Chicken Nachos
Tortilla chips piled with shredded chicken, black beans and cheese and baked for 15 minutes, topped with fresh salsa and lime.
Photograph credit: Chicken and black bean nachos food by Jon Sullivan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
It looks like the beef version and eats lighter, which is why chicken nachos are the one to make when a crowd is coming. Shredded chicken soaks up seasoning and lies flat over the chips, so the topping stays put instead of rolling off the edges.
Cook the chicken first in a seasoned liquid: water, a bay leaf, half an onion and salt. Poach it gently for 15 minutes, then shred it with two forks. Toss the shreds in lime juice, cumin, smoked paprika and a spoon of the cooking liquid so they are moist and well flavoured. Cold, dry chicken gives chewy, dull nachos.
Build the nachos in two layers on a lined tray. Chips, chicken, beans, cheese, then repeat. A single pile leaves the bottom chips plain and the middle ones soggy, while two shallow layers give every chip some topping and let the heat reach the cheese evenly.
Bake until the cheese just bubbles and the edges of the top chips are golden. Add the fresh toppings after baking: pico de gallo, avocado, soured cream and coriander, so they stay cool and crisp against the hot base.
How to Make Chicken Nachos
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Put the chicken, onion, bay leaf and a pinch of salt in a pan, cover with water and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 4 tbsp of the liquid, and shred the chicken.
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Toss the chicken with the cumin, paprika, lime juice, salt and the reserved liquid.
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Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Spread half the chips on a lined tray and cover with half the chicken, beans and cheese. Repeat with the rest.
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Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
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Top with the avocado, salsa, soured cream and coriander and serve at once.
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Worth Getting Right
- Season the shredded chicken so it is not bland.
- Layer the chips twice for even coverage.
- Add fresh toppings after baking.
Ingredient Swaps
- Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
Pairs Well With
Guacamole · Lime wedges · Pickled jalapenos · Cold lager
Keeping and Reheating
Best eaten at once. Keep the cooked chicken for 3 days in the fridge.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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