Even more toppings — like fresh cheese, cilantro leaves, chili peppers and thinly sliced radishes — are added after baking. The whole baking sheet of nachos are served family-style. Get ready to dig in!
How to Make the Best Chicken Nachos
Store-bought rotisserie chicken makes these amped-up nachos easy. You could even use leftover chicken from a night or two before. The salsa can be store-bought, too. Instead of red salsa, we go for green — or salsa verde — usually made from chili peppers, tomatillos, onion and garlic. It’s zesty, bright and works beautifully with these chicken nachos. Building the nachos goes quickly — just layer tortilla chips, the salsa verde chicken, pickled jalapeños and cheddar cheese until all your ingredients are gone. Keep things even, you don’t want one person to get the extra cheesy nucleus, while others are stuck with dry, plain chips and an odd jalapeño. We really like to layer the cheese, too — that way every layer has a little bit of cheesy goodness, not just the top (something all too common in restaurants). After 15 or so minutes in a hot oven, the nachos are done! All you need to do now is pile on even more goodies — like I said earlier, a fresh cheese (like queso fresco) and sliced chili peppers and radish are our favorites. And that’s it. Slide the baking sheet into the middle of where your friends and family are and watch as the nachos disappear. Recipe updated, originally posted January 2015. Since posting this in 2015, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne 1 1/2 cups salsa verde, plus more for serving, try our salsa verde recipe 1 large (13-ounce) bag tortilla chips 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 cup pickled jalapeño slices or candied jalapeños 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 2 cups) 1/4 cup crumbled fresh cheese such as queso fresco, feta cheese or goat cheese 3 medium radishes, sliced very thin Sliced black olives Cilantro leaves Red and/or green chili peppers 1/4 cup sour cream, thinned with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water 2Add salsa verde to a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chicken and cook 5 minutes until warmed through. 3Arrange a single layer of tortilla chips on the bottom of the foil-lined pan then begin building the nachos. Scatter one third of the chicken, black beans, pickled jalapeños, chopped green onion and grated cheddar cheese over chips. Repeat with additional layers of chips and toppings until they are used up. (We usually end up with three layers of chips). 4Bake the nachos until the cheese has completely melted and everything is hot, 15 to 20 minutes. 5Serve nachos family style, right on the baking sheet, with as many additional toppings scattered on top as you like — we love adding crumbled fresh cheese, extra salsa, fresh chili peppers, thinly sliced radishes, and a drizzle of thinned sour cream.
