It’s Monday and I’m throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes you have to start the week out with a bang to make the weight of the long week ahead a little more bearable, you know? 😅 I had a couple leftover jalapeños in my fridge as well as a small batch of pickled red onions, so I thought that was a great excuse to make some nachos (naturally). Anyway, ever since discovering how a few minutes in a hot oven can elevate crunchy tacos to a heavenly level, I’ve wanted to try the same with nachos. These Spicy Baked Black Bean Nachos proved my suspicions correct and today I’m in nacho heaven. Watch out Tuesday, I’m comin’ for ya!
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Nacho Topping Options
Obviously you can put whatever toppings on your nachos that you like, but if you haven’t tried pickled red onions yet, you’re missing out. Their sweet-tart-salty flavor really adds zing to the nachos.
A light drizzle or dollop of creamy sour cream balances the pickled red onions and the heat of the black bean mixture. If you’re feeling extra extravagant, I highly suggest turning your sour cream into lime crema for even more flavor (lime crema recipe here).
Oh, and if you do fresh jalapeños like I did below, the trick is to slice them super-SUPER thinly. That way you get flavor and heat without burning your mouth off. Fresh pico de gallo is also fabulous!
If you want to add meat to your nachos, I highly suggest our Carnitas recipe! Ground beef with taco seasoning would also be an easy win.
Tips for Success with Baked Black Bean Nachos
When it comes to baking nachos, there are three main tips to success:
- Use really thick, hearty chips. No “thin and crispy” for this dish. They need to stand up to layers of toppings and oven baking without burning.
- Line your baking sheet or suffer the consequences (difficult clean-up). I like parchment because it doesn’t reflect heat and reduces the chance of burning, but foil will also work.
- It’s all about the layers. Layer your chips, bean mixture, and cheese for the best chip-to-topping ratio. No one likes getting a chip with no toppings or so many toppings that you can’t lift your chip.
Let’s go start this week off right, shall we?
Spicy Baked Black Bean Nachos
Servings 4Ingredients
SPICY BLACK BEAN MIXTURE
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 small onion ($0.32)
- 1 10oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles ($0.99)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($1.00)
- 1/2 tsp chipotle powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
NACHOS
- 8 oz. sturdy corn tortilla chips ($1.50)
- 4 oz. cheddar, shredded* ($1.00)
- 1 Roma tomato ($0.32)
- 1 jalapeño ($0.12)
- 1/3 cup pickled red onions ($0.24)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro ($0.25)
- 1/4 cup sour cream ($0.37)
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion. Add the olive oil and onion to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft and transparent (about 5 minutes). Drain, but do not rinse the black beans, allowing some of the starchy liquid to remain coating the beans. Add the beans and diced tomatoes with chiles (not drained) to the skillet, along with the chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Stir and simmer the mixture until it thickens and liquid no longer pools on the bottom of the skillet (about 10 minutes).
- Begin preheating the oven to 350ºF. Shred the cheddar cheese, finely dice the Roma tomato, thinly slice the jalapeño, and chop the cilantro.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Spread a layer of tortilla chips over the baking sheet in a single layer, trying not to overlap the chips. Spoon about half of the black bean mixture over the chips, then sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over top. Repeat with one more layer of chips, black beans, and cheese.
- Bake the chips, beans, and cheese for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and the chips are just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges. Remove the nachos from the oven and add a drizzles or dollops of sour cream over top. Sprinkle the diced tomato, sliced jalapeño, pickled red onions, and chopped cilantro over top.
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Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Baked Nachos – Step by Step Photos
Start by preparing the spicy black bean mixture. Finely dice one small onion and sauté it in a large skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil until the onions are soft and transparent (about 5 minutes).
Add one 15 oz. can black beans (mostly drained, not rinsed), one 10 oz. can petite diced tomatoes with green chiles (not drained), 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Rotel is probably the most popular brand of diced tomatoes with chiles, but I found these Red Gold tomatoes that were less expensive. If you can’t find diced tomatoes with chiles, you can either do plain petite diced tomatoes, or get a can of petite diced tomatoes and a small 4 oz. can of diced green chiles separately. Just make sure they’re PETITE diced so that you don’t have large chunks of tomatoes.
Simmer the mixture until the liquid thickens and no longer pools on the bottom of the skillet. You want it to be thick and goopy and not too wet because that can soften your chips.
Begin preheating your oven to 350ºF and prepare your cold toppings so that they’re ready to go on top immediately when the nachos come out of the oven. Thinly slice one jalapeño, finely dice one Roma tomato, and chop a handful of cilantro. Also shred 4 oz. of cheddar cheese. (The pickled red onions and sour cream don’t need any prep).
Begin to layer the nachos. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil (preferably parchment) and then spread out one layer of chips over the sheet so that they are touching but not overlapping too much.
Spoon half of the bean mixture over the first layer of chips, then sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over top. Follow that up with one more single layer of chips, the second half of the bean mixture, and the second half of the cheese. Perfect chip-to-topping ratio! :)
Bake the nachos in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and the tips of the chips are just barely starting to turn golden.
