Spicy Chorizo Nachos With Jalapenos And Chipotle Mayo

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Savory, hearty chorizo nachos with spicy jalapenos and chipotle mayo are the coziest comfort food appetizer or dinner for two! They’re ready in just 25 minutes and pair well with a margarita for a spicy date night in.

We love nachos. So much so that we’ve made almost every kind of nacho platter you can imagine, including loaded sheet pan chicken nachos, decadent barbecue pulled pork nachos, carne asada nachos, and even beer cheese nachos with bacon!

The one protein that’s been missing? Chorizo. It’s one of our favorite ingredients to cook with, so we decided it was finally time for it to take center stage in these spicy chorizo nachos.

They’re a perfect dinner for two (yes, we eat nachos for dinner all the time) with a spicy mezcal margarita. These nachos are also definitely going to be on our game day menu when football comes back in September!

Why We Love This Recipe

Key Ingredients

• Ground chorizo – You’ll want to use ground chorizo, not chorizo links, for this recipe. Ground chorizo works best for nachos to get an even distribution of flavor and the proper texture. We like to use a Mexican variety for nachos, but you can also try Spanish chorizo for a slightly different flavor. We love using soyrizo as a great vegetarian alternative, too!
• Refried black beans – We love making refried black beans in our slow cooker (we follow this recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen) for a more flavorful, less processed option than canned beans from the store. This also allows us to control the texture; canned refried beans are often very thick, so if you’re using canned beans we recommend microwaving them for at least 30 seconds before dolloping them onto the nachos so they’re easier to work with.
• Corn – We always have a bag of frozen corn kernels on hand so that’s what we use for this recipe. But you can also use canned corn (make sure to drain and rinse) if you prefer.
• Chipotle mayo – A drizzle of our 4-ingredient chipotle mayo is the secret ingredient to these flavorful nachos! It’s super easy to make and so flavorful – we definitely recommend going with homemade versus using a store-bought chipotle mayo.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Chorizo Nachos

Step 1: Brown the chorizo in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until it’s cooked through, then set aside.

Step 2: Assemble the nachos on a parchment-lined baking sheet or round pizza pan. Spread out the tortilla chips into a single layer with some overlap, then top with about three-quarters of the shredded cheese.

Step 3: Dollop the refried beans across the nachos. If you’re using canned beans, microwave them for about 30 seconds first to make this step easier.

Step 4: Top the nachos with the ground chorizo.

Step 5: Evenly distribute the diced red onion, corn kernels, and jalapeno wheels on the nachos.

Step 6: Top the nachos with the remaining shredded cheese – this helps keep all the delicious toppings in place!

Step 7: Finally, bake at 350 for 10 minutes to melt the cheese and warm everything through, then drizzle with chipotle mayo and serve hot.

Serving Suggestions

While we love eating these chorizo nachos for dinner with a smoky pomegranate margarita, we understand that most people see nachos as an appetizer (even if our mission is to change that view!). 

So whether you’re getting ready for a big game day feast, a summer cookout, or just looking for some recipes to enjoy with Taco Tuesday, serve these nachos with a couple of our other favorite appetizers:

• Jalapeno popper dip
• Easy Mexican street corn dip
• Mango pico de gallo
• Southwest egg rolls
• Coconut shrimp with sweet and spicy dipping sauce

No matter how you choose to enjoy these nachos (try them for dinner, we’re begging you – it’s the best possible date night activity), we know you’ll love them. Let us know when you try them for dinner by rating, commenting, and sharing below!