These easy Paleo and AIP Nachos are seriously delicious. They’re made with grain-free tortilla chips and loaded with a vibrant AIP salsa, guacamole, ground beef and dairy free nacho cheese sauce!
These nachos are damn delicious. I know you might be thinking, how can I make AIP nachos? No cheese nachos? No tomatoes? Fear not my friend, these dairy free paleo and AIP nachos include the best dairy free nacho cheese sauce. It’s so good, I promise! This AIP nachos recipe also includes ground beef, AIP guacamole and a vibrant nightshade-free salsa made with cucumber and mango. You won’t miss the tomatoes at all and these are a perfect AIP game day recipe.
Here’s what you need for these Loaded AIP/Paleo Nachos:
- grain-free tortilla chips – You can make you can make AIP nachos with a variety of AIP compliant grain-free chips. Artisan Sea Salt Plantain chips are my AIP chips of choice. But my all time favorite grain-free paleo nacho chips are Siete Sea Salt tortilla chips. The crisp is unparalleled and they serve as the perfect base for these sheet pan nachos! Siete chips are an AIP reintroduction, however, because they contain chia seeds.
- dairy-free nacho cheese sauce – don’t skip the cheese! If you’re coconut-free you can try using the sauce included within this recipe for an AIP cheese sauce that’s just as creamy and delicious.
- AIP taco meat – my preference is ground beef but you can also use ground chicken or turkey.
- Guacamole – this nightshade-free guacamole is so delicious, even without the preserved lemons and a great accompaniment to these nachos
- Cucumber-mango salsa – the perfect AIP nightshade-free salsa that is bright and fresh and laid on top the nachos once they’re out the oven with the guac.
- Additional toppings – cilantro, red or green onions and other garnishes. Not included in these photos, but something I also enjoy doing is adding a dollop of unsweetened AIP compliant coconut yogurt on top in lieu of sour cream
Here’s how to make these Dairy-free Nachos:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Begin by preparing the guacamole and salsa and set aside.
- Prepare the AIP taco meat by combining sea salt, dried spices and lime zest into a small bowl. Saute the taco seasoning in olive oil in a large skillet so that the spices release their flavor. Next, add the ground beef of meat of choice, cilantro and green onion to the skillet and saute until the meat is cooked.
- Lay out your AIP Plantain Chips or paleo Siete Sea Salt Grain Free Tortilla Chips onto a sheetpan lined with parchment paper.
- Prepare the dairy-free nacho cheese sauce by combining coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, turmeric and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix together tapioca starch and water to make a slurry. Once coconut milk mixture has reached a rolling boil, add in slurry and whisk continuously until mixture begins to thicken.
- Drizzle half the AIP cheese sauce onto the chips and an even layer of the AIP taco meat.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. You’ll want to keep a close eye on them so that they don’t burn.
- Remove from oven and drizzle remaining dairy-free nacho cheese sauce on top followed by guacamole and salsa.
- Garnish with cilantro, red or green onions and any other toppings of your choice
If you loved these AIP nachos, here are some other AIP and Paleo Mexican-inspired recipes you might enjoy:
If you tried these Easy AIP Nachos I would love it if you would give the recipe a rating and short review. Also, be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious.
Print
Easy AIP Nachos (Paleo, Grain Free, Dairy Free)
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These easy Paleo and AIP Nachos are seriously delicious. They’re made with grain-free tortilla chips and loaded with a vibrant AIP salsa, guacamole, ground beef and dairy free nacho cheese sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 cup nightshade-free Guacamole
- 1 cup Cucumber-Mango Salsa
- 3 bags Artisan Sea Salt Plantain Chips or 1 large bag Siete Sea Salt Grain-Free Tortilla Chips (AIP reintro)
- Cilantro, green and/or red onions for garnishing
AIP Taco Meat
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- Zest of one lime
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1lb ground beef, chicken or turkey
- 2 TBSP chopped green onion
- 1/4 cup cilantro roughly chopped
Dairy-free Nacho Cheese Sauce
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- pinch of turmeric (optional – for yellow colour)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup full fat, additive free coconut milk
- 2 TBSP tapioca starch + 1 TBSP water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Prepare AIP salsa by combining diced mango, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and zest, olive oil and sea salt.
