I’m currently in a swarm of many behind-the-scenes things that I genuinely couldn’t be happier about even if it would also be okay if they didn’t all fall in the next few weeks (the deadline on the next cookbook, the launch at-last-so-overdue-hooray site redesign, a hopefully very cool new project or two, the first birthday of this fiesty love, all of the end of the year chaos that comes with a school-aged kid), that if there were a textbook definition of Bad Times To Take a Vacation, my June might be under it. Thank goodness I am not married to anyone burdened by such trivialities. Thus last weekend, when he surprised me with a birthday weekend away in Mexico City, a place I’ve been telling him I wanting to go to for the better part of a decade, but briefly expressed concern that this wasn’t the “best” time to get away, I was like “SHUT UP WHICH AIRPORT I ALREADY CALLED AN UBER.” The more dramatic the mess, the more dramatic the escape hatch required, right?
But seriously: Maybe this could be a new life rule. Because of instead of working bleary-eyed through the weekend and diligently ignoring the big birthday in the middle of it, I sipped mezcal, ate all the tacos (also panuchos, tostatas, flautas), the actual nectar of the gods (not just a saying, apparently), ate fruit in every color of the rainbow, wandered old streets, saw ancient ruins, and ate a tlacoyo that had been kneaded from blue corn masa right in front of me minutes before, and was back in time to take the kid to school and resume my chaos exactly where I left it on Tuesday morning. I’m a lucky, lucky human.
This is where I’m supposed to recreate the pulpo tostata that might have alone been worth the airfare. We should really talk about the thin, red sopas you’d finish with lime, the salsas at all of the taco stands (no two alike and all less about screaming heat than they are about nuanced flavor), the way the guys throw corn tortillas all over the simmering meat and then one by one, use them to scoop it up, creating a glorious mess that you do not dare ask for a fork to eat, the perfect margarita, why aguachiles should be everyone’s new summer dish, plus all of the glorious intersections of eggs, tortillas, avocados and chile sauces, i.e. my happiest food place. This is not the time to talk about hopelessly inauthentic foods such as tortilla chips and cemented with cheese but I fear a weekend in the motherland did nothing to cure me of my craving for weeknight nachos, and thus they happened here first.
You could argue that adding vegetables, seasonal vegetables like blistered sweet corn and charred poblano, no less, to nachos is a violation of the central tenets of baking chips with cheese — i.e. never healthy, never sober. But I’ve been trying to figure out how to pass nachos off for dinner for most of my adult life and if two vegetables and a lot of fresh, salad-y toppings does the trick, if this means we get to have more nachos in our life, and not just at 2am before the regret sets in, well, I think we all win.
Notes From a Weekend In Mexico City: Where we ate and what we did, plus a few tips. Hope you find it helpful. (You should go!)
One year ago: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie
Two years ago: Valerie’s French Chocolate Cake
Three years ago: Bowties with Sugar Snaps, Lemon and Ricotta
Four years ago: Chocolate Swirl Buns
Five years ago: Rich Homemade Ricotta
Six years ago: Crushed Peas with Smoky Sesame Dressing and Chocolate Doughnut Holes
Seven years ago: Pickled Sugar Snap Peas, Springy Fluffy Marshmallows and Spanikopita Triangles
Eight years ago: Dead Simple Slaw + 6 Heat Wave Reprieves and Pistachio Petit-Four Cake
Nine years ago: Strawberry Tart
And for the other side of the world:
Six Months Ago: Eggnog Waffles + A Few Favorite Things
1.5 Years Ago: Jelly Doughnuts and Endives with Oranges and Almonds
2.5 Years Ago: Eggnog Florentines and Linzer Torte
3.5 Years Ago: Cashew Butter Balls
4.5 Years Ago: Peppermint Hot Fudge Sauce
Corn and Black Bean Weeknight Nachos
- 2 ears corn, husked
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 large poblano
- Nonstick spray or 2 teaspoons oil
- 2 generous cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated monterey jack cheese
- 2 generous cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated cheddar cheese
- 1 12-ounce bag tortilla chips, the thicker the better
- Thinly sliced jalapeno (1 used 1/2 a big one)
- Thinly sliced radishes (I used 2 medium)
- 1/2 a white onion, minced (you can toss it with a little lime juice and salt to lightly pickle it, if desired)
- Handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- Diced tomatoes
- Shredded lettuce
- Sliced avocado
- Lime wedges
- Hot sauce
Assembly
Toppings
Over a gas flame or on a grill over high heat, char corn all over until at least half the kernels are blistered, and poblano until skin is blackened. Let both cool slightly then cut the corn kernels from the cob. Remove the skin and seeds from the poblano and cut it into very thin ribbons. (For a large one, you might only use half.)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat your largest baking sheet with foil (which I did not, and wish I had) and lightly coat it with oil. Arrange 1/3 of chips on tray and sprinkle 1/3 of corn, black beans, poblano strips and cheese over it. Repeat twice. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted and blistered all over. Use this time to prep your toppings.
