Mexican Fiesta Healthy Nacho Recipe

Are nachos your ‘spirit food’? Do you love nothing better than tucking into a cheesy, soul-warming bowl of nachos in your dressing gown, watching the rain outside? We hear you! And we’d love to help all of you enjoy nachos to your heart’s content, using these 100% indulgent, 100% guilt free recipe ideas:

Basic Nacho Recipe (serves 4-6)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Cut 4 to 6 Mission Wholemeal Mini Pita Breads OR Freedom Foods Barley Wraps OR BFree Gluten Free tortillas into triangles, spray well with olive oil spray (or brush with olive oil) and place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for five minutes or until crisp and lightly golden.

2. Meanwhile, add 1tsp olive oil to pan over medium heat. Add 1 diced brown onion, 1 diced red capsicum, 1tbs Mexican spice seasoning and a dash of water (to help vegetables cook and stop spices burning). If you like fresh/dried chilli, add as much you like here! Cook, stirring, for 5 min or until soft.

3. Add one 400g tin crushed tomatoes, 50g tomato paste, 2x 400g tins of 4-mix beans (drained and rinsed), 1 cup frozen corn kernels (defrosted), and ½ cup water or vegetable stock. Bring mixture to the boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until mixture thickens, adding more water and seasoning if necessary. Remove from the heat.

Serve sauce with pita/wrap ‘nachos’ and optional toppings:

• Homemade guacamole (up to 2tbs per serve)

• Lite Sour cream (up to 1tbs per serve)

• Grated tasty cheese (up to 1tbs per serve)

• Vegan nacho cheese sauce (up to 1tbs per serve)

• Fresh coriander

• Lime juice More chilli or jalapenos

Homemade guacamole recipe

Mash 2 ripe avocados in a bowl and add ¼ diced red onion, 1 small diced tomato, juice of 1 lime, and a large handful of chopped coriander leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Add fresh chilli or jalapenos (optional). Leftover guacamole is so versatile - dollop on top of a salad, spread on toast or in a sandwich/wrap, or serve with veggie sticks as a snack

Homemade vegan nacho cheese sauce:

Soak 1 cup of raw cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes. Transfer to a high-speed blender with 1tbs lemon juice, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, 1 cup of warm water and 2tsp Mexican seasoning. Season with salt and pepper. Add Sriracha or dried chilli flakes, to taste (optional). Heat up in a saucepan before serving. Use leftover sauce as a dressing for steamed or grilled vegetables, or as a dipping sauce with chopped veggie sticks

For loaded beef nachos (serves 4-6):

Follow the basic nacho recipe, adding 500g extra lean beef mince to the pan together with the onion, capsicum and spices in step 2. Brown the meat well. For step 3, use only one 400g tin of 4-bean mix.

For cheesy baked nachos:

Preheat oven to 200C –grill setting. Follow the basic or loaded beef nacho recipe. Next, line a baking dish with baking paper, and layer with pita chips. Top pita chips with nacho sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup of grated tasty cheese. Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Serve with optional toppings.

For low carb nachos:

Replace Mission wholemeal pitas with 4 to 6 slices of Hermanbrott Low Carb bread, and prepare as per Step 1. Follow the loaded beef nachos instructions to reduce quantity of legumes used.