These Vegan Loaded Nachos are piled high with Vegan Queso, Lentil Taco Meat, fresh veggies, and all of the guacamole & salsa you want! Your vegan Tex Mex dreams are about to come true.
Nachos are one of those meals that just hit the spot every time. They are comforting, customizable, flavorful, and filling. Let's dive in!
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's easily customizable! Throw on additional toppings or sauces (like my Roasted Poblano Sauce), or take off what you don't like! Each member of your family can assemble their own perfect plate of nachos.
- It is more nutritious than many traditional nachos! This recipe includes nutrient-dense veggies, protein-packed lentils, and even some whole food fats from the cashew queso.
- It satisfies that Tex Mex craving but is completely nondairy and vegan! There's no reason you can't enjoy a delicious plate of nachos and still stick to your dietary needs!
Key Ingredients
This recipe is highly customizable, so you can really use whichever toppings you'd like. Here are some of the key ingredients we will be using today to make The Best Vegan Loaded Nachos.
- Tortilla chips: the obvious base for our delicious nachos today. You can use whatever brand you'd like here. I usually opt for no-salt-added chips, but totally up to you! Lime flavored tortilla chips are also a fun option.
- Quick Vegan Queso: this acts as our vegan nacho cheese. It's gooey, cheesy, and delicious - but with none of the dairy.
- Vegan Lentil Taco Meat: for our vegan nacho meat of course! This taco meat packs in a ton of umami flavor and complements the bright fresh veggies beautifully.
- Fresh veggies: for some added nutrition, crunch, and flavor!
- Optional toppings: you do you! In my book, I can't go without salsa & guacamole.
How to Make Vegan Loaded Nachos
Steps 1-2: Preheat the oven to 375F. Evenly spread your tortilla chips on a prepared baking tray and bake 5-10 minutes.
Step 3: Assemble your nachos! On each plate, layer tortilla chips, vegan queso, lentil taco meat, fresh veggies, and additional toppings. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- The Quick Vegan Queso is a pretty thick cheese sauce. If desired, stir in a couple extra tablespoons of water to thin it out. This makes it easier to pour when assembling your nachos!
- Ideally you want your chips, queso, and lentil meat to all be warm when assembling! I like to do this by preparing the lentil taco meat and keeping it warm on the stovetop, blending up my vegan queso, popping the tortilla chips in the oven, and then cooking the queso while the chips bake.
Serving Suggestions
- These Vegan Loaded Nachos are filling enough to be a full meal! Serve these for dinner (maybe with a margarita if you're feeling wild), and call it a night!
- Nachos are also a common appetizer option! You can assemble a larger plate of these and serve in the middle of the table for everyone to munch on. This makes a great appetizer or a lighter meal!
Substitutions & Variations
- Nachos are highly customizable, so make any additions or substitutions you'd like! You can add shredded lettuce or sauteed mushrooms, Pico de Gallo, or whatever else you'd like.
- This recipe technically has you pile on your Vegan Queso and your Lentil Taco Meat separately. However, another option is to mix these together on the stovetop (after they are both fully cooked), and then pour them onto your nachos. My husband actually prefers it this way!
- This recipe is especially delicious because nearly everything is made from scratch. However if you want this recipe to be quicker, use a store-bought vegan queso or a store-bought vegan taco meat.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is fully WFPB except for the tortilla chips! If you want to make it fully WFPB, just swap these out for oil-free chips (or even make your own).
To keep everything fresh, store the components separately in the fridge—queso, lentil meat, and veggies in their own containers. When you're ready to enjoy, bake a fresh batch of chips, reheat the queso and lentil meat on the stovetop, and assemble your plate.
This recipe uses my Quick Vegan Queso as the nacho cheese, which has a base of cashews! The cashews blend together really nicely with our other queso ingredients to give us a creamy and delicious dairy-free queso.
Other Vegan Tex Mex Recipes You'll Love
📖 Recipe
The Best Vegan Loaded Nachos
Ingredients
- 8 cups tortilla chips
- 1 recipe Joyful Balance Quick Vegan Queso - (keep warm until you're ready to assemble)
- 1 recipe Joyful Balance Lentil Taco Meat - (keep warm until you're ready to assemble)
- 1 tomato - diced
- 1 jalapeno - finely diced
- ½ small red onion - diced
- ¼ cup cilantro
Optional Additional Toppings
- ¼ cup black olives - sliced
- ¼ cup sliced pickled banana peppers
- squeeze of lime juice
- ¼ cup plain coconut yogurt - (OR vegan sour cream)
- ½ cup salsa
- ½ cup guacamole
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Line a baking tray with a silicone baking sheet or aluminum foil. Spread the tortilla chips evenly on the tray and bake for 5-10 minutes, until warm and slightly crisped.
- Assemble the nachos: divide all the ingredients between 4 plates. On each plate, layer tortilla chips, Quick Vegan Queso, Lentil Taco Meat, fresh veggies, and any other additional toppings you are using. (Note: If your queso is too thick, stir in a few tablespoons of water to thin it out for easier pouring.)Dig in and enjoy!
Notes
Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your nacho-making ways.
Stay joyfully balanced!
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