins until cheese has melted. 

Garnishing:

Once the nachos are baked, top them further with some veggies kept aside (optional) along with pickled jalapeños, diced avocado, spring onions, cilantro leaves. 

Nachos Serving suggestion

Nachos are best made fresh and served hot and crispy right out of the oven. Serve them with side of guacamole, sour cream and salsa on the side or drizzle over it.

I prefer to serve all wet sauces/dips, like guacamole, avocado crema, sour cream, Bitchin sauce or salsa on the side (all or a combination). This allows everyone to customize their nachos and also prevents the them from getting soggy. Although I love those chewy soggy nachos left at the bottom. They are my favorite!! 

That's it our crispy, delicious and loaded Vegetarian Nachos are ready!! Dig right in!!

More Mexican Recipes to try: 

TACO PASTA

VEGETABLE QUESADILLA

TORTILLA ENCHILADA PIZZA

VEGETARIAN CRUNCHWRAP SUPREME

Hope you enjoy these Vegetarian Nachos as much as we do!! If you give this recipe a try, we did love to hear from you ❤️ Please let us know your rating ⭐️and feedback in the comments below. Thank you!

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Vegetarian Nachos

Vegetarian Nachos are easy and delicious Mexican snack or appetizers made with tortilla chips, beans, veggies and cheese. These are baked and best served hot and crispy with sour cream, guacamole and salsa on side. These are perfect for Cinco de Mayo or game-day or simply when entertaining!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4

Author: Shweta Arora

Ingredients

• ▢ Tortilla chips enough to cover the pan Used mix of Restaurant style tortilla chips and Doritos nachos cheese flavor
• ▢ 1 cup queso Salsa con queso
• ▢ 1 cup 3 bean mix mix of red kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans or use just black beans or pinto beans
• ▢ ½ cup red pepper chopped
• ▢ ½ cup green pepper chopped
• ▢ ½ cup red onion chopped
• ▢ ½ cup corn kernels
• ▢ 2 tomatoes diced
• ▢ 2-3 cups Mexican cheese blend or of choice
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ ¼ tsp oregano

For garnishing

• ▢ 1 avocado diced
• ▢ Pickled jalapeños as needed
• ▢ 2-3 tbsp spring onion greens chopped
• ▢ few cilantro leaves chopped

For serving:

• ▢ Sour cream as needed
• ▢ Salsa as needed
• ▢ Guacamole as needed

Instructions

Assembling Nachos:

• Line a 9X13 inch baking tray with parchment paper. For making two layers (you can make just one too), divide everything into 2 equal portions reserving few veggies for garnishing at the end. You can also use any oven safe dish to make these, I just prefer the baking sheet (for oven).
• Layer 1 – Line the tortilla chips and Doritos (nachos cheese) in a single layer covering all gaps. Drizzle some queso (or sprinkle shredded cheese). This is must as it acts as glue for rest of ingredients. Top it with beans and veggies – red onions, green and red bell pepper, corn kernels, tomato and 1 cup of cheese (feel free to add more). Season with salt, oregano and freshly cracked pepper.
• Layer 2 – Make the second layer similarly on top of first by layering Tortilla chips, Doritos, queso (or cheese), black beans, red onions, green and red bell pepper, corn, tomato (reserve few veggies for garnishing – optional) and cheese. Sprinkle some salt, oregano and freshly cracked pepper on top.

Baking Nachos:

• I prefer to use the Oven to make big batches on a sheet pan where as for individual serving or smaller portion, I prefer to use microwave or air-fryer. Its just easier and quicker.
• Using Oven: Preheat oven to 400F. Bake the assembled sheet pan nachos in a preheated oven at 400F for 10-15 mins or until the cheese has melted.
• Alternately you can also broil these on high (keep close watch) for 5 mins until the cheese has melted. This method may not warm up all the layers so switch back to baking mode (350F-375F) and bake for 5 mins.
• Using Microwave: Layer nachos on microwave safe plate and microwave for 2 mins or until the cheese has melted.
• Using Airfryer: Line the air-fryer basket with aluminium foil and assemble the nachos. Bake at 370F for 5-7 mins until cheese has melted.

For Garnishing:

• Once the nachos are baked, top them further with some veggies kept aside (optional) along with pickled jalapeños, diced avocado, spring onions, cilantro leaves.
• Serve them immediately hot and crispy with side of guacamole, sour cream and salsa on the side or drizzle over it.
• That’s it our crispy, delicious and loaded Vegetarian Nachos are ready!! Dig right in!!

Notes

• Use a combination of Tortilla chips to amp up the flavors. I like to use a combination of restaurant style tortilla chips and Doritos nacho cheese flavor. Some spicy tortilla chips would be nice addition if you like heat. 
• Use beans of choice, some quick options are canned beans like black beans, pinto beans, refried beans or tri color beans which are mix of red kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans (used for this recipe).
• For more flavor, make some black beans curry, dry it out (as we don’t want moisture) and add these black beans to nachos. Other option is to add the black beans filling that I’ve used on crunchwrap supreme, its so delicious!! 
• Queso can be replaced with shredded cheese. Mexican blend is my preferred cheese but other types of shredded cheese like cheddar, monterey jack or American cheese can be used too. 

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Happy Snacking!!
Shweta