When nachos are cooked, you can sprinkle a few toppings over (I used the jalapeños, radishes, tomatoes, onion, cilantro and avocado) or just bring everything to the table and let everyone fix their own.
Ahh i saw that you were away on Instagram and couldn’t wait for the food inspiration that was going to come from the trip. When is the second book coming out?!
Let’s say I wanted to add something like….ground beef & chorizo mixture ….would that work with this?
NO THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE. Just kidding, knock yourself out. Cooking is not baking, it doesn’t have to be precise so do whatever you want.
ha ha yes, It’s nacho’s you can add anything you like.
We love nachos for dinner and I always load them full of veggies to justify it as a dinner dish. Have not tried to char my corn or add charred poblano. Must try this immediately!!!
Just an FYI for easy, non stick nacho making we like the non-stick Reynolds foil or our jumbo roll of Costco parchment paper. So easy to clean up. Like it never happened. Plus you can pick up all the little frico cheese bits that sizzled on the pan!
Ok, but just as long as you come back with the pulpo tostada at some point, right? But in the meantime these will do, oh yes, — these nachos will do VERY nicely. Summer recipes: yes ma’am.
Please please please recreate anything and everything else you ate on the trip!
Site redesign – please don’t take away the print button!
I didn’t know that I wanted to visit Mexico City until this very moment. Also, I have also been trying to figure out a way to make nachos an acceptable dinner since college, so thanks for legitimizing this for me!
I met you briefly at a book signing in DC a few years ago and told you how I discovered your blog while living in Mexico City for a year. You told me how much you wanted to visit Mexico City and it was just such a sweet interaction. I loved meeting you. I’m so glad you got the chance to visit this vibrant city! And that you are encouraging others to visit. Much of my family lives there and I love it, but so many people have expressed some fear of visiting the city. Thank you for highlighting the food and color and beauty!
Marisol — !! I remember meeting you, and thank you. I can’t believe I’ve been yammering about wanting to go for so long. Glad he got the hint. ;)
I think that loaded nachos are quite legitimate for dinner. When I’m in the U.S., if I’m forced to eat someplace other than a Mexican restaurant, I will order nachos for dinner, because you can almost always at least find nachos.
Since Cinco de Mayo landed on a French holiday this year, we threw a fiesta (even though it’s a celebration of the victory of Mexican forces over the French, but anyway….). I am proud to say I introduced two dozen neighbors to Mexican food. They were scared–it’s unfamiliar, isn’t it spicy?–but I put the jalepenos on the side and held back on the chilis. We most definitely ate loaded nachos, among other things. Beans, carne asada, tomatoes, olives, oh, lots and lots of things. Guac on the side. Huge hit. There’s no Mexican restaurant in Carcassonne, so they didn’t know any better. The only hiccup: no fresh corn tortillas. I made flour ones, though, but used, gulp, industrial ones.
There is so much goodness in this recipe, I almost feel better by looking at it (and I didn’t even take a bite!). I have to try this!
Throw some cooked ground turkey with taco seasoning on that and you have a meal!
Perfection….and Happy !st Birthday Anna!!
Your Mexico escape looks great! I am currently hooked on any and all sheet pan dinners and I think we can all consider nachos in that category. Have you tried using parchment paper to line your sheet pans? Easy clean up and a bit more environmental. Thanks for constantly inspirational cooking. I don’t know how you do it and I’m in awe.
Looks like a fun trip for you guys! But why are those Mexican plates you’re eating off of covered in plastic, please?! And HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WEE ADORABLE GINGER-HAIRED PERELMAN!!!
You remain one of my top resources for tasty (accessible) food. The family and I will be recreating this tomorrow for dinner.
I’m not sure if I’m missing something but your Mexico trip guide section seems to be missing a link (or maybe it’s just me).
