Nachos w/ Lentils, Squash & Cashew Dip
These Kabocha Squash Nachos consist of green lentils, miniature potatoes, carrots, ginger, carolina reaper peppers, tamari, and rice vinegar. Topped off with cashew dip, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh dill. I also added white cranberry cheddar cheese. Although the cashew dip works well as a cheese substitute and I often make this recipe vegan! As always, feel free to mix and match the cheese or any of the other toppings. Nachos are a great recipe to make your own. Most of the time I'm just tossing whatever leftovers I have on hand into a fun, new meal that's quick and easy.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Oven
Ingredients
Kabocha Squash
- 1 kabocha squash roasted & puréed
Lentils
- 1½ c. kabocha squash roasted & puréed
- 4 miniature potatoes diced
- 1 carrot sliced
- 1 tbsp. ginger minced
- 1 carolina reaper minced (or pepper of choice)
- 1⅓ c. geen lentils
- dash cumin
- dash coriander
- dash nutmeg
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 3½ c. water
- 1/4 c. tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1/4 c. rice vinegar
Cashew Dip
- 1½ c. cashews raw, unsalted
- 1 lemon juiced (2 tbsp.)
- 1 lemon zested (2 tsp.)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp. dill fresh
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 1-3 tbsp. water
Nachos
- handful tortillas
- 1/3 c. lentils
- 1/3 c. kalabaza squash
- 1/2 c. white cranberry cheddar cheese (optional, or cheese of choice)
- 1/3 c. cashew dip (optional, omit or substitute sour cream)
- dollop hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- I used Roasted Kabocha Squash in this recipe. This takes a couple of hours and requires a calabaza (or other squash or pumpkin of choice) as well as aluminum foil and a baking dish.
- Prepare Lentils w/ Kabocha Squash, Potatoes, & Ginger, & Tamari. This takes less than an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
- I also topped these nachos with Cashew Dip w/ Lemon & Dill. This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt, or omit entirely. Although this is a great vegan alternative if you don't want to add cheese and it's bright and refreshing even if you do.
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 the toppings evenly across the tortilla chips.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cashew dip.
- Bake for 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 hot 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
- I also have an entire article on The Fundamentals of Making Nachos with suggestions on settling the microwave vs. oven debate and give tips on serving size, topping order, and potential ways of reheating.