Sweet Potato Nachos with Vegan Nacho Sauce
Is there anything better in life than a giant plate of nachos!? Of course not! Unless they’re Loaded Sweet Potato Nachos, that is!
Gila Monster Nachos from Pomegranate Café
My all-time favorite nachos come from Pomegranate Café in Ahwatukee, Arizona. Aside from the delicious vegan food, their menu is almost exclusively organic and completely non-GMO! Their Gila Monster Nachos (pictured to the right) are out of this world. The perfect balance of spicy, tangy, creamy, crunch and delish!!
I was inspired by their heavenly nachos to create something new, something equally delicious and balanced. My searching was over when a good friend of mine introduced the trend of Sweet Potato Nachos to me. If there’s one food I love; It’s potatoes. I can only thank the universe for so many ways to prepare them! Sweet potato nachos, however, was a completely new concept to me.
The Perfect Plate of Sweet Potato Nachos
The amazing thing about this kind of recipe is it’s completely customizable. The base consists of sweet potato wedges, cooked to crispy perfection. After that, you can load it up however you’d like! I was going for a similar taste profile to the Gila Monster Nachos pictured above, so I went with black beans, green chili sauce, vegan mayo, avocado, lime, walnuts and a homemade vegan nacho sauce! The combination of flavors is so astoundingly delicious, I cannot believe I haven’t done this before!
Carrots and Potatoes to make what!?
I know, I know! It sounded batshit-crazy to try making a nacho sauce using potatoes and carrots. If you take anything away from this post, know that I don’t mess around with cheese (or my previous addiction!) I finally jumped on the bandwagon, and was shocked at how amazing it turned out! Compared to the heavily processed vegan cheeses we’re all used to, this creamy and spicy queso sauce is a breath of fresh air! (breath of cheezy air?)
The sauce is simply made of boiled potatoes and carrots, blended with other flavors and spices for a delicious, creamy “cheese” sauce. I chose to include Jalapeno in the cheese recipe for an extra kick, but feel free to omit!
Sweet Potato Nachos with Vegan Nacho Sauce
Ingredients
For the Sweet Potato Nachos
- 2 large sweet potatoes cut into wedges
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
- Chopped walnuts
- Green chili sauce
- Chopped fresh cilantro and sliced limes for garnish
For the Nacho Sauce
- 4-5 medium yukon gold potatoes
- 2 large carrots
- 5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup water reserved from boiling veggies
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 fresh jalapenos to spice preference
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
For the Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 425°
- Coat the sweet potatoes in olive oil and toss in salt, chili powder, and cumin
- Bake in a single layer for 15-20 minutes
- Flip and bake for 15-20 minutes more
- Transfer to oven-safe plate and adorn with your favorite toppings
- Pop it back into the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes
For the Queso
- Boil the carrots and potatoes until pierced easily with fork, about 10 minutes
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer veggies to Vitamix (or other high-speed blender), save 1/2 cup of the water!
- Throw the rest of the ingredients into the blender, turn on high, and blend until smooth
- Pour the rest into an air-tight container and keep in the fridge (if it lasts that long!)
Notes
What are you waiting for!? Get in the kitchen, and get cooking!