BBQ Nachos
Made with leftover pulled pork, BBQ Nachos are great for sharing, whether you’re hosting gameday festivities, a backyard barbecue, a laidback dinner and more! This colorful Pulled Pork Nachos recipe is packed with delicious flavors and ready in 30 minutes! Makes 4-6 servings.
Love 30-minute dinners? Check out Lemon Shrimp Pasta and Chicken Spinach Salad with Apples and Strawberries!
As a Memphis girl, I feel like this BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos recipe was bound to happen at some point.
Pulled Pork BBQ Nachos are one of my all-time favorite dishes to eat when I visit home, and it seems like we always seem to purchase them at sporting events, whether it’s for the Red Birds, Tigers or Grizz.
This particular sheet pan nacho recipe came into being when we had a ton of leftover pulled pork, and I didn’t want to make any more tacos or pizzas. (Because those are great for leftovers, but sometimes, you want something different.)
Why I love this recipe:
Simply put: These sheet pan nachos easy and customizable.
They feature Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork and other colorful ingredients to come together in a wonderful dish. (If you’re looking for a different type of nacho, let me recommend trying Chili Cheese Nachos!)
Here are a few ways you can customize it to your tastebuds:
- Use your favorite BBQ sauce. You can grab your favorite at the store or you can make your own barbecue sauce to drizzle on the pork and nachos.
- Make it as colorful as you want—tossing in every color of bell pepper under the sun if that makes you happy—or simply using a single color.
- Shred your own cheese blend… or get the pre-shredded stuff. (Normally, this isn’t my schtick, and I’d advocate for you shredding your own cheese, but this makes these nachos a million times easier, so you do you!)
- Garnish it with whatever you enjoy! Pickled jalapenos? Heck yes. Cilantro? Not my jam (it tastes soapy), but it might be yours!
I also really like that this dinner is ready quickly since the pulled pork is already made and ready to go. All you’ve got to do at night is layer and assemble the nachos, bake and then enjoy.
And really, what’s not to love about that?
More easy dinners to make this year: Slow Cooker Pot Roast | Mustard Chicken | Broiled Steak | Lemon Salmon Pasta | Cajun Cobb Salad
Need some inspiration for your meal? Head on over to my Dinner Recipe Index.
What you’ll need to make BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos
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Sheet Pan Nacho Ingredients:
- Pulled Pork—we always use leftovers from Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork… but you could use leftover pork from these Pear BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Pear Slaw or Apple Cider Pulled Pork.
- Barbecue sauce—Make your own (try my BBQ sauce recipe here) or purchase your favorite at the store. We prefer Rendezvous and Stubb’s sauces in our house.
- Mexican-style cheese blend—I purchased this shredded cheese from the store in a bag, which is normally not my thing, but it made life easier for these nachos.
- Red onion—for a bit of onion punch. If you’re not an onion person, please know that the powerful onion flavor will mellow as it bakes.
- Bell peppers—we’ve used green, orange, red and yellow in this recipe, but you can use whatever you have on hand! If you want your BBQ Nachos to be colorful, definitely do the combination!
- Pickled jalapeños—this garnish gives it an awesome pop of heat! If you don’t like them, feel free to leave ‘em off.
- Cilantro or parsley—another garnish. Cilantro tastes like soap to me, so I used parsley to add a pop of green to our nachos. I hear cilantro would be awesome, though, so if you like it, give it a try!
You could also make and serve Avocado Cream Sauce and Charred Corn Salsa with these nachos, too!
How do you make BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos?
Before we begin, it’s important for you to know that your pulled pork needs to be fully cooked already. This is an excellent recipe if you’ve got a lot of leftover BBQ Pulled Pork on hand!
First and foremost, preheat the oven to 350°F. Also, line a large baking sheet with parchment or a nonstick baking mat.
Next, toss your pulled pork with ¼ cup of the barbecue sauce. Use tongs to toss them together in a bowl. This simple step adds extra barbecue flavor to your nachos, so don’t skip it.
Layer on your nachos. Add the tortilla chips to the bottom of your pan. Add the shredded cheese on top of the chips, then the BBQ pulled pork. Sprinkle on the chopped onion and bell peppers, too.
Bake the BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos until the cheese has completely melted and the onions and bell peppers have softened.
Let the nachos cool for a few minutes before drizzling with extra barbecue sauce and garnishing with pickled jalapenos and cilantro.
Serve warm, and enjoy immediately.
Variations to Pulled Pork Nachos
- Make it Memphis-style. Leave off the peppers and onions and garnish the nachos with nacho cheese and extra barbecue sauce before serving.
- Give it some TexMex flair. Garnish the nachos with pico de gallo or salsa. Add a drizzle of queso or sour cream, too, if you’re feeling fancy, and add some sliced avocados, too.
- Swap out your protein. Transform these Pulled Pork Nachos into Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos if that’s more your jam. You could use ground meat in place of the pulled pork, too.
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
Nachos are an excellent food for entertaining, whether you’re hosting friends for a casual dinner, a sporting event (hello, tailgate parties and Big Game festivities) or a themed meal, like a backyard barbecue.
