These Homemade Vegan Nachos are made with easy guacamole, vegan queso, and all the fixings for a delicious gluten-free party dish. You won’t be able to get enough!
I spend a lot of time at home.
Between running an Airbnb out of my house and working for myself as a food blogger, my two jobs keep me on a very short tether. The amount of time I spend at home can turn even the most home-bodied person (which I am not, by the way) craving the outside world and human interaction something fierce.
In the fall this will change. Most significantly my kids will (finally!) be in school and my blogging schedule will shift to a normal 9-5. I will also start getting my kids every other weekend, rather than just seeing them during the week. This means my time with the littles will be less management and more adventures. I CANNOT wait for this schedule change.
This small change has made a world of difference.
But we aren’t here to talk about the difficulties of an extrovert working for herself. Well apparently I am but you are here for another reason. You are here because you saw something about these pile ’em high homemade vegan nachos and you wanted to get your hands on some.
Am I right?
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
These fully loaded vegan nachos require a handful of ingredients. While I do recommend making the components of these nachos at home for a fresher taste, several of them can be bought at the store when you’re in a hurry.
Here is everything you’ll need.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Tortilla Chips
- Guacamole – I recommend homemade guacamole as it tastes much fresher. All you need is for authentic homemade guacamole is avocado, lime, cilantro, garlic, and salt.
- Vegan Queso – There is a variety of store bought vegan queso available. You can also make your own.
- Black Beans
- Pico de Gallo – Either homemade or store bought.
- Optional Toppings – I like to add green onions, jalapeños, and cilantro. For heartier nachos, add seasoned jackfruit or vegan taco meat.
Recommended Equipment
For this recipe, you will need a saucepot, skillet, basic kitchen utensils, including a chef’s knife, and a high-powered blender. If you are buying store bought queso, you don’t need more than a chef’s knife. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Vegan Nachos
Step One – Cheesy Queso
I think you’re going to love this cheesy queso as much as I do. The base of this queso is made with one of my favorite creamy vegetables, cauliflower. Similar to my Fettuccine Alfredo, the cauliflower is steamed and blended with spices and flavor to create a cheesy, creamy, oh-so-good queso that takes these vegan nachos to the next level.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
To make, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeños and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly brown and fragrant. Remove about half of the onion/jalapeño mixture and set aside.
Leave the other half of the onions/jalapeños in the pan, stir in cauliflower and vegetable broth. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until cauliflower is tender and broth has absorbed.
Add to a high-powered blender along with remaining ingredients, including the cashews. Blend until completely smooth. Add extra milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary.
Step Two – Easy Guacamole
This homemade guacamole recipe is the only one you’ll ever need to know. So often guacamole is made complicated, with lots of added ingredients but the perfect (and most authentic) guacamoles have only a few ingredients: avocado, lime, cilantro, garlic, and salt. For these vegan nachos, I do not recommend using store-bought guacamole.
To make, combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Step Three- Pico de Gallo
While fresh is always best, this is the one component that wouldn’t compromise the nachos too much if you went the store-bought direction. Whichever way you go, make sure to pile it high with pico de gallo.
Combine the ingredients for pico de gallo and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step Four – Assemble the Vegan Nachos
To assemble we are going to do a bit of layering.
Start by placing half the chips on a large serving platter. Evenly top with 1/2 of your vegan queso. Layer the remaining chips on top and add queso, pico de gallo, beans. Top with herbs, jalapeño slices, and guacamole.
Serving and Storing
Serving – Once assembled, these homemade nachos should be served immediately. Serve them with homemade quesadillas or tortilla soup. For heartier nachos, try adding seasoned jackfruit and vegan taco meat.
Storing – Store the leftovers separately. The pico de gallo and vegan queso can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The guacamole can be stored for up to 2 days.
More Vegan Appetizers
Vegan Nachos with Homemade Queso
Ingredients
- 8-10 ounces tortilla chips
- 1/2 batch Easy Guacamole
- 1/2 batch Vegan Queso
- 1 cup black beans
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 2 green onions sliced thin
- 1 jalapeño seeded and sliced thin
- 1 small handful cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the queso, guacamole, and pico de gallo separately.
- Place half the chips on a large serving platter. Evenly top with 1/2 of the vegan queso.
- Layer the rest of the chips and top with remaining queso, guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and toppings of choice.
- Serve immediately.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Mg says
Cup or can of black beans?
Thanks!
Sarah says
Looks like something went missing when I was updating the recipe card plugin. It’s supposed to be a cup. I just updated the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out!
Casey the College Celiac says
Now this is my kind of chips to topping ratio! This looks SCRUMPTIOUS! Nacho heaven for sure!
Lisa M says
These look great. I will definitely give them a try. I just discovered your blog and have loved perusing your recipes. Best of luck with your upcoming schedule changes. I too work from home and have been missing the human interaction component that I used to have at my corporate jobs (though that’s about the only thing I miss about the corporate world). Coffee shops are a nice change of scene. 🙂
Sarah says
Right. I can’t really complain because working from home is kind of the best!