GAME DAY NACHO BAR
Interactive cooking class February 18! ❤️ Heart healthy with bonuses!
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Interactive cooking class February 18! ❤️ Heart healthy with bonuses! 〰️
🏈🔥 GAME DAY NACHO BAR – BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS A HEART ATTACK DURING THE SUPER BOWL 🔥🏈
Alright, let’s talk nachos. We all love ‘em. We all need them on game day. But here’s the deal—most nachos are a greasy, heart-clogging, food-coma-inducing disaster. And who wants to spend halftime clutching their chest instead of celebrating a touchdown? Not us.
That’s why we’re doing things differently. Today, I’m building a Super Bowl-worthy Nacho Bar that’s not just delicious, but also heart-friendly, plant-based, and completely customizable. Because let’s be honest—we all like our nachos our way. Some people want them piled high with toppings, others just need chips and cheese (no judgment). But no matter how you stack ‘em, we’re skipping the junk and making nachos that taste next-level amazing without the side of regret.
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Chips
· 1 pack of corn tortillas (make sure the only ingredients are corn, lime, and maybe salt)
Directions:
OVEN: Pre-heat to 400 convection or 425 regular
AIR FRYER: Do nothing
Cut your corn tortillas into either triangles if you want a conventional chip, or heck, grab a football shaped cookie cutter cookie cutter and have a good time!
For oven baking, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out your cut tortillas, careful to not overlap. bake for 11 -12 minutes convection or 14-15 minutes regular.
For air fryer - throw those suckers in there and at 400 bake for 8 minutes.
I highly recommend you please watch the video as I explain how these times may change for two reasons - ovens are calibrated differently - your oven may run a few degrees cooler or hotter. And, tortilla chips are all a little different. Some are white, some yellow, some extra thin, etc etc. I address this and so much more.
All in all, find a tortilla that yields the best chip for you and stick with that.
Use these chips just like you would for any other tortilla chip: nachos, crumbled on taco soup, dipped into your cashew cheese, favorite guac, etc etc.
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Fire-roasted Salsa
6 Roma tomatoes, halved
1 large white onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 jalapeños (or more if you like heat)
1 dried guajillo or ancho chili (optional, but amazing for depth)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon maple syrup or ½ small Medjool date
Directions:
Place the tomatoes (cut side down), onion, jalapeños, and unpeeled garlic on a baking sheet. Broil on high for 8-10 minutes, until charred and blistered. Let the garlic cool, then peel.
If using, soak in warm water for 10 minutes, then remove the stem and seeds.
Toss everything into a blender or food processor—pulse for chunky salsa, blend longer for smooth.
Taste and tweak salt, lime, or spice levels as needed. Let it sit for 30 minutes to let flavors meld (if you can wait that long).
For an extra smoky twist, grill everything instead of roasting.
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Salsa Verde
6 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 jalapeño or serrano, stem removed (keep seeds for heat, remove for mild)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 small white onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Directions:
Place tomatillos, jalapeño, and garlic on a baking sheet.
Broil on high for about 5-7 minutes, flipping halfway, until charred and softened.
Throw the roasted tomatillos, jalapeño, and garlic into a blender. Add onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and cumin. Blend until smooth, or leave it a little chunky if you like texture.
🔥Pro tip:
Too tart? Add a pinch of maple syrup.
Too thick? Splash in a little water.
Needs more heat? Toss in an extra roasted jalapeño.
Let it Sit for 10-15 minutes for the flavors will develop and get even better.
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Guac
· 3 ripe avocados
· 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
· 1 medium Roma tomato, finely diced (or sub roasted cherry tomatoes)
· 1 small jalapeño, finely diced
· 1-2 cloves garlic, grated or minced (trust me on this)
· 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
· Juice of 1 lime
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
· 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
· 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
· 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
· 1/2 small Medjool date, mashed (optional, but balances the acid perfectly)
Directions:
In a bowl, mash ‘em with a fork. Chunky or smooth? You do you.
Stir in the onion, tomato, jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
Give it 10 minutes to let the flavors marry. Serve with chips, slather on tacos, or just grab a spoon.
Smoky tip: Char the jalapeño over an open flame before dicing for extra smokiness.
