Nachos make the perfect sharing plate served during the week with family or as a casual gathering with friends. This bean & beans nachos is so good you won’t even miss the meat.
Nachos, one of the most beloved Mexican dishes ordered at Tex-Mex restaurants; it can be as simple as chips, cheese, jalapenos as olives or more elaborate with meat, beans, salsa, avocado & sour cream.
I love nachos because when it’s served in our house, it means I’ve got the night off from cooking – something I cherish. My husband makes the best nachos I’ve ever eaten. He uses ground beef, I decided to make a vegetarian option based on his recipe, but when it comes to Mexican style food in our house, my husband rules.
Nachos makes the perfect sharing meal: stick it down in the middle of the table, pour beer or margaritas into chilled glasses, pass around some small plates & lots of napkins & tuck in.
My husband uses a packet of fajita seasoning mix. I made my own seasoning (see my halo shine). Find the recipe for my seasoning mix here. It take only a few minutes to mix up & is healthier than the store-bought mix but use what’s convenient.
Although there’s a bit of chopping involved & the recipe looks a little hefty in the ingredient list, this nachos really is absurdly easy to make – writing the recipe took longer than actually making it. You can have the components made ahead of time so all that’s left to do is assemble it, pop it in the oven for a few & pour the margaritas. Cheers!
A Pinterest pic to share
- PICCO DE GALLO
- 1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes
- 1/3 cup diced onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- pinch of salt & pepper
- pinch of sugar
- GUACAMOLE
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 tablespoons diced onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (coriander)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons diced fresh jalapeno
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- NACHOS
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons fajita seasoning mix
- 15 oz (425g) can black beans, rinsed & drained
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, optional
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- 2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 15 oz (425g) can refried beans
- fresh or pickled sliced jalapenos, cilantro (coriander) sprigs & lime wedges, to serve
- To make the picco: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
- To make the guac: Scoop the avocado into a small bowl & squash with a potato masher or fork until coarsely mashed. Add remaining ingredients & stir with a fork to combine.
- To make the nachos: Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a small to medium sized baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion & cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the seasoning & cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add black beans & water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has evaporated. Stir in corn & cook for a couple of minutes or until hot.
- Make a layer with half of the chips. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Add the remaining chips & half of the remaining cheese. Bake for about 7 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- While the chips are in the oven, scrape the refried beans into a microwave-safe baking dish. Cover & microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until the beans are hot, adding a little water if they’re too thick. Dollop the refried beans over the hot chips. Scatter the fajita bean mixture over chips. Stir the picco then spoon it over the top, ensuring you don’t use any juice that’s pooled in the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Dollop with guacamole. And garnish with jalapeno slices, cilantro sprigs & lime wedges if desired. Serve immediately.
Made this last night. My husband could not get enough – which is great, because the fillings were enough that we can have it again tomorrow (when following the recipe – there are two of us, so that’s a lot of filling). My comments are: this was really good, if you like cilantro, don’t leave it out, make sure you are hungry when you sit down to eat, and this is definitely a keeper. Only downside – lots of dishes! This is a recipe that you want to make with another person, I found that most helpful. I’m also very happy that it is meatless – we do eat meat, but we would like to find recipes that we like that are meatless, and this ones fits the bill nicely. Thanks, Lovoni.
Yes, definitely not a one-pan wonder but Mexican cooking rarely ever is. Thankfully my husband cleans up after himself when he makes nachos so I’m always eager for him be head chef for the night. Glad you enjoyed it.