Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos — Loaded with avocado chunks, juicy tomatoes and corn, and bbq sauce-smothered chicken! Perfect for parties, tailgating, game days, and more!
Best Recipe for BBQ Chicken Nachos
If you want to make a dinner out of nachos, this is how.
They’re loaded with avocado chunks, juicy tomatoes and corn, and bbq sauce-smothered chicken. I used chicken nuggets because that’s what I had on hand, but shredded chicken is more traditional.
They’ll be a guaranteed hit with who ever is lucky enough to indulge in this melty cheese fest, and they’re ready in 30 minutes.
Some of the chips stay perfectly crisp, while others softened from the melted cheese, juicy tomatoes and corn, and the saucy nuggets.
The balance of crispy and crunchy, tempered with soft and chewy, is just perfect. Every bite is total comfort food, and I’ll happily skip dinner for these.
I love eating food that’s rich in color, and the pops of green, orange, and red draw me in. And the subtle texture from the avocado, corn, and tomato are welcome against the soft, gooey cheese.
Having some ‘vegetables’ at every meal is a good thing, too. That is, if you can call corn a vegetable. And avocado and tomatoes are really fruits, but who’s counting. Especially when you’re having nachos for dinner.
The flavor from the bbq sauce gently permeates the dish, and everything takes on a smoky yet slightly sweet with heat quality. Make sure you like the bbq you choose and I loved this one.
Ingredients in BBQ Chicken Nachos
To make this bbq chicken nachos recipe, you’ll need:
- Shredded chicken or chicken nuggets
- Bbq sauce
- Corn tortilla chips
- Shredded cheese
- Diced tomato
- Cubed avocado
- Corn
- Black beans (optional)
- Red bell pepper (optional)
- Jalapeño (optional)
- Black olives (optional)
How to Make BBQ Chicken Nachos
This recipe for bbq chicken nachos couldn’t be any simpler! Follow these easy steps:
- Begin by tossing the shredded chicken with bbq sauce.
- Add corn tortilla chips in a pie dish, cover with shredded cheese, top with tomato, avocado, corn, and then add the sauced up chicken.
- Sprinkle with a little more cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. So easy!
Nacho Toppings to Try
I don’t think the bbq nachos need additional toppings because there are already so many great flavors, but it can’t hurt if you hoard condiments like I do and have any or all on hand!
Try toppings you bbq chicken nachos with one or more of the following:
Recipe Variations for BBQ Nachos
This is a flexible recipe, so mix and match toppings as you see fit!
- Chicken: Use shredded chicken, chicken nuggets, or a vegan chicken alternative.
- Tortilla chips: Use store-bought or homemade corn tortilla chips.
- Cheese: Any kind of shredded cheese will work, including vegan cheese.
- Veggies: Load up your nachos with anything you have on hand!
Tips for the Best BBQ Nachos
The chicken needs a healthy soak in a bbq sauce bath for a few minutes for flavor. This keeps the chicken juicy and saucy during baking.
I used TJ’s Carolina Gold bbq sauce, which is new to me. There’s a touch of molasses, and it’s a little sweet with a slight kick. My daughter doesn’t like sauces that are too hot and this one wasn’t.
The recipe is highly adaptable and if you want to add a handful of black beans, refried beans, jalepenos, bell peppers, bean and corn salsa, or anything else you love on your nachos, go for it. Don’t like avocado? Omit.
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Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
- 8 ounces shredded chicken or chicken nuggets, thawed and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup bbq sauce
- 4 to 5 cups corn tortilla chips, or enough to cover pie dish base with some overlapping
- 6 ounces shredded cheese, divided
- 1 medium ripe tomato, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled, de-seeded, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- ½ cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned
- ½ cup black beans, jalepenos, black olives, and/or diced bell peppers, all optional
Garnishes (Optional)
- Cilantro
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Guac
- Pico de gallo
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray a 9-inch round pie dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- Thaw and then dice the chicken nuggets into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Place nuggets in a medium bowl, cover with about 1 cup bbq sauce, and toss gently to evenly coat. Use enough bbq sauce so the nuggets are really juicy and well-coated. Set bowl aside while assembling the nachos; nuggets will soak up some of the bbq sauce.
