Easy Nacho Bowls for a Quick Healthy Dinner

A fully customizable, incredibly healthy, wonderfully satisfying vegetarian or vegan meal in under 15 minutes.

Equipment	Microwave or Single Burner
Difficulty	Very Easy

Need a new, quick healthy dinner idea?

It's hard to think of healthy food ideas for dinner, especially when you need fast meals! Nacho dishes are a great solution.  As one of the best quick and healthy dinner recipes, "nacho bowls" require minimal cooking and preparation, making them ideal for weeknight dinners!

A cheap, healthy meal! Perfect for vegans and vegetarians!

It's hard to get much cheaper and healthier than beans and basic vegetables served with a side of corn chips.  The key difference between nachos and nacho bowls is that by preparing the filling in a bowl and serving chips separately, each chip stays crunchy and can be fully loaded. No sogginess! No bald chips!

I'm completely serious when I say this is one of my all-time favorite meals. My husband and I often turn to this dish when we're low on time or inclination. It's incredibly simple to prepare and a fantastic way to use up leftovers before they go bad. In our home, we believe in reinventing leftovers because we get bored very easily!

This is more of a meal idea than a formal recipe.

Tips and suggestions for your nacho bowls:

• Don't be afraid to use multiple ingredients as your base.

• Put a splatter guard or something over the top of beans before you microwave them.

• If you're using leftover queso, or some other topping that is cold but needs to be warmed, you can put it over your base and microwave everything at the same time.

• Can also be packed for lunch. Just pack the parts that need to be warmed in an oversized bowl, and the cold ingredients in a separate bowl. After warming you can dump the cold ingredients on top.

Make it customizable for everyone!

If you plan to serve this easy meal to the entire family, consider setting out all the toppings separately so everyone can create their own bowl. This allows each person to personalize their bowl with their favorite flavors. That's how my husband and I usually serve it. I gather all the leftover veggie odds-and-ends that need to be used, crack open some canned beans and salsa, and lay everything out for assembly. So easy!

Growing up, my mom frequently prepared "build-your-own" meals, arranging all the toppings for us to create our own pizzas, salads, tacos, and various other delicious dishes. I remember those days fondly. In a way, it gave us some agency when we were young. To this day, I still love to eat build-your-own food!

Money Saving Tips:

Using dried beans instead of canned takes more time, but tastes better and is much cheaper. Usually, I make a pan of boiled beans one night for dinner, and use the leftovers the next night for nacho bowls.

This is an excellent way to use up leftovers such as hash browns, chopped veggies, chili, pan-of-beans, etc. Save money by remixing and not wasting!

Lets Begin:

Mix your base ingredients with the spices in a bowl and heat them in the microwave until warm. (Or you can warm them in a saucepan.) If you're using several base ingredients, blend the spices with the least flavorful one first, then layer the other base ingredients on top.

Once your base ingredients are warmed, begin adding your chosen vegetables and toppings. This is where you can really amp up the healthiness, so don't skimp on your veggies!

Put even more veggies! Get all those delicious vitamins and minerals!

Drizzle your sauces on top. Don't skip this step! The sauces really add the biggest burst of flavor and give the whole dish that delightful ~gooey-ness~ that you want and expect from nachos. This is really the step that brings the whole dish together!

Here's the best part! After you've put together your "nacho bowl," it's time to devour it. Scoop it up with chips, sprinkle some crushed chips on top, or just dig in with a spoon! Enjoy!

What can I serve with nachos bowls?

These meals are basically complete on their own, providing a well-balanced mix of proteins and vegetables that is both tasty and satisfying. However, if you want to enhance your meal with extra dishes, I recommend considering the following options:

• Corn Tortillas

• Roasted Potatoes

• Mexican Corn (Elote in Vasos)

• Vegan Taco Meat

• Mexican Rice

• Sopapillas

• Green Salad

• Tortilla Soup

• Etc!

And if you need a refreshing drink to get through a tough week and a lack of motivation, margaritas, daiquiris, or tequila sunrises are excellent choices. For a non-alcoholic alternative, agua fresca or citrus-flavored sparkling water are great options.

Storage.

The ingredients stay fresh separately in the fridge for 4-5 days. Once assembled, it really must be eaten immediately.

Can I reheat it? If I have leftover ingredients from this dish, I will often pack all the warm ingredients together, all the cold ingredients together, and store everything in the fridge. Then you can reheat the warm ingredients in the microwave before adding the cold ingredients on top.

Can I pack it for lunch? Absolutely! It's perfect for lunch. Simply pack the items that need to be heated in a large bowl, and pack the cold ingredients in a separate bowl. After heating the larger bowl, you can add the cold ingredients on top. Alternatively, you can enjoy the entire dish cold, but avoid ingredients like queso that don’t taste good when cold.