Happy Friday otherwise known as Blue Friday!! At least it’s Blue Friday in Seattle where everyone is decked out in Seahawks gear waiting for a crucial playoff game on Saturday. We also are looking forward to a fencing tournament, birthday parties, and general running around with our heads cut off. But lets get back to the playoffs. A Seahawks game means that I have to make something good for everyone to stress eat while we watch. I usually love to make chili or chicken wings like these and these, but there is something we have been missing for years now due to the fact that we can’t have cheese anymore…

Vegan Nachos from HeatherChristo.com

Nachos. Glorious Nachos are the best food ever. Well, at least they make the top 5 in my book hands down. But alas, cheese is out around here, so we had to come up with an alternative! I like pumpkin and butternut squash as a cheese substitute in dishes like this creamy pasta or on this toast, so I thought I would give it a try on Nachos.

Vegan Nachos from HeatherChristo.com

The results as Pia said were “AWESOME!!” For her I made sure that these were vegan, just the way she likes them, but of course you could add whatever you like to the mix.

Vegan Nachos from HeatherChristo.com

I think that besides the delicious butternut sauce, the keys to this are the broiled chips (which just make them so crispy and delicious with a toasty flavor) and all of the great toppings. So don’t be shy, load the topping on!
Have a great weekend! XOXO

Vegan Nachos
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • Vegan Cheese
  • ½ cup yellow onion, chopped into large chunks
  • 12 ounces butternut squash, peeled and chopped into large chunks
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • 15 ounce bag of corn tortilla chips
  • 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 ears, of fresh corn kernels
  • ¼ cup finely diced red onion
  • 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
  • 3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1 large avocado, diced
  • Salsa and lime wedges for serving
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan bring a few inches of salted water to a boil. Add the onion and squash to the boiling water and bring to a boil. Put a lid on the saucepan and simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes until the squash is very tender. Reserve ¼ cup of the hot water and drain the rest, adding the squash and onions to the jar of a blender. Puree on high with a clove of garlic. Add the water as needed to help the pureeing along. While the blender is running, add the olive oil in a stream and continue to puree on high until you have a very smooth bright yellow loose puree. Season to taste with kosher salt.
  2. Preheat the oven to broil.
  3. Spread the bag of tortilla chips on a bare sheetpan. Broil them for 1-2 minutes, just until the chips are hot and getting lightly golden brown.
  4. Immediately remove them and transfer them to a serving platter (or maybe leave on the sheetpan!) and drizzle with the “vegan cheese.” Sprinkle the beans over the sauce along with the corn kernels, tomatoes, jalapenos and red onion. Add the cilantro and the chunks of avocado and serve right away with salsa and lime wedges.

 

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Categorized: Appetizers, Recipe Index, Tacos, Vegan
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Happy Friday otherwise known as Blue Friday!! At least it’s Blue Friday in Seattle where everyone is decked out in Seahawks gear waiting for a crucial playoff game on Saturday. We also are looking forward to a fencing tournament, birthday parties, and general running around with our heads cut off. But lets get back to the playoffs. A Seahawks game means that I have to make something good for everyone to stress eat while we watch. I usually love to make chili or chicken wings like these and these, but there is something we have been missing for years now due to the fact that we can’t have cheese anymore…

Vegan Nachos from HeatherChristo.com

Nachos. Glorious Nachos are the best food ever. Well, at least they make the top 5 in my book hands down. But alas, cheese is out around here, so we had to come up with an alternative! I like pumpkin and butternut squash as a cheese substitute in dishes like this creamy pasta or on this toast, so I thought I would give it a try on Nachos.

Vegan Nachos from HeatherChristo.com

The results as Pia said were “AWESOME!!” For her I made sure that these were vegan, just the way she likes them, but of course you could add whatever you like to the mix.

Vegan Nachos from HeatherChristo.com

I think that besides the delicious butternut sauce, the keys to this are the broiled chips (which just make them so crispy and delicious with a toasty flavor) and all of the great toppings. So don’t be shy, load the topping on!
Have a great weekend! XOXO

Vegan Nachos
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • Vegan Cheese
  • ½ cup yellow onion, chopped into large chunks
  • 12 ounces butternut squash, peeled and chopped into large chunks
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • 15 ounce bag of corn tortilla chips
  • 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 ears, of fresh corn kernels
  • ¼ cup finely diced red onion
  • 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
  • 3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1 large avocado, diced
  • Salsa and lime wedges for serving
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan bring a few inches of salted water to a boil. Add the onion and squash to the boiling water and bring to a boil. Put a lid on the saucepan and simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes until the squash is very tender. Reserve ¼ cup of the hot water and drain the rest, adding the squash and onions to the jar of a blender. Puree on high with a clove of garlic. Add the water as needed to help the pureeing along. While the blender is running, add the olive oil in a stream and continue to puree on high until you have a very smooth bright yellow loose puree. Season to taste with kosher salt.
  2. Preheat the oven to broil.
  3. Spread the bag of tortilla chips on a bare sheetpan. Broil them for 1-2 minutes, just until the chips are hot and getting lightly golden brown.
  4. Immediately remove them and transfer them to a serving platter (or maybe leave on the sheetpan!) and drizzle with the “vegan cheese.” Sprinkle the beans over the sauce along with the corn kernels, tomatoes, jalapenos and red onion. Add the cilantro and the chunks of avocado and serve right away with salsa and lime wedges.

 

Recipe by Heather Christo (http://heatherchristo.com)