- Prepare guacamole.
- Prepare the AIP taco meat by combining sea salt, dried spices and lime zest into a small bowl.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat and saute the taco seasoning so that the spices release their flavor (about 2 minutes).
- Add ground beef or meat of choice, cilantro and green onion to the skillet and saute until the meat is cooked.
- Prepare the dairy-free nacho cheese sauce by combining coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, turmeric and salt in a saucepan over medium heat.
- In a small bowl, mix together tapioca starch and water to make a slurry. Once coconut milk mixture has reached a rolling boil, add in slurry and whisk continuously until mixture begins to thicken.
- Lay out your AIP Plantain Chips or paleo Siete Sea Salt Grain Free Tortilla Chips onto a parchment-lined sheet-pan.
- Drizzle half the AIP cheese sauce onto the chips, followed by an even layer of the AIP taco meat.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. You’ll want to keep a close eye on them so that they don’t burn.*
- Remove from oven and drizzle remaining dairy-free nacho cheese sauce on top followed by guacamole and salsa.
- Garnish with cilantro, red or green onions and any other toppings of your choice.
Notes
* I’ve found 12 minutes perfect for my oven and the Siete chips that I typically use. If you’re using Plantain Chips, you’ll want to monitor them so that they don’t burn!
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: aip, paleo, nachos, paleo nachos, aip nachos, dairy free nacho cheese sauce, dairy free nachos, loaded nachos, healthy nachos
I tried the cheese sauce with arrowroot powder and it came out like scrambled eggs with a jello texture. I’m hoping tapioca will work better.
It’s best to add the slurry at the very end of cooking, stir until you get the texture you want, and then quickly remove it from the heat. If it curdled it’s likely you didn’t whisk it in quick enough and/or you overcooked it.
Will arrowroot be ok to substitute the tapioca?
It should!
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for this recipe – one question about the AIP nacho chips- are they anywhere in Canada in the health stores or grocery stores? Or online only? Do you know?
I buy at naturamarket.ca so usually online but have purchased in many stores in Toronto including Organic Garage, Metro and Costco!
Hi Nicole, I just want you to know that every time I see something from you in my inbox I get so excited because I know there’s something sooooo tasty on the horizon! We are planning on making your delicious honey garlic meatballs this weekend and these nachos are definitely on the list as well. Thank you!
★★★★★
Awww thank you for taking the time to say that and leave a review 🙂
Yay to be able to eat nachos again! The dairy-free cheese sauce is ingenious- my husband had no idea he was not eating cheese!
★★★★★
These were so goof! My Husband made them for me for my birthday and they were just so delicious!
★★★★★
This recipe is so, so satisfying. As with so many of Nicole’s recipes, it feels like an indulgence (and is, in the best way) but did not make me feel immediately sick the way that non-AIP Nachos would undoubtedly make me feel! The perfect match of AIP *and* truly delicious + fun to eat. I am forever impressed at the fact that I don’t miss peppers (such a huge part of my diet until last year) in Nicole’s recipes! The preserved lemon rind for the guacamole and the cucumber in the salsa add such amazing and happily surprising tastes and textures! I swapped ground beef for ground chicken and used my leftovers to make Nicole’s beef patty recipe (another swap from beef to chicken). This recipe is the most fun to eat and was perfect as a way to brighten a cold late February weekend in our apartment!
★★★★★
Made these for the Super Bowl. So nice to have some party snacks that I could partake in. Very flavorful and came together rather quickly.
★★★★★
The perfect game day treat! These were packed with so much flavor. I didn’t miss the tomatoes at all. All the non-AIPers agreed these were better than regular nachos. I also appreciate that your recipes are full sized! My only issue was that the directions for the cheese sauce is missing when to add the oil.
★★★★★
These nachos were so good! Haven’t been able to eat nachos in a few years and I will definitely be making there again soon!
★★★★★