Epic Chicken Nachos
Prepare your palate for the ultimate nachos! This Epic Chicken Nachos recipe is loaded with fresh ingredients, each of which have lots of flavor, and are actually good for you. Instead of standard chips, we used black bean flaxseed tortilla chips to boost the protein, fiber, and flavor of this dish.
The result is a sheet pan full of deliciously loaded nachos that can generously serve 4 for a main dish, or 8 appetizer portions. Thanks to the chips and some of the other modified sauces, this is a much healthier version of the traditional recipes. It’s a perfect appetizer for festive occasions, or watching the big game! This recipe is gluten-free and can easily be converted to vegetarian nachos. To learn how to convert this recipe, read our Blog Comments & Tips below.
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RECIPE
(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)
Recipe Updated: 4/1/22
EPIC CHICKEN NACHOS
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (see #1 in Notes section).
- Prep all your ingredients and place them in small bowls for easy assembly. If using, slice green onion (optional), then shred pepper jack cheese, crumble Cotija cheese, and chop jalapeños (optional), and set aside.
- Deseed and chop tomatoes, roughly chop cilantro, and dice chicken breast into bite sized (about ¾ inch) pieces (try our Ridiculously Easy Lime Chicken, or rotisserie chicken). Set aside all ingredients.
- In a small mixing bowl, add Herdez Guacamole Salsa, and Greek yogurt. Stir until fully mixed, cover, and refrigerate “guacamole sauce” until ready to use.
- Place tortilla chips on the prepared baking sheet, overlapping each chip, but in somewhat of a single layer. Sprinkle black beans evenly over the chips. Layer on diced chicken breast, then black olives, and pepper jack cheese, and bake for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- While nachos are in the oven, dice avocado, and place in a small mixing bowl. Add a squeeze or two of fresh lime juice, then gently coat the avocado, and set aside.
- Remove baking sheet from the oven and layer on green onion (optional), diced green chiles, chopped pickled jalapeños (optional), chopped tomatoes, and sprinkle on crumbled Cotija cheese. Place the baking sheet back into the oven and bake for another 1-2 minutes, just to warm up (not cook) the toppings. Remove from the oven and top nachos with diced avocado, and chopped cilantro. Drizzle guacamole sauce over the nachos, and serve immediately with a wedge of lime. If using Herdez Salsa Verde (optional), serve in a small bowl on the side.
Notes
- Although we recommend using parchment paper, you can substitute aluminum foil, if necessary.
- Use thicker tortilla chips in order to support the weight of all the other ingredients. Otherwise, the chips will get soggy and wilt. You can use any type of tortilla chips, but these black bean flaxseed chips have unbelievable flavor, and they are sturdy enough to support the weight of all those delicious ingredients.
- Serves 4 very large servings, or 6-8 appetizer portions.
- See Blog Comments & Tips below for vegetarian options, and extra loaded version of this recipe.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
563.46Fat (grams)
34.58Sat. Fat (grams)
15.32Carbs (grams)
19.66Fiber (grams)
9.35Net carbs
11.07Sugar (grams)
3.29Protein (grams)
40.65Sodium (milligrams)
791.73Cholesterol (grams)
115.49Nutritional information provided is strictly an estimate and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods. Nutritional calculations are based on 4 very large portion sizes.
Step by Step Instructions
PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
Prep Ingredients
STEP 1
Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or aluminum foil (see Note below).
Note: Although all the step by step photos below show foil on the baking sheet, we actually recommend using parchment paper instead for this recipe. We just ran out of parchment paper just before the second step by step photo shoot!
STEP 2
Start prepping all your ingredients, and place them in small bowls for easy assembly. If using, slice 1 green onion (optional), then:
a) Shred 2 cups pepper jack cheese.
b) Crumble ¼ cup Cotija cheese.
c) Chop 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños (optional).
Note: We used this set of knives for this recipe.
STEP 3
Prep remaining ingredients, and place them in small bowls for easy assembly.
a) Deseed and chop ½ cup fresh roma tomatoes.
b) Roughly chop 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro.
c) Dice roasted chicken breast into bite sized (about ¾ inch) pieces (try our Ridiculously Easy Lime Chicken, or rotisserie chicken). Set aside all ingredients.
STEP 4a
In a small mixing bowl, add 3 tablespoons Herdez Guacamole Salsa, and 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt, 0% (fat free).
STEP 4b
Stir until fully mixed. Cover and refrigerate “guacamole sauce” until ready to use.
Assembly & Baking
STEP 5
a) Place 6 ounces Bella Sol Black Bean Flaxseed Tortilla Chips (or blue corn, or white corn) on the prepared baking sheet, overlapping each chip, but in somewhat of a single layer. Sprinkle ¾ cup black beans, rinsed and drained (half a 15 oz. can) evenly over the chips.
b) Layer on diced chicken breast, then ⅓ cup sliced black olives (6.5 oz. can).
c) Layer on shredded pepper jack cheese.
d) Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
STEP 6
While nachos are in the oven, dice 1 avocado, and place in a small mixing bowl. Add a squeeze or two of fresh lime juice, then gently coat the avocado, and set aside.