Immediately top the baked chips with a little sour cream, the sliced jalapeños, diced tomatoes, chipped cilantro, and pickled red onions. Perfect!
And that’s it!! Super fast and easy, and guaranteed to make your Monday a little better. ;)
Love baked nachos? Check out our Breakfast Nachos!
I accidentally bought a can of Green Chiles instead of the tomatoes with Chiles. Turned out great. Personally I’d do 375° or so next time. Also the beans/chiles took way longer to cook down than 1 minutes, and the nachos took way longer than 5-7 minutes as the recipe was stated. Otherwise a very good recipe.
This recipe is the best! I’m making it again for the millionth time and I just had to say something to you and say thank you for this recipe! I can never get over how simple it is, but how amazing it is! I recommend this recipe to everyone!
My 14 year old made these last night.
They were delicious and he was really proud to have made a meal we enjoyed.
Simple, fresh and my serve was easy to veganise by switching it up with vegan cheese and using guacamole instead of sour cream.
These are really good and are our go to nacho recipe! We make them every few weeks. I double some of the seasonings and instead of doing two layers, we just save half the topping and have nachos again in a couple of nights. Double the deliciousness!
Delicious. And it worked well on my Weight Watchers plan. My husband enjoyed too.
We love this easy and quick meal! I accidentally bought smoked cheddar the first time around and have been using it since with this dish for the interesting flavor.
Delicious! I googled what should I make for dinner and came to this recipe and had everything on hand. Super tasty and all 7 of us liked it!
My husband, who’s of hispanic/native american origin, will not eat black beans. Boo! What can I use instead…pinto beans?
Absolutely! Or kidney beans or white beans. XOXO -Monti
I’ve made these nachos more times than I can count over the past 4 years. They are always a hit with my husband, neighbors, family, and anyone else I’ve served them to. I make them as directed, always keeping the cans of black beans and rotel on hand. They are a great meatless dish that is satisfying for carnivores. I frequently pair this with the cilantro lime ranch from HBH, which is a little more effort than the lime creama on this site but oh so good.
Perfect meatless nachos! Black beans are so good and they have that savory element like meat and also pack an impressive nutrient profile! Can’t wait to try pickled red onions too!
I doubled the cheese, added corn, and left out the pickled red onions, but it turned out delicious!
How much is one serving
Sorry, the number of servings had somehow got deleted from the recipe card. We estimated that this is about 4 servings and the nutrition info is based on that number. That being said, serving size varies from person to person. :)
These nachos are one of our favorite meals! It’s so quick and delicious, the black bean mixture really is incredible. We leave off the pickled red onions, and instead buy a jar of pickled jalapenos and really go to town covering the nachos in them, it makes it a spicy and filling meal.
Best decision I’ve made all year. These were reallllyy good.
We love this meal. It comes together quickly and the presentation always impresses! It feels like a treat every time. I like how it’s not overloaded with cheese, but rather veggies. We followed the recipe closely but used pre-shredded cheese. And we mixed in the juice of half a lime with the sour cream. Yum.
All five adults in our household loved this. As a bonus, several people commented on how visually appealing these were. My meat eaters didn’t miss the meat at all.
We love this! My teenage son and I have enjoyed this since the first time we tried it. So simple and so delicious.
Such a good recipe !!
Yum! Quick, easy, reasonably healthy– and I love the variety of toppings.
I have now made this twice within the past week, and I will no longer make nachos any other way! Easy ingredients and an easy quick recipe, but the pickled red onions really do take the nachos to a different level. My husband begged for the nachos to be made today, and he’s a picky eater! Today I chose to pickle both the red onions and some jalapeño slices. I also did not have a can of diced tomatoes with chiles today, so I used a can of plain diced tomatoes and cooked a diced jalapeño with the onions. It came out really good today as well. Instead of using sour cream, I drizzled nonfat plain greek yogurt on top for a zing. Thank you for a great recipe! I always look forward to trying your recipes.
These were delicious! I added pickled jalapenos and used nonfat greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
Made these for dinner using Doritos, avocado, and hot sauce (which is a staple at our house). Absolutely delicious! Best nachos I’ve ever made, for sure! Will be a regular in our house!! Thank you for the recipe!
Best nachos ever!! I’ve made these a few times and my kids are looking forward to Super Bowl Sunday because I said I’d make these again! The pickled red onions are such a delicious add on, they’ve completely raised the bar for all other nachos – if we ever order nachos out now (rarely!), my family is quick to compare them to these and so far they haven’t measured up! Thank you for a wonderful recipe that I’ve come back to more than once.
So easy, added chorizo that I needed to use up! This will be on repeat.
Oh man that’s going to be an addition next time I make these!
I made these with chili pepper, regular diced tomatoes, no cilantro (not a fan) and added orange pepper with it. Loved the bean base for this dish. Very filling, and different from the classic ground beef nachos I tend to make. As an avid nacho fan, I’m sure I will be making this hearty nacho meal for years to come! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Thank you Kylie!
So freaking delicious!
While oven nachos are great, sometimes they take too long. You can get a lot of the same oomph from “toasting” your chips for about 15 seconds in the microwave before adding toppings. It’s not quite as good but still a big step up from microwave nachos without doing this.
