Grilled Chicken Fajita Nachos are one of the tastiest things I’ve ever pulled off my grill.  I orginally bought a grill pan from William Sonoma just so I could make these nachos, and I love it, but have since realized they’re also amazing made in a cast iron skillet on the grill.  Let’s get started!

Two Kinds of Cheese

I like to use 2 different kinds of cheese on these nachos…Cheddar for a bright cheese flavor, and Pepper Jack a little bit of spice.  Pepper Jack (or Monterey Jack if you want less spice)  is also a great melting cheese, so it’s perfect for nachos.  But I highly recommend grating the cheese yourself.  Preshredded cheese have additives that will keep it from thoroughly melting and making your nachos everything they could be!

Marinate Chicken

Next you’ll want to prep the rest of the ingredients.  They are literally Chicken Fajita Nachos, so you will want to marinate the chicken tenders, and chop some onion and red pepper.  Just like if you were making fajitas….

After marinating for 2 hours (and up to overnight), cook the chicken tenders over medium/medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet.

Cook the chicken to 165 F degrees and remove from skillet.  Set aside.  To the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil and the red peppers and onions.  Sautee over medium heat.

I like to use the same pan to get every last bit of flavor from the marinade – and because I don’t really enjoy doing dishes!

Sautee until they are translucent and flavorful.

Remove the peppers from the pan.  If grilling your nachos in the cast iron skillet, wipe the bottom of the pan clean.  Be careful not to leave any caked on food behind or it will burn on the grill.  Layer the chips, cheese, chicken, veggies and repeat one more time.

Grill on a preheated grill for 4-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and the ingredients are bubbling.  You’re going to be amazed at the smokey flavor the nachos absorb in such a short amount of time!

If you’re using a grill pan, you will want to do three layers of nachos (instead of 2 with a cast iron skillet).  Just layer chips, cheese, chicken, and veggies – repeated 3 times.  I also like to make the second and third layers a little bit smaller so the nachose have a slight pyramid shape to them. And you will want to grill them a little longer, for 8-10

Serve the nachos with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream to the side.  You’re going to love these!

So Versatile!

This recipe is infinitely versatile…  Don’t like red peppers?  Leave them off.  Don’t have a grill or cast-iron skillet?  Add a little liquid smoke to the chicken marinade and bake the nachos on a baking sheet in your oven instead.  Don’t like nachos?  Put the sautéed veggies and grilled chicken in a flour tortilla instead.  I hope you find your new favorite combination!

If you like nachos super basic, just leave all the add-ins out and go with straight cheese and chicken.

The only way you can go wrong is by not making these nachos, ASAP!

Grilled Chicken Fajita Nachos

Chicken Marinade:

1 pound boneless chicken breast tenders, grilled and sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Large pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional (use if baking nachos in the oven instead of grilling outside)

Nacho Toppings:

1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4″ dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4″ dice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Canned black beans (or refried beans), to taste
1/2 cup sliced jalapeño peppers (jarred), to taste
1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded (you can use Monterey Jack cheese instead for less spice)

Marinate the chicken tenders for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight. Remove chicken from marinade. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a cast iron skillet, grill chicken until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 F. Remove chicken from skillet and set chicken aside to cool. Once cool, slice the chicken into thin strips.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in now empty cast iron skillet over medium heat. Sauté red pepper and onion until soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set sautéed veggies aside.

Coat grill tray (or clean cast iron skillet*) with nonstick cooking spray. Spread a single layer of chips over the bottom of the grill tray. Sprinkle 1/3 of the Cheddar cheese and 1/3 of the Pepper Jack cheese over the chips. Then sprinkle several spoonfuls of beans on the cheese. Arrange 1/3 of each of the chicken strips, onion-pepper mixture and jalapeño slices on top. Repeat with remaining ingredients to create 2 more layers of nachos, making each layer slightly more narrow than the previous one so the nachos resemble a pyramid-shaped mound.

Preheat grill to high for 10 minutes. Place the grill tray over the center burners on the grill, close the lid of the grill, turn heat to medium-high and cook for about 8-10 minutes if using a grill tray (or 4-5 minutes if using a cast iron skillet). Grill until the top layers of cheese are bubbly and the bottom layers are evenly melted.

*If you are using a cast iron skillet instead of a grill tray, you decrease nachos to 2 layers and adjust ingredient amounts as necessary. I used a 2, 12″ cast iron skillets in place of one grill tray.