I think anyone can agree, nachos are a staple when it comes to comfort food! When I made this recipe, it did not take long before we were sitting back with our hands on our stomachs and my husband asking when I would be making these again!
Chickpeas as a meat substitute
When we decided to be vegetarians, we quickly learned that chickpeas are an amazing substitute for chicken. We call them “Chicken peas” for this reason! There are so many ways to cook these wonderful beans and this recipe is a great one to start with if you are new to the vegetarian game!
In this recipe, we will be cooking and mashing the chickpeas with a fork. This will create a course hummus. When you mix this with the other ingredients, you are left with a final product that is similar to shredded chicken. I promise, it’s good enough to eat on it is own, and no chickens had to die in the process.
The Health Benefits to eating Chickpeas
Chickpeas are an incredibly nutrition dense food. They are not only a good source of protein and fiber but are also known to improve digestion, promote cardiovascular health, can help control blood sugar, and gives you stronger bones! Not only this but they can also aid in a healthy mind and may even lower your cancer risk!
I’m obsessed in learning about what our food can do for us and encourage everyone to take sometime to learn about what you’re eating and how it can improve your health.
When we put good fuel into our bodies, we get better results!
Cooking on the road
My husband and I live in a 11 window school bus. With our tiny living lifestyle, we have to adjust how we eat in order to accommodate having less space to store things in. The main issue when it comes to cooking in our tiny space, is our tiny fridge. It’s like playing a game of tetris every time we go to put something away!
You have to be adaptive with your cooking environment when living on the road.
A great tip to save some space is to stock up on canned beans! Cans can be stored for long periods of time and are easy to come by. You can buy dried chickpeas in a bag and it is a more cost effective option and is great if you own an instant pot (Great for preventing moisture). But they do take a long time to cook this way and it poses a problem when it comes to storing them in the fridge.
Buffalo Chickpea Nachos
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan Can also use a microwave
- 1 Oven
- 1 Rubber spatula Or something to mix ingredients with
- 1 Knife For chopping ingredients
- 1 Baking sheet linked with parchment paper
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Fork For mashing the chickpeas
- 1 TBS
- 1 TSP
- 1 1/4th TSP
- 1 1/2 TSP
Ingredients
- 1 bag Tortilla chips You wont need the whole bag, just enough to cover the baking sheet
Buffalo Chick Pea "Dip"
- 1 Can (15.5oz) Chickpeas Drained but save the liquid
- 5 TSP Hotsauce I use Franks but any will do!
- 1 TBS Butter Salted
- 3 TBS Aquafaba Liquid saved from the chickpeas
- 3 TBS Cream cheese
- 3 TBS Sour cream
- ¼ Cup Red onion Diced
- 1 TBS Lime juice About half a lime
- ¼ TSP Garlic powder
- ¼ TSP Cumin
- 1 Sprig Green onion Chopped
Toppings
- 1 Cup Shredded cheese I used a Mexican blend
- 1 Cup Spinach Shredded
- 1 Cup Lettuce Shredded
- 1 Roma tomato Diced
Easy Avocado spread
- ¼ Cup Frozen Avocado Thawed
- ¼ Cup Tomatillo salsa
- 1 TBS Sour cream
- 1 TBS Water As per preference, I added water to make to easy to drizzle over the nachos
- 1 TSP Course sea salt
- 1 TBS Lime Juice About ½ a lime
Instructions
Prep
- Set the oven to 350℉, Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay out your Tortilla chips in a single layer (or as preferred).
Cook the chickpeas
- Add 1 Can (15.5oz) Chickpeas, 3 TBS Aquafaba, 1 TBS Butter, and 5 TSP Hotsauce to to a sauce pan and cook on medium low heat for 2-5 minutes. You want the chickpeas to be soft enough to mash with a fork.
- Once the chickpeas are soft, remove from heat and transfer the mix into a shallow bowl. Mash the chickpeas with a fork to make a course hummus. (You want some texture to resemble shredded chicken!)
- Add 3 TBS Cream cheese, and 3 TBS Sour cream and mix until well combined.
- Next, add ¼ TSP Cumin, ¼ TSP Garlic powder, and 1 TBS Lime juice. Stir to combine.
- Fold in 1 Sprig Green onion, and ¼ Cup Red onion.
- Scoop mixture over the tortilla chips, attempting to get an even coverage. Sprinkle with 1 Cup Shredded cheese
- Add to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has fully melted.
Avocado Salsa
- Remove ¼ Cup Frozen Avocado from the freezer and allow to thaw ahead of time. If you are in a time crunch, you can microwave it at 30 sec. intervals until soft.
- Add the thawed avocado to mixing dish with your 1 TSP Course sea salt and 1 TBS Lime Juice. Mash to form a guacamole. Incorporate with ¼ Cup Tomatillo salsa and 1 TBS Sour cream.
- (Optional) add 1 TBS Water to make the salsa easier to drizzle over the nachos.
Assembly
- Once the cheese has melted and the nachos are hot, add your shredded 1 Cup Spinach, and 1 Cup Lettuce along with your diced 1 Roma tomato. Drizzle the Avocado salsa over the nachos.
- (Optional) Drizzle more salsa, add dollops of sour cream, squeeze some lime juice over the top, add chopped fresh cilantro.
