Making loaded nachos at home is so easy! These veggie nachos are topped with seasoned pinto beans, easily customized ingredients, and are baked in a cast-iron skillet (or sheet pan!) in just 30 minutes.
Recipe features
Nachos might just be my favorite food and I'm not afraid to admit it. Because of that, I make these loaded veggie nachos at home all the time and I always pile them high with a bunch of Mexican-inspired toppings.
- Diet-friendly: vegetarian, gluten-free optional (just choose gluten-free corn chips!), soy-free and nut-free
- Delicious taco-seasoned pinto beans contribute flavor and protein
- Ready in under 30 minutes
- Can be made in a skillet or on a sheet pan
- Easy to customize using whatever veggies, cheese and toppings you want
What you'll need
There's three main components to veggie nachos: the chips, the cheese and the toppings.
- Chips: Any tortilla chip will do. I like to keep things classic with yellow tortilla chips, but blue or even bean-based chips will work.
- Cheese: Shredded Monterey jack cheese is my go-to, but shredded cheddar also works well (that's the kind I used in the photos).
- Pinto beans: The beans are seasoned with a few spices so that they are nutritious and flavorful. All you have to do is throw a can of pinto beans (with liquid) on the stove with a few spices. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld. I use a slotted spoon to remove beans from the pan so that any remaining liquid stays put.
- Other toppings: Finely chop the green pepper and red onion so that it disperses well over the chips. We'll also add shredded kale, sweet corn, salsa, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, cilantro, and jalapenos. Other ideas include black olives, pickled jalapenos, and guacamole or sliced avocado.
Step by step instructions
Making loaded nachos is all about the layers! We'll start by layering tortilla chips evenly across a 12" cast iron skillet or you can make sheet pan nachos.
Note: If using a casserole dish or baking sheet, line with parchment paper before adding the chips. This will prevent the cheese and toppings from burning onto the dish.
Sprinkle half of the cheese and beans on the tortilla chips. Add another layer of chips, beans and cheese. If your pan is too small you can make three layers of chips/cheese/beans.
Optional: Add peppers, kale and onions now if you don't want them to be raw. This is where you get to decide whether you want fresh or cooked peppers and onions.
After about 10 minutes in the oven the cheese should be melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven and add remaining toppings.
Recipe FAQ and notes
- More toppings ideas: Olives, salsa verde, and avocado crema, and guacamole are all delicious on vegetarian nachos. This tempeh taco meat and tofu chorizo also go work well as a vegetarian protein in place of beans.
- Try seasoned chips like elote chips or lime-flavored chips for extra flavor.
- Queso also goes really well on these nachos. If using queso instead of shredded cheese, I recommend just cooking the nachos long enough to heat up the chips. My sweet potato nachos recipe has a chipotle vegan queso that would go so well here.
Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated, but the quality will diminish a bit. Refrigerate leftovers in the same dish they're baked in or transfer to a storage container. Keeps for 2-3 days.
Yes! When reheating, make sure that the tortilla chips are very evenly layered because any overlapping chips may get soggy instead of crisping up. I reheat leftovers in my cast iron skillet or on a small sheet pan at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Add an extra sprinkle of cheese before reheating if you want freshly melted cheese.
You can use an equal amount of shredded vegan cheese and vegan sour cream to make this dairy-free.
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Loaded Veggie Nachos
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces tortilla chips
- 1 and ½ cups shredded Montery jack or cheddar cheese
- 1 cup kale finely shredded
- 1 medium green bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ medium red onion finely chopped
- 1 medium jalapeno sliced (spicy) or finely chopped (less spicy)
- ½ cup frozen sweet corn thawed
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ½ cup salsa of choice
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 medium lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium sauce pot, combine pinto beans (with liquid), cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until flavors are melded. Add a splash of water if the liquid evaporates too quickly.
- While the beans are simmering, prep the nacho toppings.
- Evenly layer half of the tortilla chips in a 12" cast iron skillet or parchment paper lined sheet pan. Sprinkle chips with half of the shredded cheese. Using a slotted spoon (this will allow any excess cooking liquid to drain), sprinkle on half of the pinto beans. Add kale, chopped bell pepper, onion and jalapeno to each layer now if you don't want them to be raw. Add another layer of chips, cheese and pinto beans.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with kale, red onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, sweet corn, and cilantro. Add dollops of Greek yogurt and salsa. Serve immediately with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Notes
Josie
Have you ever made this with vegan cheese? If so, do you recommend and what type did you use?
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD
Hi Josie! I haven't tried with vegan cheese but I bet that any of the packaged vegan shredded cheeses would work, like Go Veggie or Daiya.