Sometimes I think you are a witch and you can read my mind to see what I want to cook next!
Ahhh, if only I can takeoff like that. Go you! Can’t wait for the new cookbook.
Deb, this would fit nicely in your “Put a Fried Egg On It” category, making it a lovely middleground between chilaquiles and huevos rancheros. Happy birthday to all!
Site redesign?! But I love your site just as it is! If anything, please don’t take away your “Surprise me!” button, it is my favorite thing. Also, thank you thank you for not having a bunch of ads on your site which always seem to make sites run reaaaaally slow. Happy Birthday!
How has it been a year? Happy Birthday, Anna!
Lucky you! As far as I’m concerned a significant other could take me away to the next town for my birthday and I would be happy! Mexico City, what a dream! Lovely Anna has delighted us for a YEAR already??( Almost!) and Jacob will now have another year of school under his belt? How can these things be happening so fast?
Must make nachos and ponder the speed of life with them and a beer!
Gahh, how do you do anything but play with those curls? She is just the cutest, along with her big brother
We almost went to Mexico City for a recent anniversary trip – stopped by an expired passport and a blown-out knee – but I really want to go, too! 20+ years ago we went to Michoacan and fell in love with (real) Mexican food (I was already a little in love with Rick Bayless). So I get that infatuation with the holy intersection of avocado, chiles, eggs, fresh cheese, corn… gah! Thanks for posting your food-notes on the trip – I am bookmarking this for our next big trip!
Happy birthday to BOTH OF YOU!
I’ve been feeding my family nachos for dinner regularly for years. The secret to the lack of guilt is that I use unsalted chips (Que Pasa makes some). Canned refried beans are healthy too, very few ingredients, nothing unpronounceable.
I’m so excited that you got to visit DF! As a Mexican-American, I can’t wait to see your spin on all the aforementioned dishes :) also, if I could make one respectful request, could you reconsider the ‘Tex-Mex’ label? If not, no big deal, just thought I’d ask!
I’ve never heard of justifying nachos for dinner, but that could be because my mom used to have nacho parties every Friday where she’d only serve nachos and margaritas. She even met my dad at one of her nacho parties.
And if you have one nearby, I’ve had the best luck finding amazing tortilla chips at Mexican grocery stores, especially ones that make their own tortillas. Hopefully that’s not just a California thing (because it’s definitely not a NZ thing).
So happy that Mexico City is thriving again. My mom spent her (2nd marriage) honeymoon there over Christmas on her way to Cancun in ’74 you can only imagine how wonderful. But my husband had a Client in MC maybe 8-10 years ago? They had big cars & body guards, and he just an accountant, not for the Mafia. Glad times are like a clock, swing back.
This counts as dinner in my book! The corn is one of those ideas that seems so obvious now that it’s right in front of my that I find myself thinking “why didn’t I think of that”? :)
This recipe arrived at just the right moment. Two ears of corn, tons of tortilla chips left over from a party, grated cheese from same, and cilantro going nuts in the garden. Thank-you, thank-you for another wonderful idea!
Did you have pozole? We had life changing pozole in Zihua.
Leigh — No, we ran out of time. However, it sounds odd but the best pozole I’ve had (in this country at least) is that from the North Fork Table & Inn food truck. A few miles from Mexico City, though. :)
My vegetarian daughter (who lives on Mexican food) made us Nachos for dinner this week. She seasons black and pinto beans then blackens peppers and onions, like for fajitas. Delish! Charred corn would be good, too!
Love Mexico but have never ventured out of the Yucatan region. Would really like to see Mexico City
Thank you. I am vegetarian, living with a meat eater. I like meals that we can fix and eat together. He can add his charred steak, and be happy. It is difficult to make separate meals.
Dear Deb, I’ve been following your site for years now and really appreciate the great (vegetarian) recipes and photos. I’ve tried a lot of new great things thanks to you. I never comment, but hearing you about a redesign for the site I would like to make suggestion for a change that would be very helpful to me (and I think others too): some sort of marking of comments that shows who actually tried the recipe. Often 90 percent of the comments are nice but not very relevant (‘omg this looks so good!’,’where did you get those plates?’, ‘my way of making this dish is like this’), while the few people who tried your recipe help to alert me to what may go wrong in varying conditions and what I shoud pay attention to, and whether the recipe is a hit with most who try it. It would be really great if people could check a box to indicate this. Hope such a feature can be included!
