Vegan Nachos with Mock Meat and Guacamole

Name: Vegan Taco Nachos
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 cup cooked brown rice; 1 cup cooked chickpeas; 1 cup slivered almonds; 1 teaspoon TABASCO® Sauce; 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon paprika; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; Salt/pepper to taste; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1 can black beans; 2 tablespoons diced red onions; 1/2 teaspoon cumin; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; 3 avocados; 2 tablespoons diced red onion; 1 tablespoon diced cilantro; 1 clove garlic (minced); 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 teaspoon TABASCO® Sauce; Salt/pepper to taste; 12 taco shells (hard); 2 cups vegan shredded cheese; 1/4 cup cilantro (diced); 1 cup tomatoes (diced)

Last Updated on January 4, 2018 By Vicky 100 Comments

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This recipe post was sponsored by Avocados From Mexico in partnership with the Mom It Forward Influencer Network. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Vegan Nachos made with broken up taco shells hold up perfectly when loaded up with shredded vegan cheese, home made mock meat, black beans, cilantro, guacamole, tomatoes, and a drizzle of TABASCO® Sauce. Best party appetizer and nobody will ever guess it’s 100% plant based! Gluten-Free too.

Avocados are hands down my favorite food. I need them to make an appearance in my life daily, at least once, if not for all meals including breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

Avocados just make everything better. They’re delicious AND healthy. You’re always doing your body a huge favor by incorporating more avocados in your daily meals. And just to be clear, we’re talking Avocados From Mexico here. Trust me, I’ve done, my research, I’ve sampled and tested all types of Avocados and the Avocados From Mexico are the avocados I prefer. Think super creamy flavor with a lower moisture content making for perfectly creamy dips and firm slices when cut.

Avocado for breakfast work on toast, avocados for lunch are great additions to salads and wraps, avocados for dinner are great in quinoa or rice power bowls, and avocados for dessert are great in mousses and brownies.

But what about avocados in appetizers? Well if you ask me, avocado and appetizer instantly brings one specific recipe to mind – guacamole. You cannot have an appetizer party without the versatile guacamole being present.

To take my own personal guacamole to the next level I like to add in a bit of TABASCO® Sauce – my family’s go to seasoning sauce. I love that TABASCO® Sauce is made with 3 simple ingredients: tabasco peppers, salt and vinegar. I just happened to learn that TABASCO® Sauce ingredients are marinated for three years in wood barrels before the sauce is bottled. How fascinating is that? The pepper mash is literally aged in white oak barrels from peppers that are still hand picked! There’s a very distinct flavor to TABASCO® Sauce; there’s nothing else quite like it. And when you need that perfect balance of pepper, vinegar and salt, only TABASCO® Sauce has you covered. My family always has a bottle in the fridge, and I even happen to carry a small airplane sample sized bottle in my purse at all times.

I’m not kidding on that one – literally this past Christmas during my family appetizer hour, in our rented cottage we needed TABASCO® Sauce and I came to the rescue with my mini bottle always stashed away in my purse!

Once you try TABASCO® Sauce you will be making many recipes with this delicious sauce.

After the holidays the next big appetizer serving event is of course the Big Game. For the Big Game if you’re hosting a party guacamole must be in attendance, but let’s take it a step further than that.

Instead of just guac and chips – go a few steps further to make your own vegan nachos. These plant based nachos are made with a base layer of broken up taco shells, to be topped with a homemade vegan mock meat, then seasoned and spiced black beans, cilantro, guacamole, diced tomatoes and a drizzle of TABASCO® Sauce.

Best appetizer ever? I say so.

The hearty aspect of these vegan nachos is the mock meat for which you’ll need cooked brown rice, chickpeas, slivered almonds, spices and TABASCO® Sauce for a bit of a kick. All of these are broken up in the food processor until a ground meat like consistency, and lightly pan fried for some added crispness.

While you’re doing that, heat up the broken up taco shells in the oven, and top them with shredded vegan cheese. For the black beans I lightly cooked them in a pan with spices and some diced red onions. Top the vegan nachos with black beans and the mock meat and pop back into the oven.

While that is cooking, mix up the guacamole! My classic guacamole is made with mashed avocados mixed with minced garlic, diced red onions, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, and TABASCO® Sauce to taste.

Top the heated up vegan nachos with cilantro, guacamole, diced tomatoes, and a drizzle of TABASCO® Sauce as the finishing touch.

These vegan nachos make for the perfect handheld appetizer for the Big Game. I love using broken up taco shells in place of tortilla chips as they are sturdier and hold up better when loaded up with all my favorite taco ingredients.

These nachos could easily be made with ground chicken or beef for the carnivores in your life, but I bet no one will ever even guess that these are vegan and plant based! I made these for my whole family and they were a huge hit! The vegan nachos when made with taco shells are super crispy and nicely hold up the full spectrum of toppings. This super hearty party appetizer must be at the Big Game!

What’s your favorite party appetizer? I know for me it can’t be a party appetizer without my all time favorite avocados and a drizzle of TABASCO® Sauce for an added kick! If you need more appetizer ideas for the Big Game be sure to check the Avocados from Mexico Pinterest board for ideas.

Also to get you even more pumped up for the Big Game be sure to enter the Giveaway below for a chance to win a $1000 prize!!

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For more avocado recipe ideas for the Big Game check out these:

4.89 from 18 votes

Vegan Taco Nachos

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, gluten free, Healthy, Mexican, Vegan

Servings: 8

Calories: 500 kcal

Author: Vicky

Ingredients

For the vegan faux taco meat:

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup slivered almonds
1 teaspoon TABASCO® Sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt/pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the black beans:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 can black beans
2 tablespoons diced red onions
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika

For the guacamole:

3 avocados
2 tablespoons diced red onion
1 tablespoon diced cilantro
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon TABASCO® Sauce
Salt/pepper to taste
12 taco shells hard
2 cups vegan shredded cheese
1/4 cup cilantro diced
1 cup tomatoes diced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
For the vegan faux taco meat: In a food processor combine brown rice, chickpeas, almonds, TABASCO® Sauce, cumin, paprika, garlic powder and salt/pepper to taste. Pulse until broken down but not completely smooth.
Heat pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook mixture for 10 minutes until crisped up.
In a pan heat up one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and add black beans, red onions, cumin and paprika. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
Lay the broken up taco shells in a single layer on a baking tray. Top with vegan shredded cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Top taco shells with vegan faux ground meat and black beans. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
In a small bowl combine the guacamole ingredients, mashed avocados, red onion, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and TABASCO® Sauce.
Remove taco nachos from oven, top with dollops of guacamole, cilantro, chopped tomatoes and drizzle with TABASCO® Sauce.