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Baked BBQ Chicken Nachos are the ultimate easy, crowd-please meal or appetizer! Juicy, spice-rubbed chicken is baked, brushed with BBQ sauce, and piled onto crispy tortilla chips with plenty of melty cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. Finish with your favorite toppings like diced tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, sour cream, and guacamole. These oven-baked nachos are perfect for game day, weeknights or a fun snack.
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Pin It NowBBQ Chicken Nacho Ingredient Notes:
To start off these nachos, let’s talk about the ingredients that you’ll need starting with the chicken!
- Chicken: While our instructions include directions for making cubed chicken, you can always use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to make this an ultra easy dinner idea. Otherwise you’ll need two average sized chicken breasts, about 5-6 ounces each.
- BBQ Sauce: Choose your favorite, whatever brand that may be, or make your own BBQ sauce. Here’s our recipe for homemade barbecue sauce.
- Tortilla chips: Everybody has a favorite brand of tortilla chips. You’ll need a big bag! Choose a sturdy chip that will hold up well with all of the toppings.
- Cheese: Use whatever types of cheese you like and enjoy. We used shredded cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese. You could also use something extra melty like Velveeta.
- Toppings: get all of your favorite toppings! Whenever I think of the combination of BBQ and Chicken, my mind always thinks of my favorite BBQ chicken pizza that always has red onions on it. I love red onions on these nachos along with diced tomatoes, sour cream and cilantro. You could also add black beans or pinto beans, green onion, or black olives! And if candied jalapeños or fresh jalapeños are your thing, add those along with my favorite recipe for The Best Guacamole.
Barbecue Chicken Nachos Instructions
Let’s make nachos! The instructions are super simple. Here’s a brief overview. Detailed instructions are in the comments below:
- Bake the bbq chicken, then set aside to rest for a few minutes to rest.
- Prepare the nacho ingredients: shred the cheese, chop tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Make the best guacamole (or buy from the store).
- Melt the cheese: arrange tortilla chips on a baking sheet and top with cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted.
- Assemble: top the chips with chopped bbq chicken and your favorite toppings. Add an extra drizzle of BBQ sauce if you wish.
BBQ Chicken in the Slow Cooker: Alternatively, you could make the BBQ chicken in the slow cooker. Season the chicken and add it to the slow cooker with BBQ sauce and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
How to reheat nachos
So you’re wondering how to reheat nachos? Here’s the thing about nachos… they are best eaten fresh, right after you take them out of the oven. The tortilla chips tend to get soggy after sitting with all of the toppings on top of them. If you anticipate that you will have leftovers, we recommend keeping all of the ingredients separate and assembling only the amount of nachos that you will be able to eat in one sitting. Then you can store any leftover ingredients separately and assemble a fresh plate of nachos.
If you happen to have a leftover to-go box of nachos from your favorite restaurant, you can always try reheating them in the oven at 250 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes. You could also reheat nachos in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for 5-7 minutes.
More BBQ Chicken Recipes
Looking for more BBQ Chicken recipes? Try our recipe for Slow Cooker Italian BBQ Chicken Sandwiches!
Whether you are making these BBQ Chicken Nachos for game day, dinner, or a midnight snack, they are sure to be a hit! Sheet pan chicken nachos are always a 10/10. Enjoy!
BBQ Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
BBQ Chicken Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts 5–6 ounces each, pounded to about ¾-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup BBQ sauce divided
Nachos Ingredients
- Tortilla chips your favorite kind
- BBQ chicken cubed
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Diced tomatoes
- Diced red onion
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Sliced olives
- Guacamole
Instructions
- Make the BBQ Chicken: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place 2 chicken breasts (5–6 ounces each, pounded to about ¾-inch thick) in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Toss with tongs until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Arrange the seasoned chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with ¼ cup BBQ sauce, reserving the remaining ¼ cup BBQ sauce.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the chicken and brush with the remaining ¼ cup BBQ sauce.
- Continue baking for 8–10 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes, then chop or cube it. Set aside.
- Assemble the Nachos: Increase the oven temperature to 400°F (optional but recommended for crispier chips).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange tortilla chips in an even layer, slightly overlapping but not piled.
- Sprinkle 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese and 1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese evenly over the chips.
- Bake for 8–12 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chopped BBQ chicken evenly over the nachos.
- Finish with toppings to taste, including diced tomatoes, diced red onion, sour cream, chopped cilantro, sliced olives, and guacamole. Serve immediately.
