To round out my splurge on nachos this week, I have combined black beans with bananas, roasted Hubbard squash, enchilada sauce Thai chilis, and avocado dip with Greek yogurt and pecans. I'm a huge fan of nachos. They're one of the easiest foods to simply throw together all of your leftovers, drown in cheese, and top with enchilada sauce. It's a great way to utilize leftovers or to just splurge with something fun and festive!
One of my favorite thing about nachos, other than how delicious they are, is how simple they are to make. All of the elements can be made ahead of time. I often just scour my refrigerator looking for remnants of past meals that may or may not go together! But rarely am I ever disappointed. There's something about tortilla chips and cheese that almost universally makes everything "nacho ingredients."
Not that I'm not kind of known for putting strange and random ingredients into many things, anyway. But these banana black beans and roasted Hubbard squash nachos are no exception! Especially with a hefty dollop of homemade avocado dip and enchilada sauce.
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Variations of Blue Hubbard Squash Nachos
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of nachos. You name it, I'll put it on a bed of tortilla chips and drown it in cheese! It's one of my favorite splurge meals. And this black bean and roasted Hubbard squash variation is no exception. Although it certainly doesn't stop there. I'm constantly adding in banana lentils or calabaza squash-infused rice, or truffle and gruyere with peanut butter.
These Hubbard squash nachos consist of black beans w/ bananas and Thai chilis, avocado dip w/ Greek yogurt and pecans, and enchilada sauce. I like to turn anything and everything into nachos. Although it just so happens that black beans and squash work incredibly well with nachos. I also have a couple of peppers that I brought in from the garden still producing a little bit of fruit. So, I have to do something with all of the enchilada sauce that I'm making!
I used Roasted Blue Hubbard Squash in this recipe. This takes a couple of hours and requires aluminum foil and a baking dish. I am a big fan of this. It's a medium-sized variety with dense flesh and a lot of flavor. You can easily substitute butternut squash, pie pumpkin, or other gourd of choice.
Slow Cooker Black Beans take 8 hours to cook. I recommend starting it the night before so that it cooks overnight or in the morning before going to work so that it's ready when you get home. It's also a good quick and easy recipe to start ahead of time and reheat later on.
For the hot sauce on this, I used Potluck Enchilada Sauce w/ Thai Chilis. These recipes take less than an hour and require an air fryer and a large pot on the stove. You can easily substitute your own salsa or hot sauce of choice. But I am quite fond of making it from scratch!
I also topped this burrito with Potluck Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Pecans. This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt, or omit entirely depending on personal preference. Although this avocado dip is my new favorite thing and I highly recommend giving it a try. It's kind of a mix between hummus and guacamole. And is absolutely delicious!
Cook Nachos
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meanwhile, lay out tortilla chips across a baking sheet.Cover until you can't see the baking sheet any longer. They should be touching, but not overlapping too much. You really just want to be able to add toppings to every chip without it getting too much on the baking sheet!Exactly how much chips you use is largely a matter of personal preference as well. I've never sat there carefully measuring chips! Roughly two handfuls usually equates to about a serving. I tend to cook far more than I actually need, though. So, as always, adjust to personal preference!
Spread beans and squash evenly across the tortilla chips.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the chips begin to toast.
Once the nachos are done cooking, remove from the oven and top with avocado dip and enchilada sauce.
Serve immediately. Once the nachos begin to cool down, the tortilla chips will absorb too much moisture and soften. Once this happens, there isn't a lot that you can do to crisp them up again!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For a more in-depth article on nachos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Nachos. I make suggestions on settling the microwave vs. oven debate and give suggestions on serving size, topping order, and potential reheating tips and tricks.
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