Two-Tier Sheet-Pan Chicken Nachos

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The fix for sad nachos: instead of one deep pile, you build two shallow layers across a whole sheet pan, so every chip gets chicken, cheese and heat. Freshly grated cheese melts into a real sauce, the chicken is a fast skillet mix you can make with a rotisserie bird, and the cold toppings go on only after the pan leaves the oven. Ten minutes in a hot oven and it's on the table.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (about 1 lb, from a rotisserie chicken or poached breasts)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp lime juice

• 10 oz sturdy restaurant-style tortilla chips
• 8 oz sharp cheddar, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 8 oz Monterey Jack, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup pickled jalapeño slices

• 1 cup diced Roma tomato, seeds squeezed out
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion
• 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or cotija (optional)
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the upper third. Grate both cheeses on the large holes of a box grater and toss them together in a bowl — pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch and melts into rubbery clumps, so this one step decides how good the nachos are.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes until softened and just starting to brown, then add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
3. Add the shredded chicken, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and salt. Stir 1 minute to toast the spices, then pour in the chicken broth and cook 2 to 3 minutes, tossing, until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the chicken looks glossy rather than wet. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust salt.
4. Build tier one: spread half the tortilla chips over a rimmed 13x18-inch sheet pan in a single, mostly flat layer — the chips should touch but not stack more than two deep. Scatter over half the chicken, half the black beans, half the jalapeños, then about 2 cups of the cheese blend.
5. Build tier two exactly the same way directly on top: remaining chips, chicken, beans, jalapeños, then the rest of the cheese. Keep it shallow and even, all the way to the corners. Two thin tiers means no naked chips at the edges and no soggy mass in the middle.
6. Bake 9 to 12 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted, bubbling at the edges, and the exposed chip tips are just starting to darken. If you want more color, run the pan under the broiler for 45 to 60 seconds, watching constantly.
7. While the pan bakes, whisk the sour cream with the milk until it's thin enough to drizzle from a spoon.
8. Let the pan rest 2 minutes out of the oven, then scatter over the tomato, avocado, cilantro, scallion and queso fresco. Drizzle with the thinned sour cream and serve straight from the sheet pan with lime wedges. Cold toppings go on last, always — they steam the chips if they bake.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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