Loaded Sweet Potato Nachos

Loaded Sweet Potato Nachos are a healthier, all-natural nacho covered with a spicy, veggie-loaded salsa, and drowned in an all-natural cheese sauce.

We have been getting SO many delicious, quality sweet potatoes from our CSA. Fortunately, sweet potatoes, aside from being yummy, are also versatile. Check out my recipes for Sweet Potato and Chard Lasagna Wheels as well as Cheesy Vegan Rutabaga Casserole. But for this week, when life gave me 4 pounds of sweet potatoes and it’s almost Cinco de Mayo, I decided that I must make Loaded Sweet Potato Nachos! Theses nachos are a much, much healthier version of your movie theatre-style, processed, Velveeta-drowned, salt-petrified nachos. They’re covered with a spicy, veggie-loaded salsa, and drowned in an all-natural cheese sauce. Who says party food can’t taste good and be good for you, too?

Sometimes life throws more at you than you think you can handle. This week my family moved into a new house, which, like the delicious sweet potatoes, was a lot but such a good thing. We transformed from renters into homeowners and I got a much bigger kitchen out of the deal! But moving with a four-year-old while both of us are working parents, and all the while trying to run a food blog, results in a really long to-do list. I didn’t think we could get everything done, but now that I’m sitting in my new home writing this post, I realize that somehow it all came together. Yeah, we still have 15 or so boxes to unpack, and I’m getting this post up a couple of days later than I had initially scheduled, but we’re just about ready to resume our family’s normal routine. There were other great things about the move too. It was an excuse to see expert movers, aka family, that we haven’t seen in a while. Also, we made some serious headway with spring cleaning. Watch out Goodwill!

Sometimes the things that we view as stressful and overwhelming can actually be good for us. I think my family’s lesson for this past week is to maintain a good attitude, attempt to enjoy the good things that come out of a stressful situation, and just keep going with the task at hand, because we might just surprise ourselves!

Loaded Sweet Potato Nachos

Serves:   6

Cook Time: 15 minutes              Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Salsa:

• 1 C sweet potato, diced small
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 C tomatoes, diced and seeded*
• 3/4 C canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 C frozen sweet corn
• 1/3 C red onion, chopped small
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilis
• 1 Tbsp hot Mexican chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dry garlic
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Cheese Sauce:

• 2/3 C yellow onion, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot flour
• 1 1/2 C 2% milk
• 1 C monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 C mild cheddar, shredded **
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilis (that makes 2 cans total)
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Other: 

• 1 bag of blue corn tortilla chips (about 15 chips per person)
• 1 C crumbled queso fresco for topping
• 1/2 C fresh cilantro for topping

* In May, before tomato season has started, I have found that the campari tomatoes available at the grocery store work well in this recipe.

**To save time I purchased a bag of organic pre-shredded cheese that was a combination of monterey jack and mild cheddar.

Directions

1. To begin, you will be assembling your sweet potato salsa. If you’re making this recipe for guests you can make this part ahead of time and store it in your refrigerator. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat for about 1 minute and then add your diced sweet potato, cooking until browned, which will take about 5 minutes. The sweet potato should be diced to about the size of a black bean. Once cooked, set aside to cool for about 1 minute while you mix together the rest of your salsa ingredients.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the remainder of your salsa ingredients, adding in the sweet potato last. Fold together, cover, and set aside.

3. Now it’s time to make nacho cheese salsa from scratch. Say goodbye to unhealthy, processed Velveeta! You can do this – making your own cheese sauce is surprisingly easy! Over medium heat, add 1 tsp olive oil and 2/3 C diced yellow onion to your pan (I prefer an uncoated sauté pan or saucepan for sauces). Cook the onions until translucent, but not browned, for 3-4 minutes. Then add 1 Tbsp arrowroot flour and cook for another minute, stirring continuously.

4. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add your milk to the pan, 1/2 C at a time, stirring continuously to prevent clumping. Cook the milk until it’s hot and steaming, but don’t allow it to simmer or boil, as this may cause curdling.

5. Once your milk is heated and thick from the arrowroot flour, stir in your shredded cheese.

You’ll end up with a stretching, delicious cheese sauce…

6. For a finishing touch, mix in 1/8 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp himalayan salt, and 1 4 oz can diced green chilis.

7. Now it’s time to assemble your nachos. If you’re having a Cinco de Mayo party with your kids, they may have fun assembling their own plates. Or your adult friends may enjoy all of the ingredients served separately as a nacho bar (I know I would like that). First, put about 15 blue tortillas on a plate and top with your sweet potato salsa.

8. Next, smother in cheese sauce.

9. Last, but not least, sprinkle with cilantro and crumbled queso fresco for a touch of fresh flavor!