Fully Loaded Black Bean Nachos

Fully loaded black bean nachos… the ideal game day snack or when you just need to satisfy that nacho craving.

These nachos have just the right amount of topping to bean to cheesy-ness to tortilla ratio. The one where you can still pick up the tortillas but there is sauce and flavour in every delicious bite.

We ate a LOT of Mexican inspired food growing up. We were the family eating fajitas and burritos for dinner as standard every week. My Mum is American and spent a lot of time in Los Angeles, so our dinners were always inspired by the various places she’s been.

I used to be (and still am in many ways) incredibly fussy about trying new foods so nachos for me used to look like me picking through all the goodness to find the tortilla chip with just a little bit of sauce and cheese on it, nothing else. Now I’m much more adventurous (for me) and the only thing I’ll really push to the side is the sour cream! Honestly I can’t believe I missed out on all of these flavours for so long. But here we are, fully loaded black bean nachos with all of the toppings.

How to make Fully Loaded Black Bean Nachos:

What you’ll need:

• For the nachos + toppings:
• Large bag of corn chips / crisps
• 250g cheddar (grated)
• 1x red onion (sliced) optional
• Pickled jalapeños optional
• Soured cream optional

• For the Mexican beans:
• 1x 400g can black beans
• 1x 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 small onion (red or white) (diced)
• Half TSP smoked paprika
• 1x TSP garlic powder
• 1x TSP cumin powder
• Half TSP hot chilli powder
• TBSP olive oil
• Salt

• For the salsa:
• 2x whole tomatoes (seeds removed, diced)
• 1x red onion (diced)
• Bunch fresh coriander
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• Salt

• For the guacamole:
• 2 ripe avocados
• Half a tomato (seeds removed, diced)
• Half red onion (diced)
• Juice 1/2 lime
• Coriander

Step by step:

To prepare the salsa:

• Finely chop tomatoes (remove seeds)
• Finely chop red onion
• Stir onion & tomato together in a dish
• Juice over 1 lime & stir
• Roughly chop a handful of coriander & stir into mix
• Season with salt to taste

To prepare the guacamole:

• Finely chop tomatoes (remove seeds)
• Finely chop red onion
• Roughly chop coriander
• Peel and then smash your avocados in a bowl (the back of a fork will do the job nicely)
• Stir through the tomatoes, red onion and coriander
• Squeeze in lime juice, season with salt – stir well to combine

Set aside your prepared salsa and guacamole in the fridge just while you prepare the beans

Pre-heat oven to 180C

To prepare the beans:

• Drain and thoroughly rinse your black beans – set aside
• Add oil to a pan on medium to heat
• Once the pan is ready, add your diced onion – allow to saute for up to 5 minutes or until translucent and softened
• Add your spices to the pan (cumin, paprika, garlic powder and chilli powder) – stir and allow to get fragrant, about a minute
• Next, add beans and stir, coating all of the beans with the spice mix
• Mix in your can of chopped tomatoes, stirring thoroughly
• Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for at-least 10 minutes (or longer if you have the time)
• Season with salt to taste

Now to load up/cook your nachos:

• In an oven-proof dish, place the first layer of tortilla chips (we’ll do 2 layers total so you can use half your total portion)
• After the chips, add dollops of the bean mixture & sprinkle over about half of your grated cheddar
• Add your 2nd layer of tortilla chips
• Repeat process adding the bean mixture and remaining cheese
• Pop in your pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly
• Remove from oven
• Add toppings – homemade salsa and guacamole plus anything else you’re using (sour cream, jalapeños etc.)
• Serve in the oven dish for easy clean up!

Once you’ve made your own nachos you’ll never be able to go back. The toppings and blend of incredible flavours here are unbeatable!

Enjoy…

Looking for other Mexican inspired dishes?

Try our Easy Pork Tacos Carnitas and Tangy Salsa