Lately, I’ve been loving sitting on my emerald green velvet couch with my heating pad and writing blog posts. I play the latest discover weekly on Spotify and jam out while I edit photos and write whatever comes to mind. This is my process. Today I’m sitting here dreaming about how incredible these nachos were…
This recipe has a great story behind it and one that may even convince you to not only try tofu but also experiment with a cashew cheese sauce. Yep, that’s right: a creamy nacho cheese like sauce to drench your tortilla chips in.
I didn’t tell Tony that this recipe was both vegan and gluten-free. Instead, all I mentioned is that we were having nachos for dinner because I wanted to see if he could tell that there wasn’t any meat on them and also if he noticed anything different about the cheese.
One bite in, he smiled and said, “These are incredible, we should have nachos more often!” I smirked a little. After he went back for seconds, I knew these vegan nachos were a hit. The best part was that after he was finished I told him about both the tofu and the cheese sauce and he exclaimed, “Well then we should have tofu more often because I like it.”
YES TO MORE PLANT BASED MEALS.
Trust me, if Tony couldn’t tell that these were both gluten free & vegan, then neither will your meat-loving friends and/or family.
Truth be told, I’ve been head over heels in love with tofu ever since I started working with Nasoya earlier this year. I love experimenting with it and how it doesn’t require an extensive amount of time to cook.
If you aren’t familiar with tofu, here are some awesome introductory ways to use it. Personally, I have grown to love tofu because it tends to take on the flavor of whatever spices you are cooking with. For this recipe, I used spices that are normally found in taco meat: cumin, chili powder, paprika, and garlic.
This recipe is absolutely perfect for game day, appetizers, party time, or just a fun dinner. You’ll teach yourself how to make something new and actually feel good about noshing on these incredibly tasty and protein packed healthy plant-based vegan nachos.
Hope you enjoy! xo.
More healthy appetizers and snacks to try:
Vegan Turmeric Pineapple Tofu Kabobs
The Best Guacamole You’ll Ever Eat
Avocado Strawberry Mango Salsa
Roasted Strawberry, Basil, and Goat Cheese Crostini
Whipped Feta & Avocado Crostini with Pomegranate
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Tofu Vegan Nachos with Cashew Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- For the cashew cheese sauce:
- 2 cups cashews, soaked for 2 hours and drained
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 ¼ cup water, plus more to thin if necessary
- 3/4 -1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric (for color)
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- For the tofu:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 package extra firm Nasoya tofu
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the nachos:
- 8 servings your favorite tortilla chips (about 8 cups of tortilla chips)
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 white onion, diced
- To garnish:
- ½ cup your favorite salsa
- 1 avocado, sliced or diced
- 1 jalapeño, sliced
- Cilantro to garnish
- Hot sauce, for drizzling
Instructions
- To make the cashew cheese sauce: Make sure you soak the cashews in 4 cups of water for at least 2 hours, otherwise you can place them large bowl, then add 4 cups boiling water and let the cashews soak in the hot water for approximately 45 minutes-1 hour to speed up the process.
- Once ready to make the sauce add drained cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, water, turmeric, dry mustard and salt to a high powered blender. Blend until a thick sauce comes together, adding a tablespoon or two more of water, if necessary to help blend. Set aside.
- Place a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. Once is hot, use your hands to crumble tofu and add to the pan. Sprinkle the spices and salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Add chips and spread out evenly.
- Sprinkle tofu, black beans, red bell pepper, onions evenly over the chips. Drizzle chips with the cashew cheese sauce.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with avocado, salsa, jalapeno, cilantro and hot sauce if desired. Serves 8 for an appetizer. Enjoy!
This recipe is in partnership with Nasoya Tofu. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting AK and the brands that help make this site possible!
17 comments
Now I am ready for game day. Always looking for something new to serve. Thanks.
YES these are perfect! Enjoy!
This looks SO good! Pinning so hopefully I can make it some time during this crazy holiday season 😉
YES I hope you do!
That first picture instantly made my mouth water. I can’t wait to try it myself, must be so delicious!!
It’s incredibly delicious! I hope you get a chance to try them!
These nachos look INSANE! The blue corn tortilla chips are one of my favorite snacks, especially those from Trader Joe’s! 😀
They’re SO, so good! Love blue corn tortilla chips too 🙂
Wow, I made this last night, and all these flavors are delicious! That being said, I didn’t have chips, so I cooked everything in a skillet and put it over romaine to make a salad. The cheese sauce was the dressing, and I added chunks of avocado. So yummy! But I’ll definitely try it as nachos soon….
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! And a vegan taco salad sounds amazing 🙂
OMG. This was ridiculously delicious! Super tasty. A new favorite recipe, thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! It’s one of my fav new appetizers (and lunches) too!
Is there a different protein you’d recommend with this? My family doesn’t like tofu at all. Thank you!
You can use any meat that you like! I might suggest ground turkey or even shredded chicken.
The best recipes ever! I want to buy your cookbook!!! Thanks for all your experimenting and discovering of these fantastic recipes!
You’re great! I simply adore all your recipes and can’t wait to experiment of those who think they don’t like tofu!
Thanks, Victoria! Hope everyone loves this one 🙂