This Healthy Chicken Nachos recipe is made with mini bell peppers instead of tortilla chips! It’s Low carb, gluten free and grain free!
Chicken nachos have always been my favorite appetizer-turned-meal. You know what I’m talking about. You’re not really feeling anything on the menu, but you’re super hungry so you get the nachos because they’re always 10 times bigger than any other appetizer. And inevitably you’re super full afterwards because you ate the whole thing because how could you leave any nachos on the plate?
Story of my life.
Once I have nachos in front of me it’s hard to stop, which is why I try to keep them as a bar-only food. But what happens when I have a really strong craving for nachos at home?
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I make these Healthy Chicken Nachos made with mini bell peppers instead of tortilla chips! No lie, they totally satisfy my nacho cravings and keep me full and happy until my next meal.
The key to making these work as “nachos” is using mini bell peppers. Anything bigger and it becomes a stuffed pepper and anything smaller and it’s hard to hold any toppings.
Mini bell peppers are the perfect size to fill with toppings, pick up with your fingers and eat as a full or meal or an appetizer. To get the peppers ready, just slice off the tops, cut in half and remove the seeds.
For the protein, I mixed some ground chicken with my homemade taco seasoning. To make you’ll need:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon each: ground cumin, salt
- 1/2 teaspoon each: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Simply cook the chicken in a skillet until fully cooked through, and place the crumbles on top of the bell peppers.
To keep things on the lighter side, I used only one cup of shredded cheese to top the peppers. You could use more, but I promise you won’t even miss it once you garnish the chicken nachos with cilantro, onions, avocados and even a dollop of sour cream.
Healthy Chicken Nachos
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 pound mini bell peppers
- 1 pound ground chicken (or ground turkey)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/4 cup diced cilantro
- 1/4 cup diced onions
- 1/2 avocado
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the tops off the mini bell peppers, then cut in half and remove the seeds and veins. Place on the prepared baking sheet and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, add ground chicken, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and oregano. Mix together until the seasoning is well combined with the meat.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the olive oil and the seasoned ground chicken. Sauté until meat is fully cooked, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Spoon the cooked ground chicken onto the mini bell peppers. Top the peppers with shredded cheese and bake in oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top with cilantro, onions, avocados and any other toppings you'd like. Serve immediately.
Notes
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What an awesome idea. I’m stealing it for my super bowl party… I’ll convince my husband that he needs to go healthier this year. Thankfully he likes peppers 🙂
Yes! It would be perfect for that. If you serve it with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt and even some regular chunky salsa, you won’t even remember that it’s made with peppers.