If you have leftover jalapeños after using them as pickled red onions, don’t dispose of them, instead use them to make Spicy Baked Black Bean Nachos.
This simple 4-step recipe with Apronese will give you a quick and energizing meal.
Since finding that a few minutes in the oven can elevate crunchy tacos to a heavenly level, we wanted to try the same for nachos. Our suspicions were confirmed with these Spicy Baked Black Bean Nachos.
Options for Topping Nachos
Obviously you can add any toppings you like to your nachos, but if you haven’t tried pickled red onions yet, you’re missing out. Their sweet-tart-salty flavor really makes the nachos pop.
In this recipe you’ll find a creamy sour cream dressing that balances the pickled red onions and the heat of the black bean mixture. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, try making lime crema with the sour cream for even more flavor.
In addition, if you are using fresh jalapeños, keep them really thinly sliced. This prevents burning your mouth.
Baked Black Bean Nachos: Tips for Success
To bake nachos successfully, follow these three tips:
- For this dish, you need thick, hearty chips. You don’t want thin, crispy chips. They need to withstand layers of toppings and oven baking without burning.
- Make sure you line your baking sheets or suffer the consequences (difficult clean-up). I like parchment because it does not reflect heat and reduces the chance of burning.
- The key to great nachos is layers. Layer your chips, bean mixture, and cheese so you get the best chip-to-topping ratio. Everyone doesn’t like chips without toppings or so many toppings they can’t lift them.
Why don’t we start this week off right?
Recipe for Spicy Baked Black Bean Nachos
To make Spicy Baked Black Bean Nachos, layer your chips and toppings in the right proportion so you get the perfect chip-to-topping ratio.
Author: Beth
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Spicy Black Bean Mixture
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 small onion ($0.32)
- 1 10oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles ($0.99)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($1.00)
- 1/2 tsp chipotle powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Nachos
- 8 oz. sturdy corn tortilla chips ($1.50)
- 4 oz. cheddar, shredded* ($1.00)
- 1 Roma tomato ($0.32)
- 1 jalapeño ($0.12)
- 1/3 cup pickled red onions ($0.24)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro ($0.25)
- 1/4 cup sour cream ($0.37)
Instructions
- The onion should be finely chopped, add the olive oil and onions to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft and transparent (about five minutes). Drain the black beans, but leave a bit of the starchy liquid on top. Combine the beans, diced tomatoes with chiles, chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt in a skillet. Stir and simmer until the mixture thickens and liquid no longer pools at the bottom (about 10 minutes).
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 oF. Shred the cheddar cheese, finely dice the Roma tomato, thinly slice a jalapeño, and chop the cilantro.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place a single layer of tortilla chips on the baking sheet, trying not to overlap the chips. Then add half of the black bean mixture, sprinkle half of the cheese, and repeat with one more layer of chips, black beans, and cheese.
- In a hot oven, bake the chips, beans, and cheese for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the chips are golden brown. Remove the nachos from the oven, then add a drizzles or dollops of sour cream over top. The diced tomato, sliced jalapeño, pickled red onions, and cilantro are then sprinkled on top.
Note
*I highly suggest shredding your own cheddar instead of buying pre-shredded for this recipe. Freshly shredded melts a bit better than the starch coated pre-shredded cheeses.
Nutritional
Serving: 1 Serving ・ Calories: 575.5 kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 66.25 g ・ Protein: 18.13 g ・ Fat: 27.7 g ・ Sodium: 964.8 mg ・ Fiber: 11 g
The nutritional values shown here are only estimates. Please see our nutrition disclaimer.
Equipment
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Step by Step Photos to Make Baked Black Bean Nachos
The first step is preparing the spicy black bean mixture. Finely chop one small onion and sauté it in a large skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil until the onion becomes soft and transparent (in 5 minutes).
Add one 15 oz. can black beans (mostly drained, not rinsed), one 10 oz. can petite diced tomatoes with green chiles (not drained), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp garlic powder.
It is probably Rotel that is the most popular brand of diced tomatoes with chiles, but I found Red Gold tomatoes that were much less expensive.
In case you can’t find diced tomatoes with chiles, you can use either plain petite diced tomatoes or a small 4 oz. can of diced green chiles separately. Be sure they’re PETITE diced so that there are no large chunks of tomatoes.
Cook the mixture until the liquid thickens and no longer pools on the bottom of the skillet. Make sure the mixture is thick and goopy, and not too wet because that will soften the potato chips.
Start by preheating your oven to 350oF and prepare your cold toppings so they’re ready to go on the nachos immediately after they’re done baking.
Cut one jalapeño into thin slices, dice one Roma tomato, chop some cilantro, and shred 4 ounces of cheddar cheese (the pickled red onions and sour cream don’t need any prepare).
Lay out one layer of chips on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil (preferably parchment), making sure that they are touching but not overlapping too much.
Put half the bean mixture into the first layer of chips, sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over that, then cover the whole thing with another single layer of chips, followed by the second half of the bean mixture, and the other half of the cheese.
The nachos should be baked for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and the chip tips are just beginning to turn golden.
Topping the baked chips right after baking is the best way to enjoy them, so top them with a little sour cream, sliced jalapeños, diced tomatoes, chipped cilantro, and pickled red onions. Perfect!
You’re done! Super fast, easy, and guaranteed to brighten up your Monday. If you are a fan of baked nachos, try Breakfast Nachos with Apronese!
