Not-Yo Average Nachos
Nachos are one of the very first dishes most of us figure out how to make on our own, right? Sprinkle cheese on some chips and microwave until the cheese melts! Boom! Although our microwave dorm room days are far behind us—as are most of our questionable eating habits from those college years—few things have managed to remain, and a deep-seeded love for homemade chicken nachos are one of them. Of course, our salsa verde chicken nachos recipe is exceedingly better than anything we could have whipped up back then.
Ingredients For Making Shredded Chicken Nachos
Not only do our cheesy nachos score major presentation points, but they’re also consistently a top performer when it comes to a zero-fuss dinner the whole family will agree on. And, chances are, you’ve already got everything you need to make ‘em.
- Chicken breasts. We’re typically thigh people, but love how easy chicken breasts poach for these nachos. Check out our chicken poaching guide HERE.
- Onion + garlic + bay leaves, cumin & chili powder. The secret to our flavorful poached chicken breast is totally in the broth. Seasoned with the goodness of fresh onions and garlic and dried bay leaves, cumin, and chili powder, it’s without a doubt the best poached chicken you’ll ever taste.
- Nacho toppings. Lots and lots of toppings. See our favorites outlined a few steps below.
How to Make Chicken Nachos
For the longest time, we were microwave-your-nachos type of people (broilers weren’t exactly allowed in the dorms), but once we finally tried broiled chicken nachos with salsa verde, there was no going back.
- Cook your chicken. There’s no need to get fancy here—for chicken nachos you want super easy-to-shred poached chicken and our seasoned poaching liquid means you’ll still get loads of flavor.
- Assemble nachos. We like to place all our chips on the bottom, then build up from there, adding each layer at a time (cheese, then chicken). Other members of the household, however, prefer to assemble nachos in stacks, meaning chip-chicken-cheese, chips-chicken-cheese, all atop each other. But the beautiful thing about nachos is there’s really no wrong way. They’re guaranteed to come out delicious no matter what.
- Broil. Your nacho oven temp should be set to a low broil (or if you’re oven only has one broil temp move the rack to the lower position and broil from there). Keep a close eye on them, as the chips can burn quickly. Remove them the second all of the cheese has melted.
- Accessorize. Cilantro, cabbage, avocado—load those nachos up to your heart’s content.
Load Em Up!
These loaded chicken nachos aren’t going to top themselves! Here are some of our favorite toppings, but feel free to adjust to your own tastes (looking at you, cilantro soap-tasters).
- Pepper Jack Cheese. We love the added spice of pepper jack, and it’s a great melter, too. But mild cheddar also works.
- Cotija Cheese. If you haven’t yet tried this crumbly Mexican cheese, now is the time! It’s crumbly like feta, but milder in flavor. We love sprinkling it atop nachos, enchiladas, tacos—you name it.
- Cilantro. Is there an herb more divisive? Luckily for us, we fall into the cilantro-lovers camp. If you hate it, though, feel free to skip it!
- Sour Cream. We like to strategically spoon dollops across the tray. That way it’s easily avoidable for those who don’t want it, and in a nice big clump for those of us who do.
- Avocado. Shop for ones that give in to firm-but-gentle pressure through the skin—that way you know they’re ripe and ready to eat.
- Radishes. For a bit of freshness and bite. Cut into rounds, or you can grate them, too!
- Other topping ideas: Green onions, red onions, diced tomatoes, black olives, sliced jalapeno, our homemade salsa verde for green chicken nachos, etc!
Tools to Make Our Baked Chicken Nachos
You won’t need much to get these beauties in the oven. Just:
- Small stockpot. Or an extra-large saucepan. Basically anything big enough to hold 3-4 chicken breasts covered with water.
- Large baking sheet. The size of your sheet will determine the quantity of nachos, so choose wisely.
- Napkins! Diving into a heap of nachos can be messy business—as it should be. Be sure to have plenty of napkins at the ready.
Hungry for More Easy Finger Foods?
Whether you’re hosting a crowd for the big game or just feel like some finger-licking goodness, here are a few other tasty bites from our archives:
- Wow any guest with our master class on the How to Build the Perfect Cheese Board.
- Our Shrimp Cocktail only feels fancy (it’s super easy to make).
- Who doesn’t love playing the game of spice-roulette biting into a homemade Jalapeño Popper?
Love Our Easy Chicken Nacho Recipe?
Show us your chicken-smothered, cheese-covered chips and tag us @themodernproper and #themodernproper.