- Add corn chips to prepared pie dish, arranging chips so the base of pie dish is completely covered. Chips need to overlap in places so there aren’t gaps. I made a double-layer of chips.
- Evenly sprinkle about 4 ounces cheese over chips.
- Evenly sprinkle the tomato, avocado, corn, and any optional toppings.
- Evenly sprinkle with the chicken nuggets. My nuggets were very moist and drippy, and I drizzled on of the residual bbq sauce from the marinating bowl.
- Evenly sprinkle with the remaining cheese, about 2 ounces.
- Bake for about 18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly, melted, and nachos are done. Baking times may vary widely based on brand and type of cheese used, juiciness of nuggets, moisture level in tomato, avo, corn, if optional ingredients were used, climate and oven variance, etc. Watch your nachos, not the clock.
- Optionally, garnish and serve nachos with cilantro, sour cream, salsa, guac, pico de gallo. Nachos are best fresh and warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is epic, Averie! I’d be the first to pick up the nuggets too!
Ohhh yum! I love anything barbecue! These look WONDERFUL
One of my guilty pleasures when we’re going out to eat is to share a plate nachos with chicken with my boyfriend as our dinner. I also dunk a whole lot of what I eat in BBQ sauce. This recipe is SO happening!
Nachos for dinner is totally awesome :)
Oh Averie…while your sweets and baked goods are always decadently stellar, I love when you switch it up with something savory and these nachos are mouthwatering! I will change nothing other than using real chicken chunks or shreds. Beautiful photos as always. Yum, thank you!
Thanks for the compliments, Julie, and glad you like the savory recipes, too!
So perfect for game day, guys would go crazy for these!
I’m pretty sure my son won’t tolerate the barbeque sauce (darn it!)–if I bury the chicken under the cheese, will it be less likely to get dried out? Maybe I should do it chicken-less and we can add our chosen meat on top. I need to come up with meal plans that don’t involve soup or stew (my go-to’s with the kind of winter we’ve been having!). This would fit the bill.
Would he like sweet and sour sauce instead? Or you can just add the chicken on plain after you bake it. I fear if you don’t sauce it up first, yes, it would get a little dried out.
I have always wanted to try those chickenless chicken tenders just to see what they taste like. These nachos look bangin! Great job Averie :)
They’re definitely a good meatless chicken nugget option!
I love how these nachos look with all of the different colors, plus it sounds like it would be totally delicious! I’m all about turning snacks into meals!
Your pictures are gorgeous, Averie! So colorful and bright. And the recipe tops the pictures. These loaded nachos sound out of this world.
Thanks for the compliments, Elaine!
These wouldn’t last long around here, my boyfriends name is written all over this. He’d probably scarf down the entire pan by himself. This is a complete taste and sensory overload, and I love it!
They’re super addictive & easy to scarf!
I love loaded nachos!! These look amazing, Averie! The BBQ twist sounds delicious!
Oh my gosh–these are TRULY loaded and that is amazing!
This IS perfect Superbowl food! Gosh, we may just need to make these next weekend. YUM.
I hope you try them!
This is a great twist on nachos! BBQ sauce is something I always try to have on hand because it jazzes up almost anything–even my steamed veggies manage to slide across my plate and pick up a swipe. This type of recipe reminds me that the Super Bowl is coming up–but I don’t need a football game to make this. A good movie would be a perfect pairing for me!
I avoid football like the plague. But am trying to show some gameday spirit :) I normally dont eat a ton of bbq b/c it’s sodium city (although totally agree w/ you about jazzing up anything) but this TJs stuff was so worth it!
That is my favorite BBQ sauce right now and we always have those chickenless tenders in the house! They are so good and my son loves them!
I am totally sold now too on the bbq sauce!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME? The combination of chicken nuggets and nachos is completely overwhelming in the best of possible ways. (The avocado, corn and tomato? The perfect, fresh addition.) We’re just digging out from a (second) blizzard here. I believe nachos are recommended for healing muscles… right?
It was like…75F and sunny in San Diego yesterday. And the day before. And tomorrow. God I feel for you. And yes you NEED food like this for shoveling! Comfort food :)