Smoky Chipotle Deep Dish Nachos
We love nachos around here, the kind baked in a casserole dish in the oven, heavy with meat and veggies, and with cheese bubbling on top. These nachos are a variation on my everyday recipe, made smoky and spicy with the addition of chipotles in adobo sauce, which you can find in the Hispanic section of most grocery stores. If your family likes the smokiness of adobo sauce, this recipe is for you.
These are great for a busy weeknight, or to come home to after a kid’s Saturday sports event. They come together in about 15-20 minutes, and spend another 15 minutes in the oven. This recipe makes a 9 x 13 panful, which will easily feed 8 people. It’s also versatile; you can use ground beef, venison, turkey, or even shredded chicken – whatever you like. For a vegetarian version, use black beans or kidney beans instead of meat.
This recipe can also be made ahead of time, in part. Just prepare the meat/bean mixture and the vegetables, and then all you have to do before dinner is assemble and bake.
If you’re gluten free, this is a great recipe to add to your collection.
Smoky Chipotle Deep Dish Nachos
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 large or 1 small sweet onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 sweet red bell pepper, chopped
1 pound ground beef, venison, or turkey, or 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (a store-bought rotisserie chicken works great for this)
3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (about 1/3 cup chopped)
Corn tortilla chips (if you’re gluten free, make sure the chips are GF)
2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
sour cream and salsa for serving
Preheat the oven to 425°.
In a large skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat, sauté the onion and peppers in the olive oil until a bit tender. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
Chop the chipotles.
In the same pan, brown the meat (unless you are using pre-cooked shredded chicken or beans). Drain off any fat, and add the chipotles and adobo sauce, stirring well to fully incorporate them into the meat. If you’re using shredded chicken or beans, just simply stir the chipotles in until fully combined.
In the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass casserole or metal baking pan, spread a thick layer of tortilla chips.
Top with the meat mixture.
Add the onion and peppers.
Top with the shredded cheese. Optionally, you can also add sliced black olives at this point.
Place in the oven, and bake 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Serve with sour cream and salsa.
Serves 8.
*Note: about the canned chipotles in this recipe: I never manage to use a whole can of chipotles in adobo in any recipe, so I freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray, 2-3 peppers per section with some of the adobo sauce, and then transfer them to a quart-size freezer bag. Whenever I need chipotles in adobo (many of Pioneer Woman’s recipes call for them), I just take a cube out of the freezer.
Here’s the printable recipe. Enjoy!
