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These loaded vegan nachos are a game-day favorite for snacking, serving a crowd, or an indulgent dinner idea. They’re layered with crispy tortilla chips, plant-based taco meat, beans, salsa, jalapeños, creamy vegan nacho cheese and more. Let’s dig in!

Nachos are easily one of the best game-day snack options to choose from. They’re easy to prep in advance, layer in a matter of minutes, and feed a hungry crowd! The only way to enjoy homemade vegan nachos is fully loaded with alllll the toppings.

Today we are sharing our favorite method for making loaded vegan nachos. We hope you and your family love this one as much as we do!

Nacho Topping Ingredient Ideas

Tortilla Chips: The base of our vegan nachos are corn tortilla chips! If you want to add some color to your chips, opt for blue corn tortilla chips or tri-color tortilla chips.
Vegan Nacho Cheese: Our homemade vegan nacho cheese is a MUST MAKE for this loaded vegan nachos recipe. It’s made with healthy, plant-based ingredients but it’s unreal tasting and so cheesy. You’d never guess it’s vegan.
Vegan Taco Meat: There are a ton of different options when it comes to adding plant-based protein to your nachos. Our Walnut Taco Meat, Sheet Pan Tofu Taco Meat and Lentil & Walnut Taco Meat all work well in vegan nachos and can be prepped a few days in advance. But if you don’t feel like cooking, you can always opt for Beyond or Impossible grounds.
Beans: Any beans will work here, but our favorites are Jasmine’s Mom’s Sweet Simple Black Beans or our Refried Beans. If short on time, opt for canned beans. If purchasing canned refried beans, check that they are vegetarian and do not contain lard.
Avocado: We like to dice up avocado and sprinkle it over our nachos, but if you’re feeling fancy, try our Easy Homemade Guacamole.
Veggies: Our go-to veggies are fresh jalapeño slices, diced raw onion, or olive slices. Add in your family’s favorites!
Vegan Sour Cream: A drizzle of dairy-free sour cream is the best way to finish a tray of loaded nachos. Both the Tofutti and Follow Your Heart brands make great, accessible vegan sour cream. For more options, check out this list of the Best Dairy-Free Sour Cream Brands & a homemade recipe to try. If your vegan sour cream is on the thick side, mix it with a bit of water to thin it out and make it easy to drizzle.
Cilantro: The perfect herb to garnish your loaded nachos. It’s optional, but recommended!
Lime: A squeeze of lime juice over a finished plate of vegan nachos brings the flavor to a whole new level. For best results, use freshly squeezed lime juice.

Equipment Needed

Blender (for the cheese sauce)
Large pot (for the taco meat)
Sheet pan or large platter (for serving)
Squeeze bottle (optional, for the vegan sour cream)

macro image of lentil and walnut taco meat in pan

How to Make Loaded Vegan Nachos

Prep all ingredients. For fast and easy nacho making, we highly recommend having all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go ahead of time.
Layer the vegan nachos. On a plate, in a wide, shallow bowl, or on a baking sheet (our favorite), spread out a thin layer of tortilla chips. Drizzle over your desired amount of cheese, taco meat, black beans, salsa, avocado or guacamole, jalapeños, onions, vegan sour cream, cilantro, and any other toppings of choice.
Create a second layer, if desired. If you have additional chips or toppings, feel free to add a second thin layer of chips followed by additional toppings.
Serve. Dig in immediately before the chips become soggy!

Variations and Add-ins

Tortilla chip substitutions: Of course tortilla chips are a classic staple in any nacho recipe, but feel free to switch up the base entirely! Replace the tortilla chips with french fries, potato wedges, Crispy Fiesta Potatoes or tater tots. You may love our Breakfast Tater Tot Nachos aka Totchos. Basically you can’t go wrong with any variety of potato.
Vegan nacho cheese substitutions: If you’re short on time, you can always use vegan cheese shreds or make a simple vegan cheese sauce using shreds, but we highly recommend the nacho cheese sauce whenever possible. Our homemade cheese is vegan friendly, so make a double batch and stick some in the freezer for easy nachos in the future!
Broil option: If you love your nachos extra crispy, spread a thin layer of chips on an oven safe baking sheet or plate and top with the cheese, taco meat, and beans. Stick under the broiler for a few minutes until crispy and the chips are browned on the edges. Once ready, remove and finish topping with fresh toppings.
Gluten-free option: All 3 of our homemade vegan taco meats are naturally gluten-free and vegan, but if you are opting for store-bought vegan ground beef, make sure to choose a gluten-free version. Some are made with vital wheat gluten and should be avoided.
Oil-free option: Use our homemade oil-free tortilla chips and oil-free vegan sour cream.
Mild variation: Depending on the salsa and jalapeños you use, these nachos could be on the spicy side. If serving kids, use a mild salsa and omit the jalapeños or serve them on the side.

Serving Suggestions

These loaded vegan nachos are absolutely hearty enough to serve as a standalone snack, appetizer or delicious weeknight dinner option. If you are hosting a larger get together for game days, birthday parties, or weekend hangouts, serve with additional finger foods like Easy Vegan Filipino Spring Rolls, Beer Battered Onion Rings, Spicy Dairy-Free Mozzarella Sticks or Tokyo Street Fries.

For drink inspiration, check out our Calamansi Margaritas, Date-Sweetened Strawberry Lemonade, or Easy Mango Kombucha Margaritas. You may also love our Top 30 Vegan Game Day Recipes!

Storage Instructions

Once your vegan nachos are layered and prepared, they really are best served fresh. If stored in the refrigerator, the chips will become soggy.

If you’d like to prep these vegan nachos in advance, however, you can prepare all of the toppings ahead of time and store them in separate storage containers. Then, when ready to serve, warm up the taco meat, vegan nacho cheese, and beans and layer as usual.

close up of a tortilla chip from loaded vegan nachos

More Vegan Appetizer Recipes You May Enjoy:

Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!