I'm going to be honest with you- the creation of these vegetarian nachos was not spurred on by the fact there is a rather large football game this weekend. In fact, up until I watched SNL this past weekend, I didn't even know who was playing- we're not big sports ball people (M's term, not mine). Instead, these vegetarian nachos came from this quesadilla and finding that since I made those, I'd been craving the chipotle sweet potato combination. I've also been craving things smothered in cheese and this was my thin attempt at making it healthy.
I tend to say this warning before everything recipe that might look overwhelming but I'll say it again: don't let the list of ingredients overwhelm you here, the recipe actually comes together with some ease. You can also make the sweet potato/black bean/cilantro mixture ahead of time and simply make the cheese sauce when you're ready to serve. While these would make a great appetizer, M and I have also been known to make a dinner out of these (perfect for movie night!) These vegetarian nachos are veg and gluten-free friendly, but if you want to take it the extra mile and make them vegan, Laura's butternut queso would put these over the top.
PrintChipotle Sweet Potato Vegetarian Nachos
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 1½ cups ¼" cubed sweet potatoes (1 medium sweet potato)
- 1 chipotle
- 2 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Juice from one lime
- ½ cup black beans, drained and rinsed if using canned
- Gremolata
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 clove garlic
- Zest from one lime
- Cheese Sauce
- 3 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 6 tablespoons-¾ cup 2% or whole milk
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- To Serve
- 6 to 8 servings worth of tortilla chips
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in skillet. Add onions and let cook until onions begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Next, stir in sweet potatoes and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- In a mortar and pestle, combine the chipotle, adobo sauce, honey, and lime juice. Break apart the chipotle into small pieces (alternatively, you can cut up the chipotle.) Pour into the pan with the sweet potatoes and reduce the heat to medium-low.Cook until sweet potatoes have softened, 10-15 minutes. Stir in black beans and cook until warm.
- To make gremolata, mince the cilantro leaves and place in a bowl. Using a microplane, grate the garlic on to the cilantro, followed by the lime zest. Toss together and add ¾ of the mixture into the sweet potatoes, stir until well combined.
- In a medium sauce pan, combine cheddar cheese and cornstarch in a small pot. Heat over medium low and stir until cheddar begins to melt. Add 6 tablespoons milk, paprika, and garlic powder, stir until mixture comes together. Add more milk, 1-2 tablespoon at a time, stirring frequently, to reach a pourable cheese sauce, 4 to 5 minutes
- On a platter, place one layer (approximately half) of tortilla chips. Drizzle half the cheese sauce over the chips followed by half the sweet potato mixture. Layer with the remaining tortilla chips, cheese, and sweet potatoes. Finish with the remaining cilantro gremolata and serve hot.
Eileen says
Oh man, does this sound great! I would be all over a huge plate of these nachos. Love the idea of mixing it up with sweet potato!
Natasha says
I thought I may have been unique, but I love dressing sweet potatoes with adobo - the sweetness and the smokiness are a such a solid combination. cheese would only make it better, so these of course sound awesome!
baker_d says
My mouth just spontaneously watered. Nicely done, madame. Very nicely done.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
Oh my, that cheese!! These nachos are gorgeous Erin!
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says
This recipe is making me desperate for nachos!!
Bridget McGahen says
Oh goodness, these look amazing. I want to eat them right now!! I wonder if I could get away with bringing them to the dude party we're going to haha.
Jodi@prairiekuchen says
I'm not a football fan - but will definitely be making these this weekend! They look delicious!
Rebecca @ DisplacedHousewife says
This looks delicious...I can't wait to try the cheese sauce. It looks heavenly!!
Ashley says
Currently in the process of making nachos for the blog. 🙂 These look SO good! Love the sweet tater/bean combo! And hello, that cheese sauce!
truly, Addia says
never tried nachos like this before, looks good! thanks for sharing
http://trulyaddia.wordpress.com
Leigh says
Made these last night for the superbowl. They were ridiculously good looking and tasting. Nacho cheese sauce convert. The potatoes took a bit longer to cook than I wanted. I may have cut them too large, but next time I will probably roast them ahead to get them pre-cooked and a little crispy. The 3 non vegetarians devoured them, too. Definitely repeat worthy.
★★★★★
Mackenzie says
We made this for our Super Bowl festivities, they were to die for.
Valerie says
Yummy complex flavor!
★★★★★
Natalie Tamara says
These just look too good not to try! Sweet potatoes and nachos are always a surprisingly good combo. Love the idea of using a butternut cheese sauce (though in reality I might be too lazy 😉 )
Bethany says
These are awesome nachos! We had them for the first time tonight, which means everyone got to give me a rating of 1-5 after they'd tried some. One kid is too young to rate, one gave them a three because they can't tolerate any spice at all, and the other two kids and adults gave fours and fives. One kid said it was the best form of sweet potatoes they'd ever had and my husband said I'd outdone myself. Thanks for a great recipe!!
★★★★★
Eveline says
I love this recipe. Tried it last night. Thanks for sharing!! Btw your pics look amazing 🙂
Cristina says
We made this for dinner and it was so good. We did not have chips at home, so we baked some from corn tortillas. Will make it definitely again.
★★★★★
Danielle says
There aren’t many recipes that I find that I end up making the exact day that I find them. This was PHENOMENAL and perfectly balanced.
Rather than cooking the sweet potatoes in pan, I ended up roasting them for ~ 30 minutes at 400°. Once they were almost done cooking, I tossed them in the sauce and roasted them for another 10 while I cooked the cheese sauce (drool!!!)
Easily adaptable (sans garlic) for my current low FODMAP journey.
Been making your recipes for years and this one really knocked it out of the park!!