Italian Nachos
A fun twist on the original, these Italian Nachos are loaded with a homemade cheese sauce, spicy Italian sausage, and roasted bell peppers. Perfect for sharing as an appetizer or you can enjoy them as a main meal.
If you’re enjoying an Italian feast at home, complete your meal with Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs with Italian Chopped Salad on the side!
I think I just found my new favorite appetizer.
I took classic nachos and made them even better by loading them up with Italian flavors. These Easy Italian Nachos start off with my homemade tortilla chips. They require a little extra effort but are totally worth it. I like to cook my tortilla chips while my peppers are roasting in the oven. The nachos are then piled high with spicy Italian sausage, homemade cheese sauce, black olives, and roasted bell peppers.
These Italian Nachos are perfect for entertaining or even for a tasty movie night snack.
Now dig in!
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What you’ll need for this recipe
Italian Nachos
- Tortilla chips: I prefer my homemade tortilla chips. They taste so much better than store-bought. However, you can also use store-bought for ease if needed.
- Sausage: Hot Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled, is my preference for this recipe. Feel free to substitute a mild Italian sausage if desired.
- Olives: Black olives are fruity, sweet, and salty! They provide a delicious richness to this recipe. My favorite variety of black olives is kalamata olives. I definitely recommend them if you can find them, however, any black olives or even green olives are great.
- Basil: Freshly chopped basil adds a punch of fresh, herby flavor.
Roasted Bell Peppers
- Bell peppers: I roasted both green and red bell peppers in the oven to add a colorful topping to these Italian nachos. Feel free to roast any color of bell pepper for this recipe. You can also use store-bought jarred roasted red peppers if you are in a pinch.
- Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is perfect for drizzling over the bell peppers before roasting. You can substitute light olive oil if needed!
Homemade Cheese Sauce
- Butter: Nothing beats a buttery cheese sauce!
- Flour: This thickens up the cheese sauce. Gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour works really well too!
- Milk: I used 1% but any milk you have on hand will do the trick, even plant-based milk.
- Cheese: Provolone cheese was my cheese of choice this time. It’s so creamy! Grated mild cheddar would also be perfect!
How to make Italian Nachos
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Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
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Prepare and cook peppers: Place the bell peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until caramelized and charred on the outside.
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Cover and cool: Take them out of the oven and cover them with aluminum foil and allow them to cool. This takes about 20 minutes and allows the peppers to steam and become tender.
Homemade Cheese Sauce
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Melt the butter: Add butter to a small saucepan and melt.
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Stir in the flour: Whisk in flour and stir constantly for 1 minute.
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Add milk and simmer: Stir in milk and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
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Mix in the cheese: Take off the heat and stir in the cheese. Immediately pour on top of nachos.
Assemble the Italian Nachos
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Spoon the sauce: To assemble the nachos start by spooning the cheese sauce onto the tortilla chips in layers so all of the chips get some sauce.
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Add toppings: Next top with roasted peppers, sausage, olives, and fresh basil.
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Serve immediately while the cheese sauce is still hot.
Tips for Success
- Do not make the cheese sauce too far in advance. I like to make it a minute or two before I assemble it. The cheese sauce will get thicker the longer it sits.
- Making Homemade tortilla chips is easier to make than you think. They taste so much better than store-bought!
- Use any color of bell pepper. Red, green, yellow, and orange will all taste delicious in Italian Nachos.
- Olives: I love black olives in this recipe, particularly kalamata olives, however, green olives are also a great option.
- Want to use cheese instead of cheese sauce? Sprinkle provolone or cheddar cheese over the Italian Nachos and place them under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!
- Love a little spice? Add some pickled jalapeño slices!
What are Italian Nachos made of?
I start my Italian Nachos with tortilla chips (homemade is best but store-bought is fine too!), drizzled in cheese sauce, and then topped with roasted bell peppers, Italian sausage, olives, and fresh basil. You can Sprinkle cheese instead of cheese sauce over the nachos and grill them until it melts if desired. You could also add diced chicken or pepperoni!
More appetizers you’ll love:
- Crispy Baked Honey Chipotle Wings
- Super Easy Salsa Verde
- Healthy Greek Yogurt Guacamole
- Easy Bruschetta
- Homemade Spicy Pita Chips
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Italian Nachos
Ingredients
Italian Nachos
- 4 ounces homemade tortilla chips about 2 cups
- cheese sauce recipe follows
- roasted bell peppers recipe follows
- 1/2 cup Italian hot sausage cooked and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon black olives
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
Roasted Bell Peppers
- 1/2 of a red bell pepper
- 1/2 of a green bell pepper
- olive oil for drizzling
Homemade Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk I used 1%
- 2 tablespoons provolone cheese
Instructions
Italian Nachos
- To assemble the nachos start by spooning on the cheese sauce. (It's good to do this in layers to ensure all of the chips are covered in cheese). Next top with roasted peppers, sausage, olives and fresh basil.
- Serve immediately while cheese sauce is still hot.
Roasted Bell Peppers
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Place peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until caramelized and charred on the outside.
- Take them out of the oven and cover them with aluminum foil and allow to cool. Takes about 20 minutes.
Homemade Cheese Sauce
- Add butter to a small saucepan and melt.
- Whisk in flour and stir constantly for 1 minute.
- Stir in milk and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Take off of the heat and stir in cheese. Immediately pour on top of nachos.
- Note: Do not make this too far in advance. I like to make this sauce a minute or two before I assemble. The sauce will get thicker the longer it sits.