I’m pretty sure I could subsist strictly on these nachos — for at least a week. Then, I might need a margarita!
Hope you had a very Happy Birthday away. This really is a feast for the eyes. i have not eaten nachos in years so this really makes me want to have a Mexican fiesta.
I can get fresh corn, but don’t have a grill to char it. How should I prepare the corn?
Alice — If you don’t have a gas stove you can char it over the flame of (this is what I usually do), you could run it under the broiler. Or skip it if it’s too much work. Corn is good either way, even if I do love it here a little torched.
I, too, have been wondering how I could have nachos for dinner. And then, I did it and had a perfect margarita to go with it. It’s totally more healthy if I add lots of veggies. :) Hooray for nachos! I know what’s for dinner tonight!
Also, Happy (belated) Birthday!! (from one Gemini to another) :)
DF is such a special place! You barely scratched the surface. That’s good, you can return again and again, for the food , for the culture, for the art, for the people. Viva Mexico
Deb I am SO excited for all your new projects and I am especially excited for a legit reason to say nachos are for dinner :) I am looking forward to making these next weekend!
I have to say that I truly love your blog. Funny, warm, enlightening, and a window into what sounds like an absolutely lovely joy filled life. You remind your readers of all kinds of happy things and make everything around cooking (and perhaps life in general) seem so much simpler. A truly delicious (in every sense of the word) read. Thank you for all you do :) xo
Since I discovered your web site a few years back, I’ve stopped looking in my other cookbooks. I go to your site first because of the photos, the step by step directions with humor, and the references to your family–and great recipes! I especially like that you give alternatives for ingredients–or give “permission” to leave out an ingredient altogether.
Looking forward to you next book!
This looks like a fun dish to try and make. Thanks for sharing this :-)
Site redesign? I say keep the “surprise me” button. I have no complaints about the current design but I’m looking forward to seeing what new things unfold. Thanks so much for helping me feel inspired about food. Your humor and delicious recipes help make the world a better place.
I heartily agree with Isory regarding her re-design idea: I really appreciate reading comments pertaining to the actual prep of the recipe and would love a way to quickly scan through the very long lists of comments in order to find relevant and helpful tips. They could be highlighted, check marked, or something else that would allow them to stand out (just as your replies stand out because they are shaded). Sometimes I’m looking up a recipe at 5:30pm… when there’s no time to take a leisurely stroll/read through the 100s of comments but when I’d still very much appreciate the ability to read a few pertinent ones. Thanks!
Oh, and one more thought: I would love the option to print a recipe that included just one representative photo at the top. Perhaps this could be an option? And you would just designate what that photo would be (in general, your first photo of every post would work really well).
hurrah for double bdays! Would love to get to Mexico one day #longWayFromAustralia Loving the nachos – all that colour.
The Hungry Mum — Someone on our food tour was from New Zealand! But yes, what a trek.
Ooh I agree with Isory about how it would be helpful if the comments could be marked to show who has actually tried the recipe! Also, being able to reply to comments directly would be wonderful and further facilitate the wonderful community among SK readers :) Can’t wait to see the new look!
I love your idea of using radishes as a topping. These nachos are beautiful!
Your weekend sounds fantastic! Short trips are sometimes the best. Likewise, these nachos. Yum.
Ahh. Mexico City, my heart my stomach. BTW, never apologize for serving nachos for dinner. I believe it deliciously serves up all the major food groups in one dish.
Thanks for making my nachos-for-dinner-dreams come true! Cant wait for book #2!
I’m jealous that you went to Mexico City – the food sounds amazing. I’m especially wishing we had more mescal in Puerto Morelos (where we decided to spend last weekend). The Nacho’s look amazing, will have to try those, tonight though it is black bean confetti salad for us Love your site, keep it up and can’t wait for the new cookbook!
I’m going to Mexico City by myself in early 2017, SO EXCITED, and very grateful for your review and links. I’ll be there for ten days and hope to take a couple of cooking lessons–if anybody has any recommendations, I’d be glad to hear about them.
Off to make nachos for an early Sunday supper, with lots of roasted corn!
Do you have a cheese grater to recommend? I always want my cheese to be coarsely granted but have not found a tool for the perfect size, yet.
Emily — I’ve been using this box grater forever and use it for this. I also use the grating blade on my food processor (quite coarse that way).
This was dinner last night and, oh, what a delicious one! Your pictures have me dreaming of visiting Mexico… And pulpo tostada? That I need to try. I’m Galician and we love our pulpo.
