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These loaded Chicken Nachos are a full sheet pan of crispy tortilla chips smothered in a silky homemade cheese sauce, smoky BBQ chicken, and all your favorite toppings. They are our number one game day request, the platter that disappears before halftime every single time. If you love a big shareable appetizer, you will also want our ultimate game day nachos.
A quick homemade cheese sauce and shredded rotisserie chicken make these come together fast for a crowd.
Chicken Nachos Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 20 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 35 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 6 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 692kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Smoky, cheesy, and loaded with BBQ chicken and a silky cheese sauce
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our loaded tater tot nachos
Quick Answer
Make a quick cheese sauce by whisking butter, flour, spices, milk, and shredded cheddar until smooth. Toss shredded chicken with BBQ sauce, then layer tortilla chips on a sheet tray with cheese sauce, chicken, and shredded cheese in two layers. Bake at 350 degrees until melted, then add your favorite toppings. These loaded chicken nachos are smoky, cheesy, and perfect for sharing.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Homemade cheese sauce coats every chip. A silky stovetop cheese sauce drips into all the layers, so you never get a dry, bare chip.
- Layering prevents soggy nachos. Building the nachos in two layers means cheese, chicken, and sauce in every bite from top to bottom.
- Rotisserie chicken keeps it fast. Using shredded rotisserie chicken tossed in BBQ sauce gives big flavor with almost no work.
- Spices boost the cheese sauce. Garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and paprika give the cheese sauce a savory, slightly smoky depth.
- A quick bake melts it all together. Just a few minutes in the oven melts the shredded cheese and warms everything into gooey, melty perfection.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They feed a crowd and come together in about 35 minutes, perfect for game day and parties.
- The silky homemade cheese sauce takes them over the top, just like the cheese pull on our chorizo queso dip.
- They are totally customizable, so everyone can pile on their favorite toppings and build the perfect bite.
Key Ingredients
A homemade cheese sauce plus a few simple ingredients make these nachos irresistible. Here is what matters most.
- Tortilla chips: Use a sturdy, thick chip that can hold up to all the toppings without breaking. A restaurant style chip is perfect.
- Rotisserie chicken: Shredded and tossed in BBQ sauce, it adds smoky, savory flavor with no cooking required.
- Sharp cheddar: Used in both the cheese sauce and on top, it melts smooth and delivers bold flavor. Shred your own for the best melt.
- Butter, flour, and milk: The base of the silky homemade cheese sauce that coats every layer.
- BBQ sauce and toppings: Sweet BBQ sauce and fresh toppings like tomatoes, jalapenos, and scallions finish them off, just like our game day nachos.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These chicken nachos are endlessly customizable. Try one of these spins.
- Buffalo chicken: Swap the BBQ sauce for buffalo and finish with ranch or blue cheese.
- Add beans: Scatter black beans or pinto beans between the layers for a heartier platter.
- Spice it up: Add diced jalapenos or a drizzle of hot sauce for extra heat.
- Tex Mex style: Use taco seasoned chicken and top with salsa, guacamole, and a squeeze of lime.
- Switch the base: Try the same toppings on tots in our loaded tater tot nachos.
How to Make Chicken Nachos
- Make the cheese sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour until smooth, then stir in the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and paprika.
- Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer, stirring, until smooth and thickened.
- Take the sauce off the heat and whisk in the shredded cheddar until smooth and melty.
- Toss the shredded rotisserie chicken with BBQ sauce to taste, then spread half the tortilla chips in a single layer on a sheet tray.
- Drizzle with cheese sauce and top with half the chicken and shredded cheese. Repeat with the remaining chips, sauce, chicken, and cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, until melted and heated through. Pile on your favorite toppings and serve right away.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use sturdy chips. Thick, restaurant style tortilla chips hold up best under all the sauce and toppings.
- Layer, do not pile. Building in two even layers means every chip gets cheese sauce, chicken, and cheese.