STEP 7
a) Remove baking sheet from the oven and layer on 3 tablespoons diced green chiles (4 oz can, mild or medium), chopped pickled jalapeños (optional), chopped Roma tomatoes, sliced green onions (optional), and sprinkle on Cotija cheese. Place the baking sheet back into the oven and bake for another 1-2 minutes, just to warm up (not cook) the toppings.
b) When warmed through, remove from the oven and top nachos with diced avocado, and chopped cilantro.
c) Drizzle guacamole sauce over the nachos, and serve immediately. If using salsa verde (optional), serve in a small bowl on the side.
SERVE!
Serve immediately with a wedge of lime. If using Herdez Salsa Verde (optional), serve in a small bowl on the side.
Serves 4 very large servings, or 6-8 appetizer portions.
Notes:
Use thicker tortilla chips in order to support the weight of all the other ingredients. Otherwise, the chips will get soggy and wilt. You can use any type of tortilla chips, but these Bella Sol Black Bean Flaxseed Tortilla Chips have unbelievable flavor, and they are sturdy enough to support the weight of all those delicious ingredients.
Serves 4 very large servings, or 6-8 appetizer portions.
See Blog Comments & Tips below for vegetarian options.
VIDEO
How to Make these Ultimate Nachos that are Loaded with Flavor!
Blog Comments & Tips
Healthier nachos that are loaded with flavor!
Hard to believe that a healthier version of nachos could actually be more delicious, but they are! These loaded nachos use healthier ingredients, each of which have lots of flavor, and are actually good for you. Thanks to our selection of tortilla chips, and some of the other modified sauces, this is a much healthier version than many of the traditional recipes.
This Epic Chicken Nachos recipe is full of fresh ingredients. Instead of using standard tortilla chips, we used Bella Sol Black Bean Flaxseed Tortilla Chips to boost the protein, fiber, and flavor of this dish.
Each serving of these chips alone adds 500mg of Omega-3 fatty acids!
Don’t worry, if you can’t find these in your neighborhood, try replacing them with sturdy blue corn tortilla chips for another healthy option.
The flavors in our Ridiculously Easy Lime Chicken work perfectly with these nachos. You can even make the chicken the day before, and then dice up your chicken right before assembling the nachos! We also replaced the sour cream that is typically served with nachos, with a more flavorful guacamole sauce, made from plain Greek yogurt (0% fat), and Herdez Guacamole Salsa. The Herdez salsa is usually spicy, so this cuts down on the spice level, but it amps up the flavor of the nachos.
Between all the fresh ingredients, the unique chips, the semi-homemade sauce, and the layering technique, the result is a sheet pan full of deliciously loaded nachos that can generously serve 4 for a main dish, or 8 appetizer portions.
It’s a perfect appetizer for festive occasions like Cinco de Mayo, or watching the big game! This recipe is gluten-free, but can easily be converted to vegetarian nachos.
Time to learn how to ensure the best results from our recipe.
Our 5 tips to making this nachos recipe:
High quality and fresh ingredients.
Sturdy tortilla chips.
Instead of rotisserie chicken, use our Ridiculously Easy Lime Chicken for a healthier and more flavorful component to this recipe.
Layer ingredients evenly, so every bite is delicious!
Bake in two stages, so the chips don’t get soggy.
It’s time to customize and Pimp Our Recipe.
Pimp Our Recipe:
Make it Spicy: In place of the pickled jalapeños, use fresh jalapeños that are sliced (keep some of the seeds for super spicy flavor). Also, omit the Greek yogurt from the recipe, and just drizzle 6 tablespoons Herdez Guacamole Salsa over the nachos to finish.
Make it Milder: Omit the pickled jalapeños, and replace the Herdez Guacamole Salsa with Mild Herdez Salsa Verde.
Make it Vegetarian: Omit the chicken. Everything else is vegetarian! There is enough protein with the beans and cheese to provide a balanced vegetarian dish.
Make it EXTRA Loaded: Create two cheesy layers! Start with the first layer of chips (about 6 oz., which is half of a bag). Then add ¾ cup rinsed and drained black beans (half a 15 oz. can), and only 1 ½ cups shredded pepper jack cheese. Then start again by placing another layer of chips (use the remaining half of a 12 oz. bag of chips), then add another ¾ cup black beans (remaining half of 15 oz. can), diced chicken, black olives, and another 1 ½ cups shredded pepper jack cheese (for a total of 3 cups). Bake, and continue with the rest of the recipe (starting with Step 6), as is.
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Happy Cooking!
Mich
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