High Protein Nachos With Cottage Cheese Sauce

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These flavorful high protein nachos are made with cottage cheese nacho sauce, tender marinated chicken, black beans, and Greek yogurt for a satisfying and delicious meal.

We’re obsessed with nachos. So we couldn’t resist making these high protein nachos with our new cottage cheese queso recipe!

These healthy nachos are made with a flavorful marinated chicken, cottage cheese nacho sauce (that seriously tastes like real queso), black beans, and plenty of veggies. With creamy guacamole and Greek yogurt for added protein, these nachos are super filling and satisfying.

What This Recipe Entails

You can easily make these high protein nachos in about 45 minutes! Use the time the chicken is marinating to make the cottage cheese nacho sauce and prep the veggies.

• Prep time: 35 minutes
• Cook time: 8 to 10 minutes

You can shorten the prep time by making the chicken ahead of time, or using your favorite crockpot chicken recipe instead. Once the nachos are assembled, they simply bake for a few minutes to warm everything through, and then they’re ready to serve!

High Protein Nachos Ingredients

Any good nacho platter is drenched in a delicious nacho cheese sauce and piled high with toppings like meat, beans, and veggies. These healthy high protein chicken nachos are no exception!

A flavorful marinated chicken and a high protein cottage cheese nacho sauce make these nachos extra satisfying without the heaviness that can often come with traditional nachos. Here’s what you’ll need to make our recipe:

• Marinated chicken
• Cottage cheese queso
• Tortilla chips
• Black beans
• Roma tomato
• Jalapeno
• Red onion
• Guacamole
• Greek yogurt

We like to marinate the chicken in vegetable oil, lime juice, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, and chipotle powder for this recipe. The result is a juicy, tender Mexican flavored chicken that tastes great on nachos.

You can also use something like our salsa marinated chicken, crockpot chicken tinga, or a shredded or sliced chicken of your choice to top these nachos. It’s really up to you!

What makes these nachos high in protein is the cottage cheese nacho sauce. You’ll want to make our cottage cheese queso recipe for these nachos. It’s super creamy and drizzles over the tortilla chips so easily. Plus, it tastes like real queso! But it’s low in calories and high in protein.

We also like to add fresh veggies like tomato, jalapeno, and onion to amp up the nutrition in these healthy nachos, plus homemade guacamole. Guac made from scratch is so much more flavorful – and healthier – than any store bought version! Try our guacamole recipe here.

Finally, swap the sour cream with Greek yogurt for a healthier alternative that adds even more protein to these nachos. We love the thick and creamy consistency of Fage Greek yogurt for a sour cream substitute!

How To Make High Protein Nachos With Cottage Cheese Sauce

To make our high protein nachos recipe, you’ll have to marinate and cook the chicken, make the cottage cheese nacho sauce, and then assemble the nachos before baking them in the oven. If you use the time the chicken is marinating to make the cheese sauce and prep the other ingredients, you’ll be enjoying these nachos in 45 minutes or less!

Here’s a step by step breakdown for how to make this recipe:

1. First, combine the chicken, vegetable oil, lime juice, salt, paprika, cayenne, cumin, and chipotle powder in a medium bowl. Marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.
2. Next, preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, cook the chicken for about 9 to 12 minutes, flipping every 3 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of about 160 to 165 degrees F. Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 2 minutes before slicing into strips.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Now, make the cottage cheese queso. Combine the ingredients in a blender and blend on medium to high speed for a few minutes until the cheese sauce has a creamy, smooth consistency. You may need to scrape the sides of the blender with a rubber spatula a few times to ensure everything is properly combined.
5. Then, assemble the nachos. Lay the tortilla chips in a single layer on a large baking sheet, overlapping them slightly. Next, drizzle the cottage cheese nacho sauce evenly over the chips. Then, top with sliced chicken, black beans, diced tomato, sliced jalapeno, and diced red onion.
6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until warm. Top the nachos with fresh guacamole and Greek yogurt, and serve immediately.

It’s tempting to not give the chicken the full 20 minutes to marinate when you’re seriously craving nachos. But trust us, it’s worth the wait! Even a quick marinade adds extra juiciness and moisture to the chicken, and breaks down the proteins just enough to yield a deliciously tender texture.

You can cook the chicken on the stove like we do, or grill it if you prefer. We don’t recommend baking the chicken as this often dries it out, and you won’t get any caramelization on the outside.

When To Make High Protein Nachos

These high protein chicken nachos are a surprisingly healthy dinner for the whole family! You can also make them as a game day appetizer or a healthier party snack. We even love making a half batch of these for a cozy date night at home and digging into them around the coffee table while we watch a movie or play video games.

No matter how or when you choose to serve these high protein nachos, we guarantee they’ll become your new obsession! Try our high protein nachos recipe below and let us know what you think by rating and sharing.