BBQ Chicken Nachos
Make the best BBQ chicken nachos! These chicken nachos are loaded with tender chicken, BBQ sauce, and a super simple homemade cheese sauce. I use several shortcuts like cooked shredded chicken and store-bought BBQ sauce, so they’re easy to make. They’re better than any restaurant nachos and perfect for parties, game days, or make them for dinner!
Barbecue Chicken Nachos
These easy chicken nachos are a super-sized appetizer, snack, or even dinner, perfectly layered and fully loaded with tender chicken, BBQ sauce, creamy cheese sauce, and shredded cheese. And (bonus!) they are not complicated to make. Make them for game day, make them for a party, or make them for a random Friday night. You’ll never go out for nachos again.
BBQ Chicken Nachos Recipe
Get your chicken nachos recipe right here, and keep scrolling to get more recipe tips!
PrintBBQ Chicken Nachos
Layers of chicken, cheese, BBQ sauce, and tortilla chips – these BBQ chicken nachos have it all!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Cheese Sauce (see note)
- 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Nachos
- 1 (11-ounce) bag tortilla chips
- 10 ounces shredded rotisserie chicken (see note)
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 large jalapeno, stem, seeds, and ribs removed and finely chopped (see note)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- Juice of 1/2 a lime
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
- Make the cheese sauce: Place the white cheddar cheese in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the top and toss to coat the cheese evenly. Add the cream and heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the cheese has melted. Turn the heat to low. The cheese sauce will be very thin, but will thicken as it stands.
- Assemble the nachos: Spread half of the tortilla chips in an even layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle half of the shredded chicken over the top. Drizzle half of the BBQ sauce over the top followed by half of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese, jalapeno, and onion evenly over the top. Spread the rest of the chips over the top, followed by the rest of the BBQ sauce, cheese sauce, jalapeno, onion, and shredded cheddar.
- Bake the nachos for ten minutes or until they are warmed through, and the shredded cheese is melted. Squeeze the lime juice over the top of the nachos, followed by the chopped parsley. Serve hot.
Notes
Cheese sauce: This homemade cheese sauce is so simple, but if you want to save a few minutes, use your favorite jarred nacho cheese sauce.
Chicken: Shredded rotisserie chicken works great, but any cooked chicken will work fine. So, if you have some leftover cooked chicken on hand, use it! Shred or dice it before you make the nachos.
Jalapeno: If you want to skip the fresh jalapeno, use a can or two of diced jalapenos.
Other toppings: Some guacamole and sour cream go well with these nachos, too!
Nutrition
- Calories: 591
- Sugar: 15.7g
- Sodium: 870.6mg
- Fat: 35g
- Saturated Fat: 16.3g
- Trans Fat: 0.8g
- Carbohydrates: 46.2g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Protein: 23.5g
- Cholesterol: 106mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More About this Recipe
What I love about these nachos, besides all of the layers of deliciousness, is the creamy white cheddar cheese sauce! It takes less than five minutes to make and elevates these nachos to a whole new level. The cheese sauce is the perfect velvety topping that stays smooth even after the nachos have cooled off.
The cheese and cream melt together in just a few minutes – a little cornstarch keeps it creamy, so you don’t end up with a stringy sauce.
Tips for Assembling the Nachos
Now for the fun part: nacho assembly! Pro tip: With all the drizzling, it helps to channel your inner Jackson Pollack.
Grab a large sheet pan, line it with foil, and you’re ready to go. The goal is to build up the nachos with even layers of all the toppings.
- Start by spreading half of the tortilla chips in an even layer and top them with half of the shredded chicken. Drizzle half of the barbecue sauce over the top of the chicken.
- Drizzle half of the melty cheddar cheese sauce over the top of the BBQ sauce.
- Sprinkle half of the jalapeno and red onion over the top of the sauce.
- Spread half of the shredded cheddar cheese over the top to finish the first layer.
Bake the nachos: Pop the sheet pan nachos into a 375°F oven and bake them for about 10 minutes or so. Check on them, and once the shredded cheese has melted and the top layer of chips is toasty, they’re ready to serve. I like to squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top, along with some chopped parsley.
Reheating Tips
These nachos are best hot from the oven, but if for some reason you have leftovers, you can reheat nachos in a 350°F oven until the chips crisp up a bit and the cheese is warmed up.
Happy nacho-making!
More Nachos Recipes
Chili Nachos are the best way to use up leftover chili! Layers of chips, cheese, pico de gallo, and cilantro combine to make a plate of nachos everyone will love.
If you love Mexican chorizo, you need to try these chorizo nachos! They’re so easy and loaded with flavor.
This BBQ Chicken Nachos Post has been updated from the archives. It was first published in October 2019.
Fantastic! Love everything about these bbq chicken nachos!
So glad you liked the recipe!