I made this tonight but with a few changes. I added ground beef because my husband is a meat lover, a heaping 1/4 tsp of chili powder, a pinch of sugar and a splash of light beer during simmer. Amazing
Great recipe. I’ve made it 3 times so far and always is a hit with 3 little kids and husband. Could be made vegan with vegan cheese, but I use regular cheese. Tasty. Can be a little spicy, but I tried it with a can of diced petite tomatoes, then a small can of mild green chili’s. Less spicy than using The tomatoes with chili’s.
I had a red pepper, so I sautéed it with the onions. Also added some frozen corn I had in the freezer.
Will become part of our regular rotation.
I wasn’t in the mood to do much prep for dinner. This recipe came through splendidly, and both my husband and I loved it. Super easy and it’s so good that my husband didn’t realize there was no meat until they were already half eaten! I’ll certainly use this recipe again and again.
Can the bean mixture be frozen for future use?
The black bean mixture can, yes. :)
Made these today. Couldn’t find pickled red onions, so whipped them up following the recipe link. Delicious! Followed the lime crema recipe, as well. Great additional layer of flavor! Will definitely make these again.
Definitely making this tonight
I have a can of red beans in my pantry: could I substitute them?
Sure! :)
Made this last night and it was amazing!
Picked red onions sound interesting! And this recipe seems pretty easy too.
I made this recipe for Sunday lunch today. I did not have jalapeños so that’s the only ingredient that my nachos were missing – it’s a 5 star recipe! Hands down! The recipe that my guys will be asking for every Friday night. Thank you!
These were so good! I made as is, with the pickled onions and the lime crema and ate this like it was my last meal.
I’m In LOVEEEE. These are perfect!
This baked bIack bean nachos look delish. would try this recipe this weekend. Thanks for sharing
I LOVE this recipe so much!! Family favorite! Random question – where do you find your pickled onions? I love them and asked everyone at my local HEB with no luck. Also, I subbed in refried black beans and they were fantastic in case you want a way to change them up!!
I saw that you make your own, I’m sorry! Just didn’t know if you could buy them done ;)
I don’t think I’ve ever seen them pre-made in a store, but they’re super easy to make, so you should definitely give it a try. They’re life changing! :)
Will do!! Thanks so much! Do you know how long they keep in the fridge?
Woah these were amazing! I’m so mad I didn’t have any red onions or tomatoes but I subbed it for green onion and some pickled jalapenos. I also added corn, lime juice and chipotle hot sauce to the top of it. Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is very versatile and took very little time to put together after a long day of work. We were out of black beans (I swore I had some!) so I used pintos, my Rotel had expired, so I used a can of petite diced tomatoes, and we used our leftover sour cream and salsa to top it from last week’s taco night. The tip about the cheese was great. This was a recipe we’ve added to the rotation! Thank you!
These were the bomb! Loved them and easy. My hubbie and me devoured them!
These were so good. I made them as-is first, and then did some mods the second time. The black beans mixture is perfect. I’m going to use it for tacos in the future too. Also used the crunchy version of the pickled onions linked to in this post and they were great. Can’t wait to try it with jalapenos. The second time, the changes I made were omitting sour cream and using a cashew-based vegan queso posted on Cookie & Kate recently instead of cheese since I don’t feel too good with a lot of dairy, and I was trying to eat nachos two nights in a row, haha. The queso was rich and delicious, but I think I like the classic cheddar for nachos better. Also added a bunch of roasted broccoli as a topping that second time because it turns out that roasted broccoli is very tasty if not too traditional with nacho toppings. Lastly, added a bunch of roasted chopped Hatch green chile. You can take the girl out of New Mexico…
This was amazing. My spouse, who is often skeptical of meals without meat, told me I had hit it out of the park. Thanks so much for the recipe.
What a great recipe. I’m vegan though, so wouldn’t use the cheese but with a nice vegan cheese this will be delicious. Thanks! Lovely photos too.
I was wondering is there anyway could do a calorie count ?
Beth, Is it possible to use fresh onions instead of pickled? I couldn’t find it
There is a recipe for pickled onion on this site. Beth has a link for it in the opening paragraphs but yes, I’m sure you can use just fresh onions. You just won’t have the extra ‘pickled’ flavor.
Thanks Marion
Yep, you could do any type of onion you like. Sliced green onions would be nice!
We didn’t use the pickled onions and it was still great.
I can not believe how often I read one of your posts and go, “Yep, that’s what I want for dinner”!!
Agreed! This looks so good. The pics though look like my daughters felt play food, so nice looking that it doesn’t even look real. This is going to make the whole family happy.
Oh Beth. How do you know just what I need, just when I need it.
What kind of chips did you use here? Sometimes when I make nachos they end up getting soggy.
They were some cheap brand that only costs $2 per bag. Hahaha
If you’ve got time to make them, I recommend Beth’s recipe, on this site, for baking tortilla chips from bought corn tortillas. The ones I have made taste great and are very sturdy. I may freshly made store brand corn tortillas.
Looks like a fun and satisfying dinner idea :)
I’ll serve it next match day.
Yum!! These look awesome
Yummy!!!! :-)