Breakfast Nachos Recipe

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Last Monday over Labor Day Weekend, Nick and I hosted a brunch at our house. It was somewhat last minute and I didn’t have the prep time I would normally require for making a quiche or something of that likeness. Part of me wanted to stay up late and go ahead and prep the dough for the crust, but I stopped myself. “No, Lauren! People literally do not care. Opening your home is what is important.” So I tried to think of something easy and ingredients I already had. I had some sort of breakfast enchilada / burrito / taco casserole on my brain out of my love for breakfast burritos, but even that I decided would be more effort and time than I had. It’s a holiday and no need to stress, so that’s where my breakfast nachos were created… out of necessity and flavor. I mean who doesn’t like nachos?! I really like for everything to be * perfect *, but people don’t actually expect that and these nachos are perfectly imperfect. Balance - hah!

Keep reading for how to make these ridiculously easy dish that your friends and family are sure to love whether it is a tailgate / watch party or a family get together. I share options for GF and DF friends too!

Breakfast nachos are seriously so easy and a total crowd pleaser at that. It’s a win-win situation, even if your team doesn’t actually win ;) They are totally customizable too, so do what your family likes, though I’ll share what I did for inspiration.

INGREDIENTS FOR BREAKFAST NACHOS

• Chips: I used the Whole Foods 365 Brand Salted Restaurant Style

• Scrambled eggs: I used 4 Vital Farms eggs and elaborate on quantity below

• Cheese: I used a Mexican blend

• Veggies: I used minced mushrooms, diced onion (love red but I used yellow since I already had some chopped), minced garlic, minced, seeded jalapeños, and half a can of whole black beans

• Toppings: I topped with 1 avocado, 2 tomatoes, diced, and some fresh cilantro. I placed sour cream and Yellowbird habanero condiment on the table so people could add as they pleased.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Place parchment paper over your baking sheets and lay chips down. They can overlap a bit, but these work best with the most surface area showing, so try to choose large, unbroken chips.

Sprinkle your desired amount of cheese across the chips then set aside. I did enough to cover the chips, knowing I would go back fro another layer later.

Scramble your eggs. The number depends on how eggy you want your nachos and how many people will be eating. I only used 4 eggs to scramble for one sheet pan because I knew I had quite a bit of toppings coming and wasn’t layering chips. PLUS this was not our only main - we had another egg dish and other food like pancakes and fruit. If this is the main dish and you don’t have a lot else, I would shoot for 1-2 eggs per person depending on your guests. I scrambled these with salt and pepper then set aside to cool.

Next chop up your veggies. I literally just used this as a “clean out the fridge” moment and used mushrooms, garlic, onion, and (seeded) jalapeños. Sauté in 1 TBS of olive oil (or your desired fat) and sprinkle a little salt and pepper as you do. After thoroughly cooked, turn down the heat to low and add in the scrambled eggs. I also added about half a can of black beans at this point too. Remove from heat once mixed.

Time to make the nachos! Sprinkle your veggie / egg mixture over the chips, then add another layer of cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes. While it is baking, chop up your fresh ingredients - avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro.

Remove from oven and top with fresh ingredients - Enjoy immediately, just don’t burn your mouth;)

OPTIONS:

Add meat. We had vegetarians, so I left it off so everyone could enjoy. It would be wonderful with some breakfast sausage or smoked bacon. If you include this, I’d cook the meat before the veggies, then use the grease to sauté. I’d cook the eggs separately in butter and still combine everything in the end.

Gluten Free. Most corn chips are certified gluten free (look for it on the bag), so it is an easy GF recipe. Opt for a chip like Siete if you want less oils and better for you ingredients. They are of course GF too!

Dairy Free. I made a small platter that was DF, as I try to limit dairy when I can. I used the new Primal Kitchen queso dip and it was really good! Siete would work as well, though I prefer to add more spices to theirs.

Use what you have! This is a very easy recipe and I didn’t include exact measurements, as I intended it to be a stress free “how-to”. If the lack of instruction gives you anxiety, here are some rough measurements that would work:

• 1 bag of chips (will be more than enough for one tray - literally cover the tray with one layer of chips)

• 1 egg per person

• 1 - 2 cups of desired cheese - I like sharp cheddar and monterey jack and prefer to shred myself. I would sprinkle 1 cup down first and 1/2 - 1 cup on top of the veggie-egg mixture.

• About 2 cups of veggies to sauté. I used 1/2 a cup of onion, 1/2 cup of onion, 4 garlic pods, 2 seeded jalapeños, and a half a can of black beans / so about a cup.

• 1 avocado, 2 tomatoes, 1/4 cup of cilantro for fresh ingredients to top after baked

Another option you have is to make multiple laters of chips. This would be ideal if you were feeding a lot of people at once. I didn’t do that because we only had 8 adults. Plus, I like it flat / a fairly even amount of toppings to each chip, but layer it up if you want! I’d probably stop at 3 layers high so that it can stay evenly cooked and not be too high. Side note - make a “personal pan” for yourself if you want to. The toaster oven works great for this and it’s faster too!

*UPDATE 2023 I recently had a chilaquiles breakfast burrito (at Big Art’s in LA) and thought that tit would be an easy way to spice this recipe up, quite literally. Add some chilaquiles broth / sauce to your breakfast nachos for a fun flair.

Enjoy!! I hope you love it. This recipe will come in handy all fall, but let’s be real… nachos are season-less and always a good idea!

P.S. I didn’t take a ton of photos of these because I didn’t think they would garner that much interest on Instagram. Boy was I wrong - you were all up in my DMs! My the time I realized I should post them, the nachos were long gone. See? Crowd pleaser!!

Side note - whenever I host a brunch or attend one, I always eat before. What?! Yes. I’m one of those people who feels best when I eat within an hour of waking up. I simply cannot wait for 9:30 / 10:00 am to roll around. This also helps me not overindulge and feel crummy later. Typically what I like to do on a brunch day is to get up, grab a banana or some blueberries and walnuts, and then go for a walk, just to get things moving. I like to wear my Adidas TR23 - the most comfy walking show I’ve owned! Nick’s current favorites are his Dropset Trainer shoes, but Adidas has tons of other Mens Athletic shoes too! Then I’ll come back and have an egg or two and will likely be held over until the even. What do you like to do? So many of my friends skip breakfast (on purpose) and honestly I just can’t do that. The hanger is real in this household.

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