Food & Cooking Recipes Appetizers Spicy Sausage, Bean, and Cheese Nachos 4.2 (34) 2 Reviews This hearty take on classic nachos is loaded with flavor (and cheese). By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 15, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Close Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Servings: 8 This spicy sausage nachos recipe from Emeril Lagasse is fun to put together and even more fun to eat. Featuring hot sausage, zesty beans, and melty cheese, it's a delicious spin on the classic snack and is sure to disappear quickly. While the recipe calls for hot pork sausage, you can use whatever kind you prefer, from turkey to veggie to even breakfast (breakfast nachos is certainly a concept we can get behind). The beans are briefly cooked with scallions and spices before being mashed to a chunky-smooth consistency, which lends creaminess while also helping them to better adhere to the chips. Layered with beans, cheese, sausage, and pickled jalapeños, these melty, kicked-up nachos are finished off with salsa, sour cream, and more scallions. Need we say more? 26 Quick and Easy Appetizers That Make Entertaining a Breeze Ingredients for Spicy Sausage Nachos The sausage: You can use any variety of uncooked sausage for this recipe. To keep things spicy, consider swapping in Mexican-style chorizo, or opt for something a bit more mild to keep the heat level down. Turkey, chicken, and veggie sausage are also all great contenders, as is breakfast sausage. Just be sure to remove it from the casing before cooking or buy it bulk to save on prep. The beans: Canned beans up the protein quotient in these hearty nachos while also lending welcome creaminess. Briefly mashing them after a quick cook turns them soft and creamy and helps them stick to each chip rather than rolling off. The chips: Any type of chips will work in this recipe but we prefer to use large, restaurant-style tortilla chips. Ultra-crispy but sturdy enough to handle the weight of the toppings, they're an ideal bet for a prime nacho-eating experience. The cheese: They wouldn't be nachos without plenty of melty cheese. Use pepper-jack for more kick or consider Monterrey-jack for something more mild and neutral. For the best texture, we recommend grating your own cheese at home vs. buying it pre-grated. It's best to serve nachos hot and fresh from the oven. You can transfer them to a serving platter if you like, but we prefer the homemade feel of serving them directly in the baking vessel (this will also help keep them warm, thanks to the residual heat of the pan). Ingredients 1 pound fresh hot pork sausage (casings removed), crumbled 4 scallions, white and green parts separated and chopped 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 2 cans (15 ounces each) pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth or water ½ teaspoon chili powder ¼ teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon coarse salt 12 ounces large tortilla chips (restaurant style) 3 cups grated pepper Jack, sharp cheddar, or a combination ¼ cup pickled jalapeno slices (optional) Salsa and sour cream, for serving Directions Heat oven; cook sausage: Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, breaking meat apart with a wooden spoon, until sausage is browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to paper towels to drain. Cook bean mixture; mash until chunky-smooth: Add scallion whites and garlic to skillet; cook until fragrant and soft, about 20 seconds. Stir in beans and cook 1 minute. Add broth, chili powder, cumin, and salt. With a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon, mash beans until chunky-smooth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Assemble nachos and bake: Spread half the tortilla chips in a large ovenproof platter or baking dish. Top with half the beans, half the sausage, half the cheese, and half the jalapenos (if using). Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake until cheese melts and nachos are hot, about 5 minutes. Serve nachos topped with scallion greens, salsa, and sour cream. Storing and Reheating While nachos are best served hot and fresh from the oven, you can hang onto leftovers for up to three days. Reheating To reheat, spread them onto a foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until toppings are heated through and chips are crispy. More Recipes With Tortilla Chips to Try: Chicken Tortilla Soup Taco Casserole Skillet Chili Nachos Taco Salad With Sweet-Potatoes Individual Nachos Tortilla Soup With Black Beans Originally appeared: Everyday Food, January/February 2010 Rate It PRINT Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and freelance writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.