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America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) has a new cookbook, and it’s 100% vegan!! If you know ATK, then you know how big of a deal this is. With this new book, Vegan For Everybody, we have further proof that the vegan lifestyle has become mainstream. It’s not a fad diet, not a passing phase, but a viable way of eating and living for all Americans.
ATK sent me a copy of the book and asked me to share it with my audience. I went a step further and created a video as part of my new Youtube and blog series, the Sweet Potato Soul Cookbook Club. What did we make? Loaded Vegan Nachos!
ATK’s Loaded Vegan Nachos are cheesy, hearty, and sinfully delicious. The cheese sauce utilizes starchy russet potatoes to replicate the creaminess and body of a traditional nacho cheese. Carrot gives it that nice yellow color. Arrange crispy tortilla chips between layers of cheese sauce, a tomatillo salsa, pinto beans, and jalapeño pepper, and you’ve got amazing vegan nachos perfect for a party or potluck.
Ingredients
Nacho Dip
- 12 ounces russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1‐inch pieces
- 1 small carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2‐inch pieces (1/3 cup)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/3 cup minced poblano chile
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
Tomatilla-Corn Salsa
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander, I used whole
- 12 ounces tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed well, dried, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
Nachos
- 8 ounces tortilla chips
- 1 recipe for nacho dip, warmed
- 1 15-oz can of pinto beans, rinsed
- 2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed and sliced thin
- 3 radishes, trimmed and sliced thin
- lime wedges
Instructions
Nacho Dip
- Bring 2 quarts water to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Add potatoes and carrot and cook until tender, about 12 minutes; drain in colander. 2 Combine cooked vegetables, 1/3 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil, nutritional yeast, vinegar, and salt in blender. Pulse until chopped and combined, about 10 pulses, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. (You will need to stop processing to scrape down sides of blender jar several times for mixture to come together.) Process mixture on high speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes. 3 Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and poblano and cook until softened and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chipotle, cumin, and mustard and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds; remove from heat.
- Stir processed potato mixture into onion-poblano mixture in saucepan and bring to brief simmer over medium heat to heat through. Transfer to bowl and serve immediately.
For the tomatillo-corn salsa
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450°. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, and coriander and cook until fragrant, about 30 second. Add tomatillos and corn, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until tomatillos are softened, have released their moisture, and mixture is nearly dry, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
For the Nachos
- Spread half of tortilla chips evenly into 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Drizzle 1 cup nacho dip evenly over chips, then top with half of toatillo-corn salsa, followed by half of beans and, finally, half of jalapeños. Repeat layering with remaining chips, nacho dip, tomatiillo corn salsa, beans and jalapeños. Bake until warmed through and edges of chips on top layer are beginning to brown, 5-8 minutes.
- Let nachos cool for 2 minutes, then sprinkle with radishes; serve immediately with lime wedges.
