BBQ Chicken Nachos

Name: BBQ Chicken Nachos
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked shredded chicken; 1/2 cup BBQ sauce; 1 bag tortilla chips; 2 cups shredded cheddar and/or cheddar jack cheese; 1/4 red onion (finely diced); 1 Roma tomato (finely diced); 1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapeños; 2 tablespoons cilantro (roughly chopped)

These BBQ Chicken Nachos are layered with crispy tortilla chips, gooey cheese, shredded BBQ chicken, and the best nacho toppings all baked on a large baking sheet. Perfect for football season, easy dinners, or the ultimate party appetizer. Have these nachos ready in just 25 minutes!

Jump to Recipe

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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
🔪Instructions
💭Recipe FAQs
👩🏻‍🍳Chef Tips
🥗Serving
More Snack Recipes
🍳Recipe
💬 Reviews

🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe

Perfect for game day - If you're hosting people for the Super Bowl or sports games throughout the year, you can't go wrong with serving these sheet pan BBQ chicken nachos. It's guaranteed to be the star of the show and a great way to satisfy a crowd.
Easy to customize - Switch up these sheet pan chicken nachos by using your family's favorite toppings or leave a section plain for picky eaters.
Great way to use up leftover chicken - If you've made my Air Fried Rotisserie Chicken or Dutch Oven Whole Chicken and are looking for ways to repurpose it, you can't go wrong with dressing it in some BBQ sauce and making nachos. You can even make the BBQ chicken ahead of time for easy meal prep.

🥘Ingredients and Substitutions

Chicken - Any plain or lightly seasoned shredded chicken will work well. I love using up leftover rotisserie chicken here or cooking plain chicken breasts or chicken thighs. You can even use leftover BBQ pork from my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders if you have it.
BBQ sauce - Use your favorite BBQ sauce in this BBQ Chicken nacho recipe. A store-bought BBQ sauce or your own homemade BBQ sauce will work well here! Use leftover BBQ sauce on these Air Fried BBQ Chicken Thighs.
Tortilla chips - For best results, I recommend using a sturdy chip variety - this will help keep them from becoming soggy and allow you to load up the barbecue chicken nachos with extra toppings.
Cheese - Any cheese will do, but I love using cheddar cheese or cheddar jack cheese. Other types of cheese, such as Monterey jack cheese or Gouda would be great options.
Toppings - My favorite go-to nacho toppings are red onion, diced fresh tomatoes, pickled or fresh jalapeños, and chopped cilantro. Don't be afraid to switch it up and make these your own. If you have leftover jalapeños, use them to make cornbread with jalapeños and cheddar cheese.

See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.

🔪Instructions

Prep the chicken. In a medium or large bowl, combine the shredded chicken with the barbecue sauce and set aside.
Build the nachos. Arrange a layer of tortilla chips on a large-rimmed baking sheet. Top with 1 cup of shredded cheese followed by shredded BBQ chicken.
Layer remaining ingredients. Sprinkle some of the red onion and diced tomato over the cheese. Top with the remaining cheese.
Bake. Place the nachos in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts.
Sprinkle with desired toppings. Remove the sheet pan BBQ chicken nachos from the oven and top with finely diced red onion, diced tomato, chopped cilantro, and jalapeño slices, or as desired.
Serve. Serve while hot and crispy and enjoy!

💭Recipe FAQs

What toppings do you serve on nachos?

In addition to red onion, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, and cilantro, here are a few other popular nacho topping choices to try: crispy bacon bits, black olives, sour cream, green onions, banana peppers, hot sauce, guacamole, or diced avocado.

What cheese is best to melt for nachos?

Everyone knows the best part of making nachos is the delicious, melty cheese. Although some cheese varieties are better for nachos (cheddar and cheddar jack cheese are my favorites), it is much more important to choose a block of cheese or finely shredded cheese.

Many brands of pre-shredded cheese are made with an anti-caking agent to help prevent the shreds from sticking together. These preservatives also prevent the cheese from melting fully. If you want the best gooey nachos, shred the cheese yourself or opt for a super finely shredded bag of cheese.

Do you put meat or cheese on nachos first?

It is best to top the first layer of crispy tortilla chips with a layer of cheese followed by the bbq chicken. This helps create a barrier between the chips and the saucy meat and helps prevents the chips from getting soggy.

👩🏻‍🍳Chef Tips

Add more protein - If you want to make your bbq chicken nachos recipe even higher in protein, add 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans to the nachos.
Broil for the last 2-3 minutes - If you love your nachos extra crispy, broil the nachos for the last 2-3 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
Easy cleanup option - Put down a layer of parchment paper on the sheet pan before adding on the layer of crunchy tortilla chips.

🥗Serving

These sheet pan nachos make a delicious snack or appetizer for football games or an easy weeknight dinner idea. If you're looking for additional appetizers to serve, you may love these Air Fryer Dry Rub Wings, Air Fryer Italian Chicken Sausage, or these Air Fryer Buffalo Drumsticks.

You can't go wrong with serving cocktails like this Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas, Frozen Strawberry Mule with Mint, or this Skinny Spicy Margarita.