Our cast iron shredded chicken nachos are loaded with cheese, shredded chicken, pinto beans, and lots of veggies! A great way to use leftover chicken and is ready in just 15 minutes. A great game day appetizer or dinner kids love.
Who doesn’t LOVE nachos? It is one of those dishes that everyone agrees on. These nachos are SO easy to make. This one-pan meal combines melty cheese, crunchy chips and nacho toppings to impress any crowd.
Chicken nachos are perfect for weeknight dinners, after-school snacks, Super Bowl parties, and/or family potlucks. My family has decided to put a twist on this upcoming Taco Tuesday by making these skillet nachos!
HOW TO MAKE:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Add tortilla chips to an oven-safe skillet
- Top with 1/2 cheese, chicken, pinto beans, then the rest of the cheese.
- Cook for 8 minutes or until cheese is melted
- Top with your favorite toppings and serve immediately.
Related: The Best Easy Taco Salad
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained
- 1 cup cooked shredded chicken
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- Optional toppings
Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, add the tortilla chips to an oven-safe skillet.
I always use my cast iron skillet for shredded chicken nachos. In the past, I would use a cookie sheet but I like using my cast iron better.
The cast iron allows the chips to remain crispy while letting the cheese melt all the way through. Don’t believe me? Give this recipe a try & report back 🙂
Top the tortilla chips with 1/2 cheese and the shredded chicken.
HOW TO MAKE SHREDDED CHICKEN
If you need to cook frozen chicken here’s a quick way: How to Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot.
Once the chicken is done cooking in the Instant Pot, you can use a Kitchenaid mixer for shredding. Click on How to Shred Chicken in Kitchenaid to learn my tips and tricks for an easy shredding method.
Next, add the pinto beans to the cast iron skillet. Beans are packed with fiber, protein, and flavor. We often forget about this plant-based food but it is one of my favorite ingredients in this recipe!
Substitutions
- black beans
- great northern beans
- chili beans
- garbanzo beans
Top with the remaining cheese.
TIPS & Tricks:
- This recipe was developed for 6 servings. Cut the recipe in half if cooking for 1-2 people or double/triple the recipe if cooking for a crowd.
- Make a batch of Homemade Chicken Taco Seasoning to sprinkle over the top of the nachos before melting the cheese or add to the chicken prior to cooking as a seasoning.
- Use a combination of cheeses for extra flavor – I use shredded white and sharp cheddar cheese.
- Swap the chicken for ground beef OR eliminate the chicken and double the portion of beans for meatless skillet nachos.
- Reheat by placing the leftovers back into the cast iron pan to heat in the oven OR placing a tray of leftover nachos into an air fryer.
Cook for 8 minutes in the oven or until the cheese is melted.
Serve immediately with nacho toppings.
TOPPINGS:
- Canned Mexican Corn Salad
- Salsa
- Avocado
- Tomato
- Jalapeno
- Greek Yogurt
- Cilantro
How to make nachos in the AIR FRYER
The air fryer works great for reheating leftover nachos. No need to turn on your oven!
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees.
- Place nachos into the air fry rack.
- Heat for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
MORE MEXICAN-INSPIRED RECIPES:
- Steak Skillet Nachos
- Mexican Shrimp Ceviche
- Slow Cooker Refried Beans
- Chicken Tostada Recipe
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
- Mexican Rice
- One Pan Mexican Quinoa
- Chicken Tortilla Chip Casserole
- Chicken Quesadillas
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Cast Iron Shredded Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
- 1 bag tortilla chips ✅
- 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained ✅
- 1 cup cooked shredded chicken ✅
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese ✅
- 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese ✅
- optional toppings: salsa, avocado, tomato, jalapeno, greek yogurt, cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Layer tortillas. Add torilla chips to an oven-safe skillet. Top with 1/2 cheese, chicken, pinto beans, then the rest of the cheese.1 bag tortilla chips, 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained, 1 cup cooked shredded chicken, 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- ⭐️Cook. Cook for 8 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Top with nacho toppings and serve. Top with your favorite toppings and serve immediately.optional toppings: salsa, avocado, tomato, jalapeno, greek yogurt, cilantro
Notes
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed these recipes make sure to leave a comment and a star rating below!
Then follow us on social media and tag #createkidsclub if you make the recipe. We love seeing what you come up with!
Katie says
Love the skillet idea. I’m going to try this camping this summer.