Grilled Chicken Nachos

Grilled BBQ Chicken Nachos in foil, perfect for tailgating or camping!

Why grill nachos? Why not? They’re perfect for tailgating, camping, or when it’s too hot to turn on the oven.

And by the way, grilling nachos in a foil boat is the BEST way to make nachos. Seriously!

Nachos are always at risk of getting limp and soggy. But when you have high direct heat blasting at the tortilla chips from the coals or flame underneath, it does a great job getting the chips crispy. Covering the grill will melt the cheese on top.

Melted cheese on top, crispy chips below. Perfect.

For a nacho sauce we are using sour cream mixed with BBQ sauce (easiest chip dip ever!). Drizzle it over the cheesy nachos and you don’t need queso.

Enjoy the nachos as is, or dressed up with extras—chopped tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro, avocado, red onions.

Grilled Chicken Nachos Recipe

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4-8

Ingredients

Nachos:

  • 8 ounces tortilla chips
  • 2 cups finely grated cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup chopped cooked chicken meat (a rotisserie chicken is great for this)
  • 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce

Sour Cream BBQ Sauce:

Extras (all optional):

  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/4 red onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 avocado, chopped

You’ll need:

  • 2 15×12-inch sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil

Method

1 Preheat grill and prep ingredients: Preheat your grill for high direct heat. While the grill is heating, prep the ingredients.

2 Mix BBQ sauce with chicken: Mix the cooked chicken with the BBQ sauce and set aside.

3 Make sour cream BBQ sauce: Mix the sour cream with BBQ sauce and set aside.

4 Make foil boats: Take the sheets of aluminum foil and crimp the sides so that you have « boats ».

5 Assemble nachos: Arrange a layer of tortilla chips over the bottom of the foil. It’s okay if some of the chips overlap, but all chips should have some exposure at the top. Sprinkle with most of the cheese (reserve some to go on top of the chicken).

Sprinkle the BBQ sauce coated cooked chopped chicken over the chips. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

6 Grill: Place nacho boats on pre-heated grill, cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the chips are lightly browned at the edges.

If your grill doesn’t have a cover (as in a campfire), either make a large foil packet to put the nachos in, or tent the foil boats with another piece of foil. Some of the nachos prepared this way may not be as crispy, but they’ll still be great.

7 Serve: To serve, drizzle with sour cream BBQ sauce and sprinkle with extras such as chopped tomato, red onion, jalapeño, and/or cilantro.