These loaded chicken nachos are my version of the perfect nachos. They’ve got all the essential fixings, they’re great for a crowd, and are always a hit at parties and on game day.
Back in high school I considered myself a pretty good cook. Or at least better than most of my friends who subsisted on string cheese and instant cup o’ noodles. I’ve never been one who was too lazy to cook when I’m hungry and if the pangs struck I would come up with some pretty satiating recipes. And anything with melted cheese was my favorite snack of all. Slices of cheese, tomato soup and of course tortilla chips.
In our house my dad was the nacho maker, and I’ll share that recipe and his tenacity with you sometime soon, but today I have another nacho recipe for you, something hearty and spicy and cheesy.
Because dad made nachos for weeknight dinners when mom was busy or just didn’t feel like cooking, he taught me that nachos are incredibly easy to prepare and are far heartier than to only be deemed as an average appetizer. These babies can become the main meal.
Welcome Chicken Nachos.
If we go out for beers with friends, most often to watch football (here’s why I’m cheering for the Niners!!), I usually crave a little spice to accompany my favorite hefeweizen, and nachos are what fit the bill. And the drill as I like to remember goes like this: Pick out the cheesiest chip—my special talent—then layer puckery pickled jalapeño, a scoop of salsa, chunks of avocado or guacamole and then washing it down with a really cold swig ‘o suds. Oh man, my mouth is watering just dreaming about it.
In reality, those nachos were usually about as far from hearty as a brew pub knew how to get, with somewhat dried out refried beans and semi-melted cheese on chips that spent just a minute too long under the broiler. Those poor were the guys that were always the last to be picked in the nacho eating game.
Learning from the brew pubs mistakes, and remembering the taste of my dad’s melty cheese nachos, gave me the inspiration to add a tasty enchilada sauce laced protein—in this recipe I’m declaring it to be chicken and kick these nachos straight to the dinner table in about the same amount of time it takes to say, “¡Buen apetito!”
Protein filled veggies keep the filling theme going with black beans and Avocados from Mexico taking center stage in their creamy union with the melty, gooey cheese that cements each little nugget of olive, beans, salsa and chicken to one another like 10th grade BFFs clinging to one another on the first day of high school. Yep, I remember that day too.
And now all these years later, I’m still happy to greet my family’s hungry stomachs with my chicken nachos and my favorite melty cheese.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Game Day Chicken Nachos with Avocado
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small white onion , chopped
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup canned mild enchilada sauce
- ½ bag white tortilla chips
- 1 15- ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
- 10 ounces Mexican mix shredded cheese
- 2 Avocados from Mexico , chopped
- 4 ounces cotija cheese
- 1 4- ounce can sliced black olives
- ¼ cup green onion , chopped
- Salsa for dipping
- Pickled jalapeno for garnish
- Sour cream or Mexican crema for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Bring a medium skillet to medium-high heat and add vegetable oil, then onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes
- or until onion is translucent. Add chicken and enchilada sauce and cook for 5 minutes or until warmed through.
- On a sheet pan lined with foil or an oven safe platter, layer one-third of the tortilla chips and top with one third the black beans, chicken mixture and shredded cheese. Repeat two more times.
- Place baking sheet in the oven and bake 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and chips are lightly browned along the edges. Remove from oven and top with avocado, cotija cheese, olives, black olives, green onion and pickled jalapeno. Drizzle with sour cream and serve immediately with salsa on the side.
Nutrition
This is a working partnership with Avocados from Mexico and Muy Bueno Cookbook.
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Love this Heidi! We made these on Sunday night and everyone was RAVING over them. Fabulous recipe. xoxo
Update: I made these yesterday they were DELISH! I was not planning on making Nachos but my husband said he could not focus on the game without Nachos, LOL. I used smoked chicken instead of roasted because that is what I had cooked, but I followed the recipe exactly. So yummy, thank you for posting.
I’m so glad you liked them, I made them again for the Superbowl too and I think they may have made the lights in the stadium go out.
This is the most fun my eyeballs have ever had.
A delicious recipe to taste a good avocado.
Now those are some fully loaded and tasty looking nachos!
Coming from the king of loaded nachos, thank you!
Love this and the addition of the enchilada sauce is nothing short of brilliant!
And the heavens opened up . . . these are calling my name!!
These look delicious – think I will have to make them!
I’ve always been a hue fan of nachos for dinner and love to switch up toppings. These look sooo good! Thanks for sharing.
These look mouthwatering, Heidi!
These look SO good! I love your photos!
Thanks so much Karly, it’s an ever evolving process.
I love the addition of enchilada sauce, these look really good! Your photos are beautiful too, thanks for the inspiration. :) Enjoy the Superbowl!
Sarah, thanks for the comment. The enchilada sauce certainly gives them a little kick, and juices them up too. I was home alone when I shot this and I ate almost the entire plate once I was done. So good.
My all time favorite food to eat and make, especially on a busy night. It looks yummy!
Love avocados with chicken! My Hubs will love these nachos!