Mexican food is my absolute favorite. I could probably have it for dinner every night and never tire of it.
I am constantly trying out different variations of Mexican dishes to mix it up a bit. My newest creation uses marinaded chicken breasts to make these awesome chicken nachos.
This particular recipe makes a lot of chicken, 3 lbs, because I like to have left over chicken to take in lunches or use in other recipes over the next couple of days. Feel free to use less if desired.
The Marinade
For the marinade, simply combine all of the ingredients in a zip lock bag and add the chicken. Marinate overnight or a full 24 hours for the best results but you can get by with 3 hours if you run out of time.
Once the chicken has marinated for the desired time, remove the chicken, shake off the excess liquid, and sprinkle the spice rub on both sides of the chicken.
The Nachos
Grill the chicken, assemble your nachos with desired ingredients on a heat proof plate (tortilla chips, chicken, cheese, salsa, tomatoes), and throw it under the broiler until the cheese is melty and begins to brown. Browned cheese is the best! Careful when removing the plate from under the broiler as it will be extremely hot! Add the avocado and sour cream after you broil the nachos.
Note: This can easily be made gluten free if you are mindful of the brand of ingredients, especially the soy sauce.
Enjoy!
Grilled Southwest Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken (thighs or breast)
- 1 bag tortilla chips
Desired toppings:
- salsa
- avocado
- tomatoes
- sour cream
Marinade:
- 1 cup orange or orange pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce (tamari if gluten free)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Spice Rub:
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Make the marinaded chicken:
- Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a large zip lock bag.
- Add 3 lbs of chicken (thighs or breasts).
- Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but 8-24 hours is preferred.
Make the spice rub:
- In a small bowl, combine all of the spice rub ingredients.
- Remove the chicken from the bag and shake off the excess marinade.
- Sprinkle the spice rub all over the chicken, using as little or as much as you prefer.
Cook the chicken:
- Grill or pan fry the chicken until an internal temperature of 165 degrees and juices run clear. Shred or dice the chicken.
Assemble, broil, and serve
- On a heat proof plate, layer the tortilla chips, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and salsa.
- Place an oven rack on the highest point in the oven, just under the broiler.
- Turn the broiler on high.
- Place the nachos under the broiler until the cheese is nicely melted and starting to brown.
- Carefully remove from the oven (the plate will be VERY hot)
- Top with avocado and sour cream.
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