Black Bean Skillet Nachos

From my quarantine kitchen to yours, I bring you these ridiculously easy and satisfying vegetarian nachos!

With everyone looking for ways to decrease trips to the grocery store lately, the ability to put those shelf-stable ingredients in your pantry to good use is turning out to be a valuable survival skill during the pandemic. This can be a bit overwhelming when trying to manage blood sugar for conditions like type 2 or gestational diabetes, especially with all the mixed messages from the media about carbs. But, if we look at nutrition for diabetes from a place of abundance, we can find ways to add in ingredients to meals and snacks that help your body utilize carbohydrates better without deprivation.

Even for my clients who do choose to eat meat, beans can be a really awesome source of fiber and protein to throw into all types of meals and snacks. These nachos are loaded with black beans along with other tasty sources of protein, fat and fiber to help your blood sugar stay even. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Black Bean Skillet Nachos

Ridiculously easy and satisfying recipe for your shelf-stable ingredients.

Makes: ~3-4 servings

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• ~8 oz blue corn tortilla chips
• 1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese, or 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup medium salsa, divided
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 2 lime wedges + fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions:
1. Turn oven on to low broil.
2. Place tortilla chips in the bottom of a cast iron skillet or casserole dish. Layer in a a few tablespoons shredded cheese or 1 slice of cheese broken into quarters.
3. Top with beans. Place dollops of salsa evenly spaced on top of beans, reserving a few tablespoons for topping the finished nachos.
4. Broil nachos for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Meanwhile, cut avocado into cubes.
5. When nachos are done, remove from oven and top with remaining salsa, avocado, a squeeze of fresh lime and sprinkle of fresh cilantro if desired.
6. Let skillet cook until it is just cool enough to be safe to touch, then serve.

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Black Bean Skillet Nachos

Yield: 3-4

Author: McKenzie Caldwell, MPH, RDN

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Ridiculously easy and satisfying recipe for your shelf-stable ingredients.

Ingredients

• ~8 oz blue corn tortilla chips
• 1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese, or 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup medium salsa, divided
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 2 lime wedges + fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Turn oven on to low broil.
2. Place tortilla chips in the bottom of a cast iron skillet or casserole dish. Layer in a a few tablespoons shredded cheese or 1 slice of cheese broken into quarters.
3. Top with beans. Place dollops of salsa evenly spaced on top of beans, reserving a few tablespoons for topping the finished nachos.
4. Broil nachos for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Meanwhile, cut avocado into cubes.
5. When nachos are done, remove from oven and top with remaining salsa, avocado, a squeeze of fresh lime and sprinkle of fresh cilantro if desired.
6. Let skillet cook until it is just cool enough to be safe to touch, then serve.