Also, how can your little one almost be one?!? Oh man, time does fly.
I made two small batches of these this weekend. I would recommend parchment paper (batch #2) instead of foil to line your sheet pan. Too much cheese stuck to the foil in the first batch.
You captured the flavors of one of my favorite places so aptly. Thank you! Many Mexicans rinse raw white onion with cold water to de-flame them. It makes them less harsh, but still tasty. I now do this with all raw white onion, whether for guacamole or chicken salad.
Your delightful charmer with the best-colored curly hair is turning ONE already? Amazing! (Y’all need to patent her hair!)
And, speaking of amazing… I love your take on adding veggies to Nachos! Will try this recipe soonish!
Denise — May I ask why? I tend to use it for hybrid, inauthentic Mexican food and was basically told that neither nachos or tortillas chips the way we eat them existed in Mexico City.
Re, redesign comments — Thank you! It means a lot that you’re invested enough to have ideas for the new look. The good part is that I have been diligently noting everyones concerns about the design for years (I likely listen better here than I do to my own husband or kids, heheh) so (crossing my fingers) there’s absolutely nothing that’s a concern that could be addressed that we haven’t. Here are a few I can comment on:
Re, printing the recipe so that a photo appears — This was something we ran into a time limitation on. I had hoped for a button that would give you a “Print with photo” or “Print without photo” option but it just couldn’t be built before we need to launch. We will look into it post launch. For now, the printing will default to no-photo because I think by default it should use less toner, not more.
Re, sorting comments by who has made the recipe and who has not — This is something the amazing designers were able to build. You’re going to be the guinea pigs on this; it’s not like it existed on another site so they built it from scratch but you will have a chance to check “I’ve made this!” or “I have a question!” when you leave a comment and when you go to a recipe, you’ll be able to just view ones in those categories or the general list of all comments, and also ones left by people who checked neither. I hope we’ll find this to be helpful. We’ll also have threaded replies. And (I mean, to me this is just beyond amazing), they were able to keep the comment URLs intact, so in times where I’ve linked to specific comment, it should still work. I abhor broken links.
“Surprise me!” button — Will be even easier to find, even on mobile. I’d never get rid of it!
Print button — Will be easier to find and will also work as a Ctrl-P browser function, as it should have this whole time, but apparently hasn’t. (This is why you don’t let bloggers design their own websites unless they actually know what they’re doing.)
I’ve been adding radishes to more meals of late. I like the fresh, peppery crunch. I have not tried them with nachos – yet! Thanks for the recipe!
New Book! Redesign! How exciting!?! can’t wait :)
God, I love nachos! (:
Is this sacrilegious? —Trader Joe’s makes a fantastic roasted corn, found in the frozen section. Bet you could toss that on straight from the freezer if you need to skip a step!
You have truly read my mind with these nachos. Totally trying this soon! Gorgeous.
Oh my gosh. I am pregnant right now. Can you imagine how good this looks to me? The problem is, I cannot bear to prepare food. I will have to find someone to pull this together. Because I NEEED it!
Hey Deb, if you’re missing salsas, I’d recommend looking for Nakanoke and Sons, which I think can be found at Miscelanea NY on 4th St. These are not too spicy (but very tasty!) chipotle and morita salsas that are very thick and almost like adobo, and they’re made by a couple of hipsters from La Roma with a penchant for Mexican-Asian fusion. If you went to Mercado Roma or Catamundi (in Polanco) you might have tasted them. Or, we can send you some Pasilla Oaxaqueño chiles! Great to know that you liked DF :)
Re: Charring without a gas stove: I’ve had good success charring corn kernels cut off the cob in a dry cast iron skillet, heated on high for several minutes. Dump the corn in and essentially let it sit without stirring for a few minutes and it should char almost as nicely as over an open flame.
Those are some seriously intense looking nachos. Really, any time you can put huge hunks of avocado on anything, it’s a win-win.
I’ve added every thing needed for this to my grocery list. But how do you serve this? The melted cheese in the 3 layers would surely make it semi-homogeneous. Do you cut it in squares? Dip it out with a serving spoon?
I’m excited for the re-design – sounds like it’s going to be terrific!
I have made these four times now and there is no wrong way to do it!!!
so excited for your new book deb :) Will you be doing another book tour (with a stop in canada I hope?)
