Chicken Nachos
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Loaded with spicy pulled rotisserie chicken and ungodly amounts of cheese, these chicken nachos are hearty and satisfying – and everyone is happy when you say, “Nachos for dinner!”
Whenever I visit my sister in New York City, we pick one night to leave the kids and husbands at home to go out for a girls’ night. We always dine at the same Mexican restaurant around the corner from her apartment, and we always skip entrees and order a bunch of appetizers instead. It feels like such an indulgence to enjoy chips, salsa, guacamole, and the like without having to worry about filling up before the main course.
I love to eat this way at home, too, but it’s harder when feeding a family. These chicken nachos and my favorite beef nachos are some of the few appetizers I can get away with serving for dinner. Loaded with pulled rotisserie chicken in a spicy chipotle-tomato sauce and ungodly amounts of cheese, they are hearty and satisfying – and everyone is happy when I say, “Nachos for dinner!” This recipe makes two large sheet pans of nachos. If you want to mix things up, the chicken mixture can also be used as a filling for quesadillas, tacos or tostadas.
What you’ll need to make chicken nachos
You’ll notice that the recipe calls for two types of cheese: a Mexican blend and pecorino Romano, a sharp, salty Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk. The pecorino might seem like an odd addition to nachos, but it’s an excellent substitute for the funky, longer-aged Mexican cheeses that can be hard to find. I know almost 8 cups of cheese seems like a lot, but good nachos require a generous topping of melted cheese. Plus, light-on-the-cheese nachos are just plain sad! For the guacamole, you can make your favorite recipe — or do as I do and prepare a quick version by mashing some diced avocado with a little lime juice and salt, to taste.
How to make chicken nachos
Begin with the chicken. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Do not brown; reduce the heat if necessary.
Add the tomato sauce, chipotle peppers and sauce, sugar, cumin, oregano, and salt.
Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
Add the chicken and cilantro.
Mix and set aside.
For the nachos, arrange the tortilla chips in a single layer, overlapping slightly, on two 13 x 18-inch baking sheets. Spread the chicken evenly over the chips.
Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the chicken.
Bake until the cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes.
Remove the nachos from the oven, then sprinkle with scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately, passing the guacamole, sour cream, and lime wedges separately.
You may also like
- Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce
- Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Beef Empanadas
- Stacked Beef Enchiladas
- Chicken Quesadillas
- Jalapeño Poppers
Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos
Loaded with spicy pulled rotisserie chicken and ungodly amounts of cheese, these chicken nachos are hearty and satisfying – and everyone is happy when you say, “Nachos for dinner!”
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon sauce from can
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken, from 1 rotisserie chicken
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro (optional)
For the Nachos
- 1 (13-oz) bag tortilla chips
- 7 cups (28 oz) shredded Mexican blend cheese
- ⅔ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
- ¼ cup finely sliced scallions, from 2 to 3 scallions
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
For Serving (Optional)
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Limes wedges
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Do not brown; reduce the heat if necessary.
- Add the tomato sauce, chipotle peppers and sauce, sugar, cumin, oregano, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken and cilantro.
For the Nachos
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and set two racks in the center of the oven.
- Arrange the tortilla chips in a single layer, overlapping slightly, on two 13 x 18-inch baking sheets. Spread the chicken evenly over the chips, followed by the cheeses.
- Bake until the cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the nachos from the oven, then sprinkle with scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately, passing the guacamole, sour cream, and lime wedges separately.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The chicken mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead of time. Warm the chicken to room temperature in the microwave before assembling the nachos.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the optional ingredients for serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 appetizer-sized servings)
- Calories: 624
- Fat: 42 g
- Saturated fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Sodium: 677 mg
- Cholesterol: 115 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Another fabulous recipe from Jenn.
This not only is a major crowd pleaser appetizer, I enjoy it as a meal of its own.
Don’t skip the pecorino-romano cheese. It gives the nachos a distinctly different flavor. This made more than I realized it would. Our family of 5 had this for supper and only ate half so I just saved the rest for another night-no complaints about that. Yummy!
Was so good and easy to make! Perfect amount of heat and flavor.
My mum makes recipes from this website all the time, and they always turn out delicious, so I thought I would find something. I made these nachos for my family and they were a hit!! Super yummy. I will definitely be making them again.
Hi Jen,
Our grocery store’s international aisle has been bare for weeks and I can’t find chipotle peppers in adobo. I have a jar of adobo sauce without the peppers. Can I use that as a substitute? Is there anything I should add in place of the peppers?
Hi Robyn, I think you could get away with using adobo sauce with no other additions. I’d recommend a total of 3 tablespoons. Hope you enjoy!
Could I add black beans or refried beans to this, do you think?
Sure! Please LMK how they turn out.
Sheet pan chicken nachos are 5 star by my family. I really liked that you can make the chicken mixture in advance and assemble the nachos at mealtime. For 1 small onion, I used a good 1/2 cup. I agree with Jenn to use Tostitoes Original Restaurant Style tortilla chips. I added chopped iceberg lettuce and salsa after baking. I added a little water to the simmering chicken mixture to keep the mixture moist. A winner!
I’m planning to make this this week. I can make it as written but also have access to all the Mexican cheeses. What would you suggest?
Hi CH, feel free to use any combination of Mexican cheeses you have access to! Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen, would you recommend adding/omitting any particular ingredients to make this a vegetarian-friendly? Aside from the obvious chicken 🙂
That sounds right Amy (and you could canned beans on top of the chips in place of the chicken. Hope you enjoy!
With everything going on in the country we needed a little happiness tonight. Nachos for dinner! So good!! Like so many of your recipes, this is in our regular rotation. Jen, thanks again for another delicious recipe:)
Hi Jen,
If I were to use ground chicken instead of a shredded whole chicken- how many pounds of ground chicken would I use per the recipe?
Hi Kathie, I would guesstimate that you’d need to start with a pound of ground chicken. Hope you enjoy!