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Sour Cream
· 1 12-ounce package of firm silken tofu
· 1 1/2 tablespoons of raw cashews (soaked in water and drained for 1 hour if not using a high-speed blender)
· 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
· Pinch of salt
Directions:
In a blender mix all ingredients well. Taste and if not quite sour enough, add 1/2 teaspoon more at a time, blending well in between tastings.
Chill for at least one hour and serve. Will keep covered in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
🔥 Pro Tip: Make two batches of this and add an adobo pepper + a little sauce (to taste) and blend it in to one of the batches.
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Ground meat
1/2 cup cooked white beans (great northern or navy), rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons fennel seed, crushed
1 tablespoon mushroom powder (optional, but adds a great umami element)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Several dashes fresh black pepper
Directions:
Before mixing your ingredients, get the steaming apparatus ready, bringing water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together super fast!!
Have ready 4 square sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the beans well with a fork or your hands. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix well with your hands. Knead the mixture for about a minute, you don't need to do this too long. Divide dough into 4 even parts (an easy way to do this: split the dough in half and then half again). Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5-inch log. Tightly twist the ends.
Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes. That’s it! You can unwrap and enjoy immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. Once cooled, I like to slice them into 1” rounds and give them a quick sizzle in a fry pan and use in pasta or even place on a vegan charcuterie tray.
To make ground meat for tacos or nachos (or whatever), crumble up the sausages and quickly pant fry to get those nice crispy edges. You can also spread them out on parchment paper and boil for 2-3 minutes, bake at 400-degrees F at 20 minutes or air-fry a4 400-degrees F for 10 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Post Punk Kitchen
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Refried Black Beans
· 2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
· 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
· 2 cloves garlic, minced
· 1/2 small jalapeño, finely diced (optional, but come on)
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
· 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
· 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
· 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
· 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
· 1/4 cup vegetable broth (plus more as needed)
· 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
· 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Directions:
Heat a pan over medium heat. Add onion and jalapeño, dry sautéing until softened (add a splash of broth if needed). Stir in garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano—let it get fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Add black beans and a splash of broth. Mash with a potato masher (or the back of a spoon) until creamy but still a little chunky. Keep adding broth to get the consistency just right.
Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. The beans should get thick, creamy, and dreamy. Stir in lime juice, nutritional yeast (if using), and adjust seasoning.
If you want super-silky beans, blend half of them before adding them back to the pan.
🔥 Pro tip: Add a dash of liquid smoke for a hint of smokiness. Sooooo good!!!
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Dreamy Creamy Cheese Sauce
· 1/2 cup cashews, soaked for 30 minutes
· 1/2 cup plant-based milk (more to thin if you wish)
· 1 cup cooked cannellini beans
· 1 1/2 cups cooked butternut squash -OR- 1 cup of canned butternut squash puree (found in the baking aisle next to the canned pumpkin)
· 1 1/2 tablespoons mild (yellow) miso paste
· 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
· 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
· 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
· 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· Juice of ½ lemon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Peel and cut up a butternut squash into similar sized pieces. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and bake the squash for 30 minutes. Measure out about one cup of squash to use in recipe. Or, open a can of pureed butternut squash and dump 1 cup in int the blender.
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until creamy.
Will last 4-5 days in the fridge in a sealed container.
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Garnishes
🌶️ Sliced jalapenos (I love pickled in the jar!)
🍅 Diced tomatoes
🧡 Toasted pepitas – for some great CRUNCH!
🥬 Shredded cabbage – for some freshness
🌿 Cilantro
🍋🟩Cut limes ( a final squeeze of lime over the nachos is so great!!)
🏈🔥 GAME DAY NACHOS – THE FINAL PLAY 🔥🏈
Alright, folks—we did it. We built the ultimate nacho bar that’s bold, customizable, and won’t send you straight to the ER by halftime.
These nachos prove that you don’t need grease, processed junk, or regret to make game-day food delicious. You just need real flavors, fresh ingredients, and a little bit of nacho confidence.
So, whether your team wins, loses, or fumbles the bag entirely—at least you can say your nachos were legendary. 🏆
Now grab a plate, pile it high, and enjoy the game. Because the only thing that should be getting tackled today is that stack of chips.
Happy snacking, and may the best team (or at least the best nachos) win!
M E M B E R S H I P
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