I so exited to read this article. i like eating vegetables. Full of veggies to justify as a best and awesome dish.this loaded nachos are quite legitimate for dinner. I liked it very much. Keep sharing such good posts.
Made these for dinner last night and they were fantastic — added bell peppers to the baked portion, and garnished with radishes, scallions, lettuce and Greek yogurt. Wish we’d thought to get avocado and cilantro!
If I made it again, I’d use two poblanos and more corn and beans, which were so delish.
The un-garnished leftovers reheated really well in the toaster oven — made my coworkers jealous!
Didn’t see a comments section on the Mexico City post, but which hotel did you stay at and would you recommend it? Thanks in advance!
I made this last week with only a few minor substitutions.Poblanos are unobtainable, (as far as I’m aware), in New Zealand, so I pan fried a couple of red capsicum with a couple of sliced onions, and a good shake of chile flakes. I let them cook until they were pretty well caramelised. It’s also the middle of winter here, so fresh corn was out, but frozen corn kernels thrown onto a hot cast iron pan charred up just fine.
It was probably crazy to make this in winter, but the photo just kept calling to me. My (young adult) daughter had rung to say that she was going to come home for the night, and that she was bringing a couple of friends for dinner and a sleepover, and by the way, one of them was vegetarian. I thought that that was a great excuse to make this recipe, even if avocados are $5 each at the moment.
This nacho combo is insanely delicious, ranking it up there with your sheet-pan chicken tikka, as a Smitten Kitchen top 10
P.s. my no.1 is your spicy popcorn!
Nice refresh on your site even though the older one was perfect in my mind! Read your tips, etc on Mexico City trip but do tell about the accommodations! I do want to go, thanks!
Please don’t take away the Search bar. Can’t live without it.
As a Texan who loves nothing more than to riff off Mexican recipes by adding queso and a Dos XX, my secret to weeknight nachos is spreading refried beans on every.single.chip. Refried black beans, refried charro beans, homemade refried – it makes a difference!
I don’t think the chips I used were thick enough – do you have brand recommendations? Ours turned out pretty soggy. I liked the toppings a lot, though – I think next time I would just do what we usually do, which is use a single layer of chips and toppings and broil them. Much quicker cooking time, and they don’t get soggy.
Mission tortilla strips are hella salty but totally sturdy and much beloved in my house and would work well here, I think.
TJ’s “Restaurant Style” White corn tortilla chips are on the sturdy side (for tortilla chips). While I prefer a low salt chip, especially if the dip/toppings have salt, I haven’t found a sturdy enough tortilla chip that fits the bill.
i agree and they have a hint of lime
Had these for dinner tonight – phenomenal! I had some leftover grilled chicken, too :).
This is perfect second-trimester food! Enough vegetables to feel virtuous and enough cheese and crunch to satisfy the junk food craving. I topped it with pickled jalepenos, tomatillo salsa, and a few dollops of sour cream to preempt heartburn in addition to the suggested radishes, onions and avocado. Heavenly!
Nachos for dinner? Still grown up territory. Add an egg and call them breakfast! PS: I love your site.
I prefer to eat my food rather than wear it. In this recipe if you pick up a chip most of the ingredients will fall off and you end of with a heap of ingredients. You’re not getting to taste the flavors and textures together. I make my own beans with corn and jalapenos, warm and serve the toppings on the side so you can add what you like. Also I prefer thinner tortilla chips.
Thanks for great information,Really this post is interesting,I always appreciate such type of posts, I think the work done by the author is really great.
This was great! My husband turned to me halfway through and said, “Where did this idea come from?” I responded, “I’m going to give you one guess.” And he just looked at me and finally said, “We eat like kings because of smitten kitchen.” So true!
This was so awesome! And so fast! And so versatile! I will make this regularly! I didn’t have corn (actually, I bought corn and pepper for this recipe, but forgot that it was for the recipe, and ate it earlier in the week haha), but it was still delicious!
I’ve made this a few times now. I can never get poblano’s in Australia so I just leave them out. Tonight I added leftover smoked brisket that i sauted in your brisket sauce to the top. So versatile, and delicious.
What a fun dinner :) Since corn is not exactly in season in January, I took a bag of frozen corn and put it on the sheet pan under the broiler for a few minutes until it was charred. Worked great. Hubby liked this so much he had to walk away from the table to stop eating more. Would be a great party dish.
P.S. I added some soy chorizo that was in the fridge. Sauteed it in a nonstick pan, added the crumbles to the layers with the beans, et al. It was a nice addition.
