When it comes to nachos, I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur.
I mean, I grew up in Texas for crying out loud – the HUB of Tex-Mex cuisine (duh), the birthplace of nachos, and locale of all good food. I think those are pretty good stats for naming myself a nacho 
connoisseur, don’t you?
Hello? Hello?
Anyone out there?
Anyway, I love how the culinary community embraces the standard nacho plate, but loves to mix it up a bit. Add some bacon, guac, ranch, fried stuff, whatever, and I’m a happy camper. But when it came to figuring out what to make with some sweet potatoes I bought the other day, the only thing I could think of was adding chili onions and goat cheese. Oh, and black beans for protein.
Obviously protein is something to worry about when you’re making nachos.
Is anyone else seeing that a lot of stuff I’ve made lately is in a desperate attempt to use produce that I bought on a whim and didn’t have a plan for? I’m telling you, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. There are just times that you go to the store and EVERYTHING looks usable and delicious, and I just can’t help myself. Thank goodness I didn’t buy another bunch of bananas. One of these days I’ll just turn into a monkey if I keep that behavior up…
These are actually very healthy (!!!) for you, seeing as how you bake the sweet potato slices to make the chip base of the nachos. If you want to fry them then by all means, but I have this problem with laziness and – well – frying kind of makes a bigger mess to clean up than baking does. At least the way I fry…
GROWN-UP SWEET POTATO NACHOS
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
- 1 large red onion, sliced thinly
- 1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 5 oz goat cheese (feta might work in a pinch too)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup water
Preheat oven to 400. Slice the sweet potatoes into chips, making sure they stay VERY thin – if you have a mandolin that would work fantastically. Spray both sides with cooking spray, lay flat in one layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400, turning halfway through. Remove the chips onto a wire cooling rack and set aside. In a cast iron skillet (or regular skillet) heat the olive oil and onions over medium low heat. Stirring constantly, saute the onions until very soft and starting to caramelize. Add the water, sugar, salt, and chili powder. Bring to a simmer and, stirring constantly, let all of the liquid cook out of the pan.
To assemble, spread the chips on a baking sheet, topped with the chili onions and black beans, then sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Set under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes, then remove. Eat immediately. Die of happiness.
Healthy, not too messy, and delicious…dreams DO come true!
That looks incredible… I’ll have to try it out! I <3 sweet potatoes.
I love sweet potatoes. What a great spin on nachos!
o.m.g. absolutely obsessed with these! Totally making them for my bf this weekend – he will be so happy!!
I want!
these are BEAUTIFUL!!! love the idea. sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods!
LOVE this idea!
Heather this is such a yummy sounding dish and so very healthy. Sounds like me with the shopping scene. Not only do I buy without a plan, I buy all types of veggies as I usually would rather eat out for my kind of veggies(country) that is. Thanks for this terrific feat!!!
Wow! Yum! Those look amazing – I am going to definitely make them once I stock up on sweet potatoes !!!
these look great. I have some sweet potatoes, and I think I’ll make this with them pretty soon 🙂
I think I might need to buy a mandoline just so I can make these! They look delicious!
I grew up in TX too and I think I ate nothing but nachos for a good 2 years.
VERY cool idea! I have sweet potatoes on the counter waiting to be used!
I must, must, must make this. It looks amazing.
I love this alternative to regular nachos! I love the idea of using sweet potato chips!Looks delicious!
Ok, I know this has nothing to do with your post, but I spotted this on the internet and thought of you! Tijuana style hot dogs! They’re wrapped in bacon with jalapenos!! 🙂
google them 🙂
I love you. Seriously. These look great. I’ve been dying for nachos–you know the kind you get at a bar–but I’m trying to eat super clean. I’m definitely making these.
can’t wait to try this one….it looks so good!
fun post and great idea!!
these look awesome and i have sweet potatos about to turn in my cabinet! 🙂 What do you suggest for making them a little bit spicier?
Hmmm…more chili powder, jalapeños, a hit of cayenne, or dried red pepper flakes would all be great!
Those look like perfect nachos to get in the veggies and skip the tortilla chips that I overdose on. And I have two sweet potatoes on my counter ready to use. 🙂
YES! These look SO good! I am more of a sweet potato recipe connoisseur…I’m definitely going to try these!
Well Hells to the YES!
Such an awesome idea!! 🙂
These look so good. I am always thrilled to find a meal that looks to good to be healthy. Thanks for sharing this one.
Wow, these are awesome! I need no further excuse to buy a mandoline!
I need a potato slicer so I can do stuff like that with my sweet potatoes! I always end up with randomly sliced chunks- no matter how good I am with the knife!
omg, why i have not thought of this? Best thing ever….definitely trying this!
Oh wow, what a fabulous idea! I love to come across a recipe like this that would have never crossed my mind – thanks for sharing!
This looks like a perfect snack OR meal for me!
What a great idea! These look super tasty 🙂
ooh, good idea! We love roasting sweet potatoes with chili powder, smoked paprika and garlic, so I can only imagine how good this would be. Sweet potatoes go so well with mexican flavors!
ah those onions! i need them in my life.
Yep. Those about look like something from my dreams. You took all my favorites and made them nachos!!!