Spanish Nachos are a vibrant twist on a classic! Made with crunchy potato chips, Manchego cheese, Castelvetrano olives, and Basque Guindilla peppers, they are the perfect elevated appetizer or snack. They can also be served with other tapas and wine for a dinner party à la Spain! Serve with chilled Albariño wine or Spanish Rosé to complete the theme.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links! Thank you for supporting Well and Full so that I can keep providing free recipes to all :)
Let me start off by clarifying that by Spanish I mean “from Spain”, and by “from Spain” I mean “inspired by Spain”. But that was too long to put in a blog post title, you know. I have these plugins on my website that yell at me with big red alerts and icons if I do something like that. So please bear with me regarding the title.
So why am I calling them Spanish nachos to begin with? Because almost all of these ingredients come from Spain. I used:
- Spanish Saffron
- Basque Guindilla Peppers
- Spanish Manchego Cheese
For the potato chips, I used Trader Joe’s kettle-cooked potato chips because they are VERY crunchy. However, if you’d like to shell out $50 for potato chips from Spain, those are available too. And before you ask why I used potato chips instead of tortilla chips, I’ll tell you. Potato chips are huge in Western Europe, especially in Spain and France. It’s an almost $11 billion dollar industry over there, in fact. There’s a commonly served tapa in Barcelona that’s just anchovies, olives, and potato chips. And regarding the olives, I used the Castelvetrano variety which are my favorite (though they are from Italy). A Spanish purist would probably prefer Manzanilla or Cacereña olives. But I digress!
You might think that potato chips topped with cheese, olives, and saffron is a weird dish, but IT IS SO GOOD. The combination of the salty potato chip matches with the spicy, briny peppers and olives and nutty Manchego cheese is just *chef’s kiss*. I was inspired to make this recipe after seeing two similar versions on my newsfeed – one by Wishbone Kitchen, another by Life with Rita, a blogger I recently followed & whose content I love! The credit for this idea goes to them. My version of these Spanish Nachos is vegetarian, but you can use any other charcuterie you like! I know you’ll love them, enjoy!
Recommending Wine Pairings for Spanish Nachos
Since Spain is a country that is so culturally rich in food and wine, I’m giving my recommendations for the perfect pairing. The obvious choice is to serve these nachos with chilled Spanish Albariño, a refreshing, dry white wine that’ll cut through all of the saltiness going on here. White wine is usually the go-to option for vegetarian dishes, but you can also pair it with a crisp Spanish Rosé, such as this Rosado from Marqués de Cáceres.
If you don’t want to fully go the Spanish route, you can also try a crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a Portuguese Vinho Verde (a personal favorite of mine), or a light Pinot Grigio. You CAN serve these nachos with red wine, though a bold red wine might be overpowering. That being said, Malbec is my favorite wine and I am a firm believer that I can go with anything. A nice Spanish red, like Tempranillo, would also be tasty. Enjoy!
For more elegant recipes to serve at a dinner party, try my vibrant Citrus Salad or Green Goddess Radicchio Salad!
Spanish Nachos
Ingredients
- 6 Cups Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips
- 3/4 Cup Castelvetrano Olives pitted and sliced into quarters
- 1/2 Cup Pickled Guindilla Peppers see notes
- 1/2 Cup Freshly-Grated Manchego Cheese see notes
- 1 Tsp Saffron optional
Instructions
- To begin, prep the olives and peppers. Cut the olives into quarters, or as small as you would like. You can also cut the pickled peppers into slices, or serve them whole. Totally up to you!
- Layer your potato chips on a plate, and grate the Manchego on top. You can use as much or as little as you'd like. At this point, if desired, you can microwave the nachos for about 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese.
- Top the nachos with the sliced olives and peppers. Sprinkle on the saffron.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You can find pickled Guindillo peppers here. If you’d rather use a store-bought variety, you can use pickled jalapeños or banana peppers if you’d like.
- If you’d rather not use Castelvetrano olives, you can use any variety of green olive you like.
- The saffron is optional, but it really adds to the flavor!
- The nutritional information for this recipe is approximate, and may vary depending on how much of each ingredient you use.
Nutrition
Spanish Nachos FAQs
Who came up with the Spanish Nachos idea?
I first heard of Spanish nachos thanks to Meredith of Wishbone Kitchen, though cheese and charcuterie “nachos” have been around for a while! I wanted to make my own version that highlights Spanish ingredients, but is still vegetarian.
Where do nachos originate?
Nachos were created in Piedras Negras, Mexico, across the border from Texas. Spain doesn’t really have its own version of nachos, but the idea is transmuted via Spanish ingredients.
P.S.
For more plant-forward recipes and New England lifestyle inspiration, be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok! If you make a recipe, please tag me in the photo and use the hashtag #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your creations!
Leave a Reply