Yessssss! I am going to do this next time!
Another shortcut that worked well: use canned roasted green chilies instead of the poblano. It does not taste quite the same, however it was pretty good. When you are looking for a super-quick, tasty party snack (or even dinner), it’s a good enough substitute.
Also, TJ’s has roasted frozen corn. I can’t recall if they have it all the time, or if it’s one of their seasonal products. As long as it’s not frozen when you use it (perhaps put it in the microwave, then pat dry with some paper towels–you really don’t want the frozen water on the corn melting on the chips and making them soggy).
While using the fresh ingredients undoubtedly creates a superior product, these shortcuts can make it possible to whip up these nachos in a pinch (think–unexpected guests, kid’s friends looking to raid the fridge/pantry).
This was easy and delicious! I can’t wait to make it again!!
I make this pretty regularly; as far as how many it serves, I serve five hearty eaters and we always have left overs which can reheat well in the toaster oven or regular oven.
The biggest hassle is skinning the roasted peppers, other than that it is pretty quick to pull together.
We just made these with a few alterations! We subbed purple sweet potatoes that we mandolined and baked to create a healthy ‘chip’ then used red peppers as opposed to the poblano (couldn’t locate a poblano). Followed the recipe besides that and added grilled chicken. This was so delicious!!
Though I have followed, loved, and shared the gospel of SK for many years, this is somehow my first comment. And it is to share the teachings of a nacho fiend/friend who first layers refried beans on her chips under the black beans; the double bean combination is both delicious and helps to create an adhesive sandwich between refried beans and cheese for those pesky roll-away whole beans. These and other goodies are heaped on Tostitos restaurant style chips which resist sogginess and to me are the ideal nacho chip. (Thank you Deb for inspiring me to make nachos tonight which I imagine will be a combination of yours and my friend’s recipes!)
Very excited to make this for the Super Bowl! I love following you and your insta. Also about to read your Mexico City post. I whisked my husband there for 24 hours as a birthday surprise so interested to compare notes!
Strong feelings about eating seasonally. Here we are in late January. What would you suggest?
Avocado totally…..and some citrus to grace on the side, love orange slices w/Mexican food. And? ??? Thinking perhaps some sweet potatoes/winter squash. What do y’all thinks?n
Any of those would work.
I had some leftover ground beef taco meat and caramelized onions so added these to the nachos. Delicious! (Forgot to line the sheet pan with foil, though.)
This is one of our favorite meals. My five year old calls it “nach-woes.” A couple of tips to speed up the prep: I use canned green chilies instead of poblanos (after a memorable instance with a randomly super hot poblano that resulted in tears from the aforementioned five year old – sorry, Buddy!), and Trader Joe’s sells frozen roasted corn.
I like the idea of being able to read comments from people who have actually TRIED the recipe rather than simply giving you (well deserved) praise. There are simply too many comments to read through them all but I often find theQ&A about the recipe itself quite helpful.
I would like all recipes to include measurements in METRIC and generic names of prepared/canned/jarred ingredients rather than brands – since American brands aren’t available where I live ( for example: gelatine rather than Jello).
You can view all comments or just comments from people who have made the recipe [“I made this!” tab] or have a question [“Question” tab] by choosing the tab you prefer at the top of the comment section. There are few metrics here because not a lot needs to be weighed; most ingredients are to taste. However, 8 ounces = 225 grams. No brand names are listed.
We loved this. Added chorizo and jarred jalepenos (instead of fresh) along with the corn and beans. Used spring onions instead white onions on top. So easy!
Oh yum! We lived in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico for 3 years and my favorite things to eat were fresh tortillas smeared with butter, fresh salsa, bollios with unsalted Mexican butter and fresh papaya served with slices of lime.
And now I’m going to go make some nachos for our dinner!
I stumbled across this recipe yesterday just in time for the Super Bowl. Made it and it was a big hit! My only feedback is that it only needed about 5-7 minutes in the oven, but I suppose that might be because my oven is especially hot. Love the roasted corn! Thank you.
Made this tonight-half batch for me and husband. It was more than enough. Loved the layers (I made 2) because everything sticks together! Mine was done in 5 minutes which was great, maybe because I made a smaller batch and only 2 layers. We both loved it!
This is my second Super Bowl making these, and they are a hit. This time, I picked the onions, which I think gave it a nice boost. Love the radishes!