Chicken Fajita Nachos

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

• Chicken thighs: I like to use skinless boneless chicken thighs for this recipe, as they have a great flavour and stay nice and juicy. You can use skinless chicken breasts however be careful not to overcook them or they’ll become dry. I’ve also made this using leftover rotisserie chicken in the past which is great to make them even quicker.
• Fajita Seasoning: I make my homemade fajita seasoning using garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chili powder, onion powder and salt. Trust me; make a big batch and keep it on hand. It’s a lovely way to season any meat even if you’re just serving up steaks.
• Capsicum / bell peppers: red, yellow and green peppers give a variety of flavour and colour. You can also swap out one of the 3 peppers for ½ cup of tinned black beans.
• Pickled jalapenos: Optional but great. After realising, I top my nachos with these every single time, I decided to just add them straight in to the veggies when they cook.
• Vegetable oil: I use a neutral flavoured vegetable oil in cooking especially as high heat can destroy the flavour of extra virgin olive oil that you pay such a high price for in the first place. Rice bran oil, canola, avocado oil or even a light flavoured olive oil work great.
• Onion: I like red onion for this but you can certainly use white or brown onion too.
• Cheese: Lots of it. I use a creamy cheddar cheese like colby, but you could also add in some mozzarella for extra stringiness. You can use a classic cheddar cheese too but the flavour can overpower everything else.
• Corn chips: This is the most important choice you’ll make. The best corn chips for nachos are thick and sturdy – they’ll hold their crunch much better and stave off the sog. Don’t go for a regular bag of plain Doritos, they may be great for snacking on but your nachos will be a soggy mess sooner rather than later. Have a good look at the types of corn chips you can get and pick the thicker ones.

What’s the best cheese for nachos?

I touched on it above, but I like a creamy or semi-hard cheddar for these fajita chicken nachos. You want a cheese that has a good strong flavour but also a nice melting texture, so I find a creamier cheddar best. Monterey Jack cheese is a firm favourite if you can get it and Pepper jack is great if you want some extra spice.

You can add a little mozzarella if you want extra melty, stringy cheese but remember it has a very mild flavour so won’t add any flavour to the nachos here.