This Pulled Pork Nachos recipe can surely enhance any festivity with its mouthwatering combination of crispy tortilla chips, savory BBQ pulled pork, and layers of melty cheese.
Anytime you’re craving a savory treat you can share with friends, these nachos are going to be a no-brainer fix for your crunch-seeking appetite.
To further impress guests, serve this dish with Crispy Baked Green Beans and Air Fryer Breadsticks for the ultimate finger food platter you won’t get tired of indulging on!
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Are nachos and tortilla chips the same?
Nachos and tortilla chips are related but aren’t the same. The crispy round or triangular tortilla chips are simply the base ingredients for nachos, which is the name that refers to the entire dish with chips covered with toppings like cheese, sauce, and meat.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This nacho recipe highlights the taste of savory pulled pork and the gooey goodness of melted cheese held together by crunchy chips. But these aren’t the only reasons to fall in love with this dish.
- This recipe is customizable. Feel free to add your favorite toppings like green onions, pickles, avocado, or guacamole. Creativity is key, so feel free to get a lil crazy with customizing the snack.
- This is a quick and easy recipe. Anyone can whip up this nacho recipe even on busy days, as the cooking time takes less than 10 minutes.
- It is a feast for the eyes. With its colorful topping, this snack is not only delicious but also an incredible picturesque snack.
If you love the savory yet cheesy flavor of bbq pulled pork nachos, you should also try these instant pot Philly cheesesteak sliders!
If you’re looking for more nachos, give these steak fajita nachos a try.
🥘 Ingredients
Add these ingredients to your grocery list and make pulled pork nachos for your next gathering!
- Pulled pork: I love using smoked pulled pork, but other pulled pork recipes and store-bought ones will also work.
- Restaurant-style tortilla chips: These corn tortilla chips will be the base of the nachos. Their neutral flavor will act as a canvas for the different toppings, and they’ll provide that satisfying crunch.
- Shredded cheese: I used Mexican-style cheese, but feel free to use cheddar cheese and other types.
- Jalapeño peppers: The seeded and sliced jalapeños add vibrant color and a slight kick to the nachos.
- Black olives: The briny flavor and earthy element of sliced black olives pair well with the other toppings. They elevate the dish and give it a hint of saltiness and a burst of umami flavor.
- Barbeque sauce: A drizzle of bbq sauce enhances the pulled pork’s flavor. It also infuses the nachos with a bit of tangy flavor, smokiness, and a hint of sweetness.
- Sour cream: This adds a smoother texture to the nachos. At the same time, its creamy and cooling element balances out the heat from the jalapenos and the richness of the other ingredients.
- Tomato: Chopped tomatoes add juicy freshness to the nachos, creating a refreshing contrast to the smoky and savory flavors of the other ingredients.
- Fresh Cilantro leaves: Their bright green color and other vibrant elements add complexity to the nachos.
See recipe card for quantities.
🔀 Substitutions
Pulled pork: You can substitute shredded chicken or beef for pulled pork or use this Crockpot Carnitas Recipe. These meats also have that savory flavor and can be an alternative protein source for the nachos.
Restaurant-style tortilla chips: If you’re up for a challenge, you can make your own homemade tortilla chips.
Sour cream: If you don’t want to use sour cream, you can use Greek yogurt, which also offers a creamy texture and tangy flavor.
🌈 Variations / Options / Add-Ins
Adding pulled pork is one way to elevate your nachos recipe, but aside from that, there’s still so much more that you can do to ensure that everyone enjoys a plate of nachos!
- Kid-friendly Cheesy Nachos: To ensure that even the kids can enjoy eating nachos, you can use mild cheese, omit the jalapenos from this recipe, and serve the dish with mild salsa.
- Breakfast Brunch Nachos: You can also turn this recipe into something well-suited for breakfast. Just add scrambled eggs, crumbled breakfast sausage, sauteed bell peppers, and a drizzle of salsa.
- Loaded BBQ Nachos: Elevate these pulled pork nachos further by adding bbq-style toppings like caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and crispy bacon.
If you’re craving more Mexican food, try making some Chicken Slow Cooker Enchiladas, a dish that will surely have you asking for a second serving.
🥄 Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools
This easy pulled pork nachos recipe only requires a few tools that will help you make it quickly!
- Baking sheet: This is necessary to provide an even surface for baking the tortilla chips.
- Chopping board: You’ll need to do quite a lot of chopping for this recipe.
🔪 How to Make Pulled Pork Nachos
Making pulled pork nachos that everyone will surely devour in minutes requires very simple steps. Let me walk you through them!
Step 1: Prepare the oven
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Step 2: Lay out the tortilla chips
Lay out the tortilla chips into an even layer in a baking pan.
Step 3: Add the base toppings
After laying out the tortilla chips, take half of the shredded cheese and sprinkle it on the chips.
Make sure that the cheese covers as many tortilla chips as possible. Then evenly distribute the pulled pork all over the nachos, and sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the pulled pork.
Step 4: Add the veggie toppings
Once you’ve sprinkled the 2nd layer of cheese, you can top off the nachos with black olives, jalapeno peppers, and other optional toppings that you like.
Step 5: Bake the nachos
Bake the nachos for 5 to 8 minutes in the oven until the cheese has melted.
Step 6: Add the sauce and other garnishes
After baking, drizzle bbq sauce and sour cream on top of the nachos. Then, add the chopped tomatoes and cilantro to complete the dish.
Step 7: Serve and enjoy
Immediately serve the nachos and enjoy the goodness of the combination of pulled pork and melty cheese!
👩🍳 Pro Tips
- Feel free to swap out the vegetables recommended in the recipe with your preferred toppings.
- Make sure to add the meat and melted cheese on top of the tortilla chips first so that the wet toppings won’t make the chips soggy.
❓ Recipe FAQs
The sauce should be added to the pulled pork nachos at the very last moment or served separately. That’s because if you pour the sauce on the nachos before heating them in the oven, the chips will become soggy.
No, it’s not recommended to make pulled pork nachos in advance. This recipe is best enjoyed right after baking, as making it in advance may result in an undesirable texture.
However, the toppings and other ingredients can be prepared beforehand so that you have them readily available when you’re ready to assemble.
No, it’s not recommended to freeze leftover pulled pork nachos. This recipe is best enjoyed immediately after serving.
However, you can freeze the pulled pork along with some of the toppings for up to 3 months if you place them in an airtight container.
🙏 Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with pulled pork nachos:
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📋 Recipe
Pulled Pork Nachos
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Chopping board
Ingredients
- 1 pound Pulled Pork
- 12 ounce Bag Restaurant-style Tortilla Chips
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese we used Mexican-style
- 2 Jalapeno Peppers seeded and sliced
- 1/4 cup Sliced Black Olives
- 1/2 – 1 cup BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 – 1 cup Sour Cream
- 1 Tomato chopped
- 1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro Leaves stems discarded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- On the sheet pan, lay out the tortilla chips evenly.
- Sprinkle a handful of cheese on top of the chips, covering as many of them as possible.
- Distribute the pulled pork evenly all over the tortilla chips.
- Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese on the pulled pork. Then top with the black olives, jalapenos, and any other veggie toppings you desire.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Drizzle the sour cream and BBQ sauce evenly over the baked nachos. To finish assembly, top the nachos with chopped tomatoes and cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Feel free to swap out the vegetables recommended in the recipe with your preferred toppings.
- Make sure to add the meat and melted cheese on top of the tortilla chips first so that the wet toppings won’t make the chips soggy.