This recipe started out with the most vegan of intentions.
I scooped nutritional yeast from the bulk bins at the grocery store, feeling like… yea it looks and smells just like fish food… we could totally turn this into a creamy, cheese-ish bechamel-type sauce. I sautéed garlic in avocado oil, like a very good vegan (?) (I dunno). I added flour and spice and stirred in the nutritional yeast. Blended in the blender to a brown-ish orange sauce type sauce. I tasted my creation and friends… Friends. I wish you could look me in the eye right now because they’re tearing. It was not good. It was so so so very not good. If anyone ever tries to tell you that nutritional yeast tastes enough like cheese to pour over well deserving chips, run away… so fast so far.
Now listen. I like vegan food very much. I can be way into it, with maaadd respect, yo. But the problem is… I know what cheese tastes like, and it’s really one of Earth’s finest creations when melted with other dairy into a smooth sauce and ladled over freshly made chips. So. Once you know what that tastes like, fish food and almond milk just isn’t going to cut it.
So anyway. If you’re vegan and you want to yell at me, I half expect it. I’ll just be sitting here eating a block of cheese waiting for your thoughts.
First things first. Chips come from tortillas… which I totally don’t mean in a condescending way, but I do mean as a reminder to both of us because sometimes I forget.
So! In the spirit of tortilla to chip transformation, we’re making our own chips! Tortillas, sliced into wedges, sprayed with a bit of nonstick cooking spray, sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and baked until well-crisped and browned.
Now, let’s make this cheese sauce.
These nachos aren’t just melted cheese atop chips. We’re making a spiced queso dip and pouring it over our chips.
We’ll need butter, minced garlic, flour, a bit of milk, and a big handful of grated sharp cheddar cheese.
The garlic is sauteed in the melted butter until lightly browned and fragrant.
The flour is slowly whisked into the fat until smooth. The flour will help the sauce thicken once the milk is added so it’s key. I also have a whole post about whisks coming soon… I know, hold onto your pants. The phrase is hold onto your hats but I’m not hitting backspace so… here we are.
Milk is slowly added to the butter and flour mixture over low heat and whisked until slightly thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Finally, cheese!
I added a dash of ground cumin and chili powder to boost the intrigue and whisked the mixture to melted and smooth.
I mean.
Nachos are all about layering.
Homemade chips / warm cheese sauce / warmed black beans / more chips / more cheese sauce / more of any of the other stuff you want as a grown adult human who makes awesome decisions for themselves ie: salsa, sliced black olives, raw corn, cilantro, smash avocado.
Pull up a chair. Welcome. It’s a fine day because cheese sauce!
PrintReally Very Good Vegetarian Nachos
- Prep Time: 25
- Total Time: 25
Ingredients
For the Cheese Sauce
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 3 tablespoon pickled jalapenos, coarsely chopped
For the Nachos
- 18 corn tortillas, sliced into wedges
- nonstick cooking spray
- coarse sea salt
- 3/4 cup black beans
- 1/3 cup sliced black olives
- 1/3 cup raw corn kernels
- 1/3 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 ripe avocado, smashed with a bit of lemon juice and salt
- salsa, pickled jalapeno slices
Instructions
- To make the cheese sauce, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add garlic and stir, sautéing until lightly browned and fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Lower the heat a bit if the garlic begins to burn.
- Gradually whisk in the flour. The mixture will foam a bit but stir until smooth, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a low simmer and whisk until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and spices until melted and smooth. Sprinkle the top with pickled jalapenos.
- To make the chips, place two racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread tortilla wedges in a single layer on two baking sheets. Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Flip the wedges and spray with more cooking spray. Sprinkle generously with sea salt. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip all of the chips. Return to the oven and bake until browned and crisp, about 6 more minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
- To assemble the nachos, layer chips on a plate or in a dish. Drizzle with warm cheese sauce (you may have extra left over). Sprinkle with half of the beans, half of the olives and corn and tomatoes. Layer over more chips, more cheese sauce, and the remaining toppings as you’d like. Top with guacamole, salsa, and whatever else feels super yummy.