We’ve been making these beauties for a long time now, and they’re one of our favorite entertaining dishes because everyone seems to like them… and you can put your own spins on them, too. (See above for some variations on this pork nachos recipe if you need inspo.)
Here are a few ideas of how to set yourself up for success while hosting friends with these nachos:
- Make-ahead option: Pulled Pork Nachos can’t be made in advance because they’ll get soggy in the refrigerator but you can make your pulled pork 2-3 days in advance if you want! You can also toss it into the slow cooker the morning of your gathering and simply put it onto the nachos when it’s shreddable, which will also happen to be around dinnertime.
- Prep ingredients beforehand. This recipe has a potential for a lot of chopping if you’re using the multi-colored bell peppers. You can chop these 1-2 days in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight food container.
- Let the kids help. If you’ve got kids, you know how excited they get in the kitchen. Set up a station for the kids to assist in putting together the Pulled Pork Nachos, from tossing the pork in barbecue sauce to chopping the peppers and onions (if you’re comfortable with them doing this) to layering the ingredients. Be prepared for it to be messy, but also be prepared for kitchen fun!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sturdy and thick restaurant-style tortilla chips are the way to go for these.
I like to put my nachos in the oven because they crisp up nicely.
Thick, restaurant-style tortilla chips serve as the base. Next, I add cheese, then the protein. Top with veggies and bake before adding your favorite garnishes.
It depends on what you like! I’ve garnished these BBQ Nachos with extra barbecue sauce, pickled jalapenos and parsley. You can use cilantro and can add other toppings, like queso, nacho cheese, salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream, etc.
No. I’ve found that salsa on top of the nachos before cooking will make them soggy. Wait to add salsa or any other wet toppings until after they’re out of the oven and nice and crisp.
Liquid ingredients directly on top of chips will cause your nachos to get soggy. We bake this one with layers, and the layers start with the cheese, followed by meat and veggies before any sauce is added.
Traditionally, I like my pulled pork on a sandwich with honey mustard coleslaw and BBQ baked beans… but pulled pork on nachos is pretty excellent, too!
Pulled pork should be pretty darn tender as it is. However, if you want to make it more tender, keep some of the cooking liquid and reheat the pork with that for extra juiciness.
Place them on a sheet pan, and toast in a 325°F oven (or in the toaster oven) for 10-15 minutes.
Your pulled pork should pull apart but not be stringy and dry. If it is, the problem could be that you cooked it at a temperature too high or that it cooked for too long.
Quick tips and tricks to the best BBQ Nachos:
- Customize the flavors! Use your favorite BBQ sauce and favorite cheese. (You can shred it or purchase the pre-shredded kind.) Add garnishes that make you happy. Throw on nacho cheese, queso, pico de gallo, sour cream or even salsa for some extra flavor after the nachos come out of the oven.
- How to store: Cool completely, then store in an airtight food container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The chips will become soggy.
- How to reheat: Place them on a sheet pan, and toast in a 325°F oven (or in the toaster oven) for 10-15 minutes.
More ways to use pulled pork
BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups pulled pork
- ½ cup barbecue sauce divided
- 12 oz. tortilla chips restaurant-style
- 1 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ¼ cup chopped orange bell pepper
- ¼ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
- Pickled jalapenos for garnish
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
Equipment
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a nonstick baking mat.
- Toss the pulled pork and ¼ cup of the barbecue sauce together in a bowl with tongs.
- Add a layer of tortilla chips on the bottom of the sheet pan.
- Next, add a layer of shredded cheese.
- Spread the BBQ pulled pork on top of the shredded cheese.
- Top the pork with the chopped onion and bell peppers.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese has completely melted.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Drizzle with the additional barbecue sauce. Garnish with pickled jalapeno and cilantro.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Quick tips and tricks to the best BBQ Nachos:
- Customize the flavors! Use your favorite BBQ sauce and favorite cheese. (You can shred it or purchase the pre-shredded kind.) Add garnishes that make you happy. Throw on nacho cheese, queso, pico de gallo, sour cream or even salsa for some extra flavor after the nachos come out of the oven.
- How to store: Cool completely, then store in an airtight food container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The chips will become soggy.
- How to reheat: Place them on a sheet pan, and toast in a 325°F oven (or in the toaster oven) for 10-15 minutes.
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
This is the perfect way to use up leftover pulled pork. Everyone loves digging into these when we serve them at football parties!
Nachos are my favorite meal. These ones were a hit with all my party people! Thanks for the great recipe.
This is such a great nacho meal to make for guests! We have family coming for weekend, so I’m making the pork one night and will make nachos for lunch the next day. Such a time saver. Thank you!
These pulled pork nachos were perfect to use some leftovers!
Was looking for something different to use with a boatload of leftover pulled pork I had from a grad party and these were perfect!
Made these for my son and his buddies and they DEVOURED them! I will be making these again!!
Made these for lunch today to celebrate the kids’ last day of school! They were a hit!