Blue Corn Chicken Nachos

Celebrate Red, White and Blue with these Blue Corn Tortilla Chip Nachos! With a creamy pepper jack cheese sauce, chicken, and pico de gallo

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated September 25, 2023
Elise Bauer
Blue Corn Chicken Nachos
Elise Bauer

In the mood for some red, white, and blue? How about red, white, and blue nachos, with blue corn tortilla chips!

I've always loved blue corn tortilla chips. I don't know if it's my mind playing tricks on me, but I think they taste better than regular tortilla chips. Maybe because they're less industrial and have more flavor than the corn we get these days?

Whatever, the chips taste great and make a delightfully blue canvas for our white cheese sauce and chicken, and (mostly) red fresh pico de gallo salsa.

Blue Corn Chicken Nachos
Elise Bauer

Taking a tip from my other favorite nacho recipe—Mexican street corn nachos—rather than baking the chips with the cheese on them, I'm making the cheese sauce separately.

This way the chips have a better chance at staying somewhat firm and crunchy when you eat the nachos. Otherwise they tend to bake into a limp mess.

Making a cheese sauce is easy to do with Monterey Jack cheese. Jack melts beautifully with cream and doesn't tend to separate like cheddar can.

Happy Fourth!

Blue Corn Chicken Nachos

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings 4 to 6 servings

If you want, you can make the cheese sauce ahead of time and reheat it in the microwave when ready to make the nachos. Just pour it into a pyrex or ceramic bowl, cover and chill to save.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 14 ounces blue corn tortilla chips

  • 1 pound pepper jack or Monterey Jack (or a mix), shredded

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • 1 cup fresh tomato salsa (pico de gallo)

  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Method

  1. Poach the chicken breast:

    Place chicken breast(s) in a medium saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Add the salt. Cover. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. Let sit covered for 10 minutes in the hot salted water to gently poach. Drain. Remove from pan.

  2. Preheat oven to 350°F
  3. Make the cheese sauce:

    If you have a double boiler, use it. Otherwise put an inch of water in a small pot and place a medium metal bowl on top of it to create a double boiler effect.

    red-white-blue-nachos-method-2
    Elise Bauer

    Put the shredded cheese in the bowl and toss to coat with the cornstarch. Pour in the heavy cream and milk.

    Turn on the heat and bring the water in the pot to a boil. Slowly heat up the milk cream cheese mixture until eventually the cheese melts, stirring occasionally until smooth.

    red-white-blue-nachos-method-3
    Elise Bauer
    red-white-blue-nachos-method-4
    Elise Bauer
  4. Heat tortilla chips in oven:

    While the cheese is heating, spread the tortilla chips out in a large baking sheet and put in the oven at 350°F. Heat for 5 minutes. Then remove from the oven.

    red-white-blue-nachos-method-1
    Elise Bauer
  5. Cut the cooked chicken:

    into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes.

  6. Top tortilla chips with cheese sauce, chicken, and salsa:

    When the cheese sauce is melty and smooth, put the heated tortilla chips on a platter and pour the cheese sauce over it. Top with cooked chicken and pico de gallo tomato salsa.

Blue Corn Chicken Nachos
Elise Bauer
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
748 Calories
45g Fat
50g Carbs
37g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 748
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 45g 58%
Saturated Fat 21g 107%
Cholesterol 123mg 41%
Sodium 1231mg 54%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 4g 15%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 37g
Vitamin C 6mg 32%
Calcium 686mg 53%
Iron 2mg 12%
Potassium 430mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.