- Enjoy immediately!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
gayle
I bought a (thankfully) very small bag of nutritional yeast from my co-op because I’d read it was “even better” than parmesan cheese on popcorn. It smelled so bad I could not make myself put it on my freshly popped, drizzled with real butter popcorn. I think the only way I will ever try nutritional yeast is if someone sneaks it into something I eat. And I feel bad and guilty about that, because I really am an adventurous eater…..
Bev
I’m very sensitive to weird smelling/tasting foods and an unadventurous eater in general, but nutritional yeast, along w/salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne makes the best topping for kale chips ever. I sprinkle it on liberally after putting olive oil on the kale then bake. No it’s not cheesy and no one ever should try to pass off non cheese as comparable b/c we all know nothing compares to real cheese, but it’s very tasty in this context.
findingmykd
Serious Eats made some pretty delicious looking vegan nacho cheese during vegan month. Apparently the key was potato starch! And no nutritional yeast needed.
Mary Ann Harville
Hey Joy, I am going to give your cheese sauce a try. I usually take the easy way out and just use grated cheese and put the entire pile under the broiler! One thing I do is drain and rinse the black beans then put them in a sauce pan with fresh garlic, cumin, salt, chipoltes and a little olive oil, stir, heat and then after about 10 minutes ( or proper spice mingling time) top them on the chips to begin my layering!
Lori
Sounds delicious!
Buffy
Dear, dear, sweet Joy, you missed the point. It isn’t supposed to taste like cheese. It’s a substitute like the difference btwn sugar and splenda. You do get an A+ for effort. I haven’t used it as nacho cheese but I have made alfredo and it was really good. At that time I had not had any dairy for 45 days. ???? Good try!!
joythebaker
You could be absolutely right that I missed the point. Truly.
Kat
The First Mess’ vegan butternut queso recipe is pretty great. I mean, it doesn’t taste like cheese, no, and I still put cheese on my nachos nine times out of ten, but for the tenth time, that is totally the recipe I turn to.
joythebaker
Totally open to a butternut! Thank you for this!
mrsmichellegoldsmith
Wow — raw corn! I am a born corn-lover and never-ever thought about using raw corn on nachos. Definitely going to try these! I am also a big fan of home-made tortilla chips made from fresh corn tortillas, baked or fried the same day as bought — nothing better!
Lauren
Joy, I want to be your best friend so badly. I love the things you cook and bake, but honestly you could be bangin’ out the phone book on this blog and I would still read it all the time because I love the way you write so much.
Alice (@glamorousdamage)
Have you tried making the vegan sauce with potatoes and carrots? I’d never heard of a version with just nutritional yeast flour and plant milk! You should look up hot for food, they’re great :)
joythebaker
Potatoes because they’re delicious and carrots because they’re orange? I’m open to it! Good call!
Cheese and Chinese
Yum! We love to make our own nachos with tortillas, it’s the best!
Taste of France
I have introduced my little French village to nachos and they are smitten. I even did it on Cinco de Mayo, a celebration of Mexico’s victory over France. Heh, heh. However, I did the grated cheese melted in the oven method. I’m going to have to try your recipe the next time, and there will be a next time because word is out and pointed hints have been dropped. I also like the black bean idea.
Pandaonavespa
O gosh, it looks amazing: can´t wait to try it out!! I actually I think it is quite hard to make began nachos, especially because I totally share your love for cheese =)
https://pandaonavespa.wordpress.com/
Jill
Thank you for not hitting backspace. You are the best!
Rena
As I prefer vegetarian food (although I’m not a vegetarian) these nachos are perfect for me!
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Emily
Bahaha yes, so in agreement about nutritional yeast “cheese.” I was so disappointed when I tried to make some myself. I kept the sad orange gloop in my fridge for a while because I can’t bear to throw out food, but eventually I did. Anyways, these nachos look seriously amazing.