Vegan Nachos

🥑 Why We Love This Recipe

• Quick and easy: The meat and bean mixture only takes a few minutes to make. Once that's done, pile on the toppings, bake, and enjoy!
• Filling: I don't usually consider nachos to be a full meal, but these really are! With plant-based meat, plenty of vegetables, cheese sauce and chips, these vegan nachos are super filling and perfect for a casual dinner.
• Customizable: There are so many topping options – cheese, cheese sauce, sour cream, pickled vegetables, fresh vegetables, and so much more! You can really make these vegan nachos any way you want.
• Perfect for game day: Homemade nachos have been our family Super Bowl tradition for as long as I can remember. We usually make two trays – one with regular meat, one with vegan meat, and each person can customize toppings on their own section of the tray.

🧀 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these vegan nachos:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Tortilla chips: Use a thick, sturdy chip that will hold up to lots of toppings.
• Plant-based meat: We used Impossible meat ground beef alternative – it's the best 1:1 substitute in our opinion! You can really use any brand, or you can use a similar option made from tofu, lentils, or something similar.
• Beans: Pinto beans are our favorite in these vegan nachos (and they typically hold up well), but you can also use black beans, lentils, or another similar bean of choice.
• Vegan cheese sauce: You can try our recipe here (it's super quick and easy!) or you can simply use shredded vegan cheese.
• Green chilies: These add so much flavor to the meat and bean mixture, plus a little bit of spice! Use a can labeled "mild" if you're a bit sensitive to spice.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

Preheat oven to 350˚F / 180˚C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

(1) Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes, until softened. 

(2) Add in the meat and break up, cooking until browned.

(3) Stir in the tomato paste, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt, green chilies and pinto beans. Continue cooking for 5-6 minutes, then remove from heat. 

(4) To assemble your vegan nachos, add half of the tortilla chips to the sheet pan, then top with half of the meat/bean mixture, cheese sauce and other toppings of choice. Top with another layer of chips, remaining meat/bean mixture, cheese sauce and other toppings. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then remove from oven and top with any other fresh toppings, like sour cream, avocado, salsa, etc. 

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• If you don't like plant-based ground meat alternatives, try this sofritas tofu or this vegan cauliflower taco meat instead. Both make great toppings for these vegan nachos! You can also just use more beans in place of the meat.
• Vegan Nacho Toppings:
  • Homemade vegan cheese sauce
  • Pickled red onion
  • Pickled jalapeño (or other vegetables)
  • Vegan sour cream
  • Tomatoes or salsa
  • Avocado or guacamole
  • Corn or corn salsa
  • Black olives
  • Lettuce or cilantro
  • Radishes
• Storage: To be honest, nachos don't exactly store well. They're best eaten right away! If you do have leftovers, reheat in a thin layer in the oven.
• Double layer: There's nothing worse than getting to the bottom of your nachos and having a bunch of leftover chips with no toppings. To avoid that, we do two layers! Arrange one thin layer of chips, add toppings, and then repeat.

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