Cruciferous Skillet Nachos

Nachos are a great way to introduce plant-forward dinners to a skeptical crowd.

I love the idea of using the leftover Brussels sprouts leaves that naturally fall off the sprouts when trimming and dicing, as they typically burn while the larger pieces of Brussels sprouts are roasting.

Tip: If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, feel free to use a traditional baking pan. We recommend draining the pico de gallo to avoid too much moisture making the tortilla chips soft. 

Serves 4 for dinner portion, 6 for appetizer portion

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium red onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 red peppers, diced

2 cups Brussels sprout leaves or shredded Brussels sprouts

2 cups shredded kale

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed with a fork

1 (5-ounce) bag Siete grain-free tortilla chips

½ cup grated manchego cheese 

3 medium scallions, greens part only, thinly sliced

½ cup pickled jalapeños (optional)

½ cup pico de gallo

1 cup broccoli sprouts (optional)

½ cup plain full fat coconut yogurt or regular full-fat yogurt

1 avocado, diced

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When warm, add onion and garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir to coat with the oil and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add red pepper and saute a few minutes more until pepper starts to soften. Add Brussels sprouts and kale, and saute for a few minutes more until tender. Remove the spiced vegetables from heat and add the mashed black beans, stirring to combine.   

3. Create some space in the vegetable bean mixture to gently wedge in the tortilla chips, and top with cheese and ½ of the scallions. Bake in the oven for approximately 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is slightly golden and chips are crispy.

4. Remove from the oven. Top the nachos with remaining scallions, optional jalapeños, pico de gallo, broccoli sprouts, yogurt and diced avocado. 

5. Serve straight from the skillet using the chips to dig into the bed of vegetables and beans. Watch your friends and family be amazed that there’s no meat!