Sometimes you just get a craving for nachos! I've seen bell pepper nachos floating around the internet, and decided to make my own Healthier Beef Nachos that are dairy-free, gluten-free, macro-friendly and less inflammatory than your traditional nachos. They've got all the goods: tortilla chips, taco beef, tomatoes, jalapeños, olives, dairy-free cheese, guacamole, and sour cream (dairy-free Greek yogurt). I used baked tortilla chips and lean ground beef to lower the fat, and added some bell peppers to up the veggies! Swap the beef for meatless crumbles if you need a vegan version.
Did you know?Chips made with canola oil are less inflammatory than those made with sunflower or safflower oil. This is because canola oil is higher in healthy monounsaturated fats than omega-6 inflammatory fats. Look for non-GMO chips with expeller-pressed oil that to preserve the oil quality. And, go for baked to reduce the fats overall!
Choosing the best chips
Of course, we're going to need some tortilla chips here! You could do it without chips and use bell pepper slices only, but to me... that's not real nachos. So I hunted down some organic baked tortilla chips to avoid GMO canola oil and lower the fat content a bit. Some people don't care about GMO, and I'm on the fence, but organic means fewer pesticides also. La Reina and Trader Joe's are good!
Ground beef and alternatives
Again, I prefer lean grass-fed ground beef to lower the saturated and inflammatory fat content. I used 93% lean for this recipe, but 90% lean drained of the fat is similar! Ground turkey would work as well, but I personally feel like nachos need beef ;) You could also use meatless crumbles for a vegan option.
Dairy free options
As you probably know by now, I can't really do much dairy. So I used my favorite dairy free cheese, and some nonfat plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I find that Greek yogurt doesn't bother me since most of the lactose has been fermented. You can use dairy free sour cream (or even plain DF yogurt) for vegan!
Other ingredients
The only other ingredients are bell peppers, taco seasoning, sliced jalapeños, chopped tomatoes, black olives, and guacamole. Some of these are optional - for example you can omit the guacamole or olives if you want even lower fat. I will include the nutrition fats for that on the recipe card.
Here's the printable recipe for these Healthier Beef Nachos! Let me know if you try them in the comments below :)
Sometimes you just get a craving for nachos! I've seen bell pepper nachos floating around the internet, and decided to make my own Healthier Beef Nachos that are dairy-free, gluten-free, macro-friendly and less inflammatory than your traditional nachos. They've got all the goods: tortilla chips, taco beef, tomatoes, jalapeños, olives, dairy-free cheese, guacamole, and sour cream (dairy-free Greek yogurt). I used baked tortilla chips and lean ground beef to lower the fat, and added some bell peppers to up the veggies! Swap the beef for meatless crumbles if you need a vegan version.
Ingredients
4 lbs. raw 93% lean ground beef* (or meatless crumbles)
4 packets (1 cup) taco seasoning (I used reduced sodium)
10 oz. baked organic tortilla chips
6 medium bell peppers, quartered
8 oz. (2 cups) shredded cheese* (I used dairy free)
3/4 cup guacamole (optional)
3/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt* (optional, can use dairy free)
1 cup chopped tomato (optional)
1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
6 sliced jalapeños (optional)
*See blog post above for substitutions.
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a full sized baking sheet with parchment paper (or two half sheets).
Brown ground beef, drain fat, and add taco seasoning packets (about three-quarters cup).
Slice bell peppers into quarters (sixths if large) and remove seeds.
Arrange pepper slices on pan with tortilla chips, then top with browned beef and cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and peppers are tender.
Top with sliced jalapeños, olives, chopped tomato, yogurt (or sour cream), and guacamole (optional). Enjoy!
This appetizer is best served fresh but can be divided into meal prep containers and kept in the fridge up to 6 days. Reheat and top with guacamole just before eating!
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