- Shred your own cheese. Freshly shredded cheddar melts much smoother than the pre shredded bagged kind.
- Make the cheese sauce last. It is best warm and pourable, so make it right before assembling.
- Add wet toppings after baking. Tomatoes, sour cream, and scallions go on fresh at the end so the nachos stay crisp.
- Serve immediately. Nachos are best hot and fresh, so bring the whole tray to the table right away.
- Use a sheet pan. A single layer on a large sheet pan helps everything heat evenly and stay crisp.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Chicken nachos are the ultimate shareable appetizer, perfect for game day, parties, or a fun family dinner. Bring the whole sheet pan to the table and let everyone dig in, or set up a toppings bar so guests can customize their own loaded bites.
Round out a game day spread with more crowd pleasing favorites. We love serving these alongside our hot spinach artichoke dip, a bowl of Mexican street corn dip, and a batch of chorizo queso dip for the ultimate snack table.
Nachos are best fresh, but you can prep ahead by making the cheese sauce and shredding the chicken in advance. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat in the oven to re crisp. For another party platter, try our BBQ beef nachos next.
Chicken Nachos FAQs
Use sturdy chips, spread them in a single layer, and bake just until the cheese melts. Add wet toppings like tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa after baking, not before, so the chips stay crisp.
Nachos are best assembled and baked fresh, but you can prep ahead. Make the cheese sauce, shred and sauce the chicken, and chop the toppings in advance, then assemble and bake right before serving.
Shredded rotisserie chicken is the easiest and most flavorful option. Any cooked, shredded chicken works, tossed in BBQ sauce for smoky flavor or taco seasoning for a Tex Mex twist.
Classic toppings include diced tomatoes, jalapenos, scallions, cilantro, sour cream, and extra BBQ sauce. Guacamole, black beans, corn, and salsa are all great additions too.
Yes. Make the cheese sauce up to 2 days ahead and store it in the fridge. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of milk, whisking until smooth and pourable again.
Reheat leftover nachos in a 350 degree oven or air fryer for a few minutes to re crisp the chips and melt the cheese. The microwave works in a pinch but the chips will soften.
Hosting a crowd? Our BBQ beef nachos are another loaded sheet pan favorite.
Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
For the cheese sauce
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups milk
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
For the nacho assembly
- 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- BBQ Sauce
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- toppings of your choice
Instructions
For the cheese sauce
- Add the butter to a medium-sized saucepot over medium-low heat. Let melt, add the flour and whisk until smooth and make sure there are no lumps. Add the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and paprika. Whisk to combine1/4 cup unsalted butter, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Slowly add in the milk, whisking constantly until smooth with no lump. Stirring occasionally, bring to a simmer until thickened. Take off the heat and whisk in the cheese, set aside.2 cups milk, 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
For the nacho assembly
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the shredded chicken with the bbq sauce to taste, add enough to coat and to your sauce preference, set aside.3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, BBQ Sauce
- Lay about half of the tortillas onto a sheet tray in a single layer. Top with cheese sauce, half of the chicken, and half of the shredded cheese. Add the remaining chips in a single layer on top, more of the cheese sauce, the rest of the chicken, and the remaining shredded cheese. Pop in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted, and everything is heated through.1 bag tortilla chips, 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
- Serve ad let your guests add their own toppings or top with your favorite toppings such as diced tomatoes, more bbq sauce, sour cream, scallions, cilantro, jalapenos, etc.toppings of your choice
Notes
- You can use a rotisserie chicken or make your own chicken at home and shred that.
- Use any toppings that you like.
- You can use your favorite BBQ sauce for this recipe. We’ve tried many, and Sweet Baby Ray’s is our favorite.
- Double this recipe to serve more people.
- I do not suggest freezing. See my tips above on how to reheat leftovers.
- If you don’t want to make your own cheese sauce, you can buy nacho cheese sauce in cans at the store.
Nutrition
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Love this!! I add jalapenos, shredded lettuce tomatoes and salsa, sour cream and guac.