Chili Cheese Nachos
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Growing up, I was a fan of a fast food chain’s popular chili and cheese nacho dish. While it’s been a couple decades since I’ve had it (wow, I feel old!), I knew I had to come up with a crave-worthy plant-based version that’s free of processed foods and packed with nutrition. This dish uses my delightful and versatile All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce. These Chili Cheese Nachos make a perfect appetizer or you can serve it for dinner like we often do. If you want to serve it to a crowd, try serving it in a warmed cast iron pot or in a food warmer to retain the heat. I like these nachos with a spicy kick so I serve the dish with pickled sliced jalapeño peppers on top. You can also try layering the chili and cheese sauce overtop baked potatoes for a fun, comforting twist. This recipe is from my New York Times Bestselling cookbook, Oh She Glows Every Day (2016).
Yield
5 bowls
Prep Time
30 Minutes
Cook time
25 Minutes
Total Time
55 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Double batch All-Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium (215 g) yellow onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)
- 3 large (17 g) garlic cloves, minced (2 tablespoons)
- 1 medium (40 g) jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 medium (170 g) red bell pepper, seeded and diced (1 1/3 cups, divided)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) tomato paste
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can lentils, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) apple cider vinegar, or to taste
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Sriracha or other hot sauce, to taste
- Pickled sliced jalapeno peppers, drained
- 1 (12-ounce/350 g) bag corn tortilla chips
Directions:
- Prepare a double batch of my All-Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce. Set aside in a bowl.
- To a large pot, add the oil, diced onion, and minced garlic. Add a pinch of salt, stir, and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until the onion softens.
- Add the finely chopped jalapeño and 1 cup of the diced red pepper. Sauté for a few minutes.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika and cook for another couple minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the can of diced tomatoes (with juices) and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer the mixture for a few minutes.
- Next, add the tomato paste and drained lentils and kidney beans. Stir. With a potato masher, roughly mash 1/3 of the mixture to thicken the chili slightly. Be sure not to mash more than 1/3 of the mixture as we still want lots of texture in the chili.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and Sriracha (or other hot sauce), all to taste. Continue to cook, uncovered, over medium heat for about 5 to 10 more minutes, until the chili is thickened to your liking.
- To assemble: In individual bowls (or using a 2 1/2 to 3 quart/litre cast-iron pot or glass dish), ladle a layer of chili. Top with a layer of the cheese sauce. Keep layering until the chili is used up and you’ve added as much cheese sauce as you prefer. Garnish with the leftover diced red pepper, pickled jalapeño (as much or as little as you desire), and a sprinkle of salt, if desired.
- Serve immediately with tortilla chips for scooping into the chili mixture. Cool leftovers completely before transferring to an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop over medium heat for a few minutes, as needed. When reheating in a pot, the cheese and chili layers will mix together, but it’s still delicious!