Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos — Loaded with avocado chunks, juicy tomatoes and corn, and bbq sauce-smothered chicken! Perfect for parties, tailgating, game days, and more!
Best Recipe for BBQ Chicken Nachos
If you want to make a dinner out of nachos, this is how.
They’re loaded with avocado chunks, juicy tomatoes and corn, and bbq sauce-smothered chicken. I used chicken nuggets because that’s what I had on hand, but shredded chicken is more traditional.
They’ll be a guaranteed hit with who ever is lucky enough to indulge in this melty cheese fest, and they’re ready in 30 minutes.
Some of the chips stay perfectly crisp, while others softened from the melted cheese, juicy tomatoes and corn, and the saucy nuggets.
The balance of crispy and crunchy, tempered with soft and chewy, is just perfect. Every bite is total comfort food, and I’ll happily skip dinner for these.
I love eating food that’s rich in color, and the pops of green, orange, and red draw me in. And the subtle texture from the avocado, corn, and tomato are welcome against the soft, gooey cheese.
Having some ‘vegetables’ at every meal is a good thing, too. That is, if you can call corn a vegetable. And avocado and tomatoes are really fruits, but who’s counting. Especially when you’re having nachos for dinner.
The flavor from the bbq sauce gently permeates the dish, and everything takes on a smoky yet slightly sweet with heat quality. Make sure you like the bbq you choose and I loved this one.
Ingredients in BBQ Chicken Nachos
To make this bbq chicken nachos recipe, you’ll need:
- Shredded chicken or chicken nuggets
- Bbq sauce
- Corn tortilla chips
- Shredded cheese
- Diced tomato
- Cubed avocado
- Corn
- Black beans (optional)
- Red bell pepper (optional)
- Jalapeño (optional)
- Black olives (optional)
How to Make BBQ Chicken Nachos
This recipe for bbq chicken nachos couldn’t be any simpler! Follow these easy steps:
- Begin by tossing the shredded chicken with bbq sauce.
- Add corn tortilla chips in a pie dish, cover with shredded cheese, top with tomato, avocado, corn, and then add the sauced up chicken.
- Sprinkle with a little more cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. So easy!
Nacho Toppings to Try
I don’t think the bbq nachos need additional toppings because there are already so many great flavors, but it can’t hurt if you hoard condiments like I do and have any or all on hand!
Try toppings you bbq chicken nachos with one or more of the following:
Recipe Variations for BBQ Nachos
This is a flexible recipe, so mix and match toppings as you see fit!
- Chicken: Use shredded chicken, chicken nuggets, or a vegan chicken alternative.
- Tortilla chips: Use store-bought or homemade corn tortilla chips.
- Cheese: Any kind of shredded cheese will work, including vegan cheese.
- Veggies: Load up your nachos with anything you have on hand!
Tips for the Best BBQ Nachos
The chicken needs a healthy soak in a bbq sauce bath for a few minutes for flavor. This keeps the chicken juicy and saucy during baking.
I used TJ’s Carolina Gold bbq sauce, which is new to me. There’s a touch of molasses, and it’s a little sweet with a slight kick. My daughter doesn’t like sauces that are too hot and this one wasn’t.
The recipe is highly adaptable and if you want to add a handful of black beans, refried beans, jalepenos, bell peppers, bean and corn salsa, or anything else you love on your nachos, go for it. Don’t like avocado? Omit.
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Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
- 8 ounces shredded chicken or chicken nuggets, thawed and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup bbq sauce
- 4 to 5 cups corn tortilla chips, or enough to cover pie dish base with some overlapping
- 6 ounces shredded cheese, divided
- 1 medium ripe tomato, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled, de-seeded, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- ½ cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned
- ½ cup black beans, jalepenos, black olives, and/or diced bell peppers, all optional
Garnishes (Optional)
- Cilantro
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Guac
- Pico de gallo
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray a 9-inch round pie dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- Thaw and then dice the chicken nuggets into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Place nuggets in a medium bowl, cover with about 1 cup bbq sauce, and toss gently to evenly coat. Use enough bbq sauce so the nuggets are really juicy and well-coated. Set bowl aside while assembling the nachos; nuggets will soak up some of the bbq sauce.
- Add corn chips to prepared pie dish, arranging chips so the base of pie dish is completely covered. Chips need to overlap in places so there aren’t gaps. I made a double-layer of chips.
- Evenly sprinkle about 4 ounces cheese over chips.
- Evenly sprinkle the tomato, avocado, corn, and any optional toppings.
- Evenly sprinkle with the chicken nuggets. My nuggets were very moist and drippy, and I drizzled on of the residual bbq sauce from the marinating bowl.
- Evenly sprinkle with the remaining cheese, about 2 ounces.
- Bake for about 18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly, melted, and nachos are done. Baking times may vary widely based on brand and type of cheese used, juiciness of nuggets, moisture level in tomato, avo, corn, if optional ingredients were used, climate and oven variance, etc. Watch your nachos, not the clock.
- Optionally, garnish and serve nachos with cilantro, sour cream, salsa, guac, pico de gallo. Nachos are best fresh and warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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