Sheet Pan Salsa Verde Nachos

My friend texted me last minute asking if I could bring something to feed eight people, and I had about an hour to figure it out. I was standing in my kitchen staring at a bag of tortilla chips when it hit me: what if I roasted a bunch of vegetables, made a cashew queso from scratch, and just threw it all on a sheet pan? The result was so good that she asked for the recipe before people even finished eating. Now whenever someone needs a crowd-pleaser that happens to be vegan, this is what I make.

I made this for my partner's coworkers during a watch party, and the entire pan disappeared in twenty minutes while everyone debated whether the cashew queso was actually dairy-free. Someone insisted I must have used real cheese, which honestly felt like the highest compliment I could get. That's when I realized this wasn't just a quick fix recipe—it was actually a conversation starter.

Ingredients

• Raw cashews: The foundation of your queso, and soaking them beforehand is the difference between creamy and grainy—don't skip this step even if you're in a rush, because fifteen minutes in hot water works just as well as overnight soaking.
• Nutritional yeast: This gives the queso that savory, cheesy depth you're craving, and it's loaded with B vitamins as a bonus.
• Smoked paprika and turmeric: These two spices are what make people do a double-take—the paprika adds smoke and warmth while turmeric brings that golden color and earthy undertone.
• Red and yellow bell peppers: They caramelize beautifully when roasted and add natural sweetness that balances the savory queso.
• Fresh corn kernels: Frozen works perfectly fine, but fresh corn tastes like summer and makes the whole pan feel lighter.
• Salsa verde: The tangy backbone of the whole dish—use one you actually like eating by itself, because that's what people will taste.
• Tortilla chips: Pick ones with a flavor you enjoy, and don't buy the cheapest option because they'll get soggy faster and that matters on a sheet pan.
• Avocado: Add this right before serving so it stays creamy instead of turning that sad brown color, and it adds a cool contrast to the hot nachos.

Instructions

Heat your oven and prep your pan:

Set the oven to 425°F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper so you're not scraping cheese off anything later. This setup is going to save you from regret.

Season and roast the vegetables:

Toss your diced peppers, onion, zucchini, and corn with olive oil and spices, then spread them in an even layer on the pan. Roast for fifteen to eighteen minutes, stirring halfway through, until they're tender with light caramelization—you want them cooked but still with a little texture.

Blend the cashew queso while vegetables roast:

Add your drained soaked cashews to a high-speed blender with water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, turmeric, and Dijon mustard. Blend until it's completely smooth and pourable—if it's too thick, add a little more water until you get a cheese sauce consistency.

Assemble the nachos:

Once vegetables come out of the oven, push them to one side of the pan and layer tortilla chips on the other side, or move the vegetables to a plate and work with your clean pan. Either way works—you're just making space for the layers.

Layer and finish:

Spoon salsa verde evenly over the chips, top with roasted vegetables, then drizzle generously with that creamy cashew queso. Return to the oven for five to seven minutes until everything is hot and the queso starts to look slightly golden around the edges.

Top and serve immediately:

Pull the pan out, scatter jalapeño slices and fresh cilantro on top, add your diced avocado, and bring it straight to the table with lime wedges so people can squeeze them over their portion. The contrast of hot and cool is what makes this really sing.

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The best part happened when my little cousin, who's usually skeptical about vegan food, went back for thirds and told his mom the queso tasted better than the cheese version he usually gets at restaurants. I realized then that good food doesn't need to prove anything—it just needs to taste like someone cared enough to make it right. That's what this recipe is really about.

The Cashew Queso Secret

Making queso from cashews used to feel like kitchen magic to me, but it's really just about understanding that soaked cashews become a blank canvas for whatever flavors you want to layer in. The lemon juice adds brightness, the Dijon mustard adds a subtle tang that tricks your brain into thinking there's cheese happening, and the nutritional yeast is doing the heavy lifting on that savory cheesy flavor. I learned this by accident when I forgot to add the mustard once and the queso tasted flat—now I never skip it, even though it's just one teaspoon.

Roasting Vegetables for Maximum Flavor

Roasting vegetables before putting them on nachos might seem like an extra step, but it's what transforms this from a chip situation into an actual dish with character. The heat caramelizes the natural sugars in the peppers and corn, the onion becomes sweet and soft instead of sharp and raw, and the zucchini gets this subtle nutty quality. I used to assemble nachos with raw vegetables and they were always fine, but roasted vegetables changed everything—they're why people come back for more.

Making This Recipe Your Own

The beauty of sheet pan nachos is that you can build them however you want based on what you have in your kitchen or what you're craving that day. I've made them with roasted sweet potato instead of zucchini, added black beans for protein, and even stirred a spoonful of hot sauce into the queso when I wanted more heat. The framework stays the same—roasted vegetables, good queso, salsa verde—but the details are yours to play with, which is why this recipe keeps showing up in my rotation even though I've made it dozens of times.

• Add black beans or pinto beans for extra protein and earthiness without changing the cooking time.
• Try mushrooms or sweet potato if you want different vegetables, using the same roasting time and spices.
• Keep some extra queso in the fridge for snacking on veggies or drizzling over air-fried tofu later in the week.

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This recipe taught me that the most impressive meals are often the ones that don't feel fussy, where everything comes together naturally and people can just enjoy eating without wondering if someone stressed all day making it. Serve these nachos however they come out of the oven, watch people light up, and know you made something real.

Recipe FAQs

→ How do I make the cashew queso creamy?

Soak cashews for at least 2 hours or in hot water for 15 minutes before blending with water, nutritional yeast, and seasonings until smooth and creamy.

→ Can I use gluten-free chips for this dish?

Yes, gluten-free tortilla chips work well and keep the dish suitable for a gluten-free diet.

→ What vegetables can I substitute or add?

Try adding mushrooms, sweet potatoes, or black beans for extra texture and protein along with the bell peppers, zucchini, and corn.

→ How long should I roast the vegetables?

Roast them at 425°F for 15 to 18 minutes until they're tender and lightly caramelized, stirring halfway through.

→ Can I prepare this dish ahead of time?

Roast the vegetables and prepare cashew queso in advance, but assemble and bake the chips just before serving to keep them crisp.