Smoking meat is one of our favorite ways to cook in large batches, so that we have lots of leftovers for the freezer. Then, on busy nights, we’re halfway to a quick, no-fuss dinner, or an appetizer like these delicious Leftover Pulled Pork Nachos. They are perfect for Happy Hour at home, or to serve for movie night, or while you watch the big game. You can even serve them as a family-pleasing easy dinner.
Last weekend, we went to visit my daughter for her birthday, and we wanted to take dinner. My husband smoked two large pork butts on the smoker all day. At Costco, they two pork butts cost a grand total of $29 and change.
From those two smoked pork butts we were able to make:
- pulled pork sandwiches for four people
- leave leftovers with my daughter and her husband to freeze
- deliver some to my son and his girlfriend
- make a pulled pork pizza for ourselves
- make these Leftover Pulled Pork Nachos
- and still have some left in the freezer for one more meal!
All of that for less than 30 bucks! I’m telling you guys, smoking meat in large batches like this both economical and a time-saver. If you don’t have a smoker, you could do something similar on your grill. We often buy a huge package of chicken breasts and grill them all up at once, giving us leftovers to freeze and use later for salads, burrito bowls, tacos, soups…. I mean, if you’re getting the grill or smoker set up, it’s not much harder to cook a larger quantity, and you’ll be so thankful later when you already have prepared meat in the freezer for a quick-prep meal.
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How to Make Leftover Pulled Pork Nachos
Begin by preparing the toppings. For our nachos, I used two kinds of cheese, diced cherry tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and BBQ sauce.
Lay your tortilla chips on a sheet pan lined with foil or a silicone baking mat. For these nachos, you want a thicker chip that can hold the weight of all the toppings. I prefer the white corn type, but you can select whatever you like or have on hand.
Spread the nachos out in a single layer, being sure to fill any gaps to give a nice base to your toppings.
Then, begin with a layer of cheese. This will melt and serve as a “glue” to hold the other ingredients more firmly to the chips. Next, add the black beans evenly over the top.
Follow that up with the corn. We sauteed this corn in a bit of butter until nice and golden brown.
Now it’s time for the meat! Nothing beats pulled pork made on the smoker, but you can customize this recipe. You can cook your pork in the slow cooker, buy ready-made BBQ pork from the market, or even used leftover chicken.
Add the rest of your cheese over the top of all, and pop into a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the cheese is all melt and the chips are just beginning to brown a bit.
The beauty of nachos is that you can customize them however you like them. I prefer to let people dish out a portion onto a plate, and then put out out a little toppings bar so they can make their own masterpiece.
Toppings ideas:
- chopped cilantro
- avocado/guacamole
- jalapeño- fresh or pickled
- black olives
- diced tomatoes
- salsa
- diced green onion
- sour cream
- BBQ sauce for drizzling
- lime wedges for squeezing
Really, how delish does this look? And because your meat was already cooked and waiting on you in the freezer, this whole thing came together in minutes.
Leftover Pulled Pork Nachos
Equipment
- sheet pan
Ingredients
- 6 oz tortilla chips
- 3 cups shredded cheese cheddar, Mexican blend, or Pepper Jack
- 12 oz shredded pulled pork
- ½ cup black beans
- ¾ cup corn sauteed until lightly golden
- 1 avocado cut in large chunks
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- 6 oz cherry tomatoes quartered
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line sheet pan with foil or a silicone baking mat.
- Spread the tortilla chips out evenly on the sheet pan, overlapping slightly to fill in all the gaps.
- Top with half of the cheese, and all of the pulled pork, beans and corn.
- Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the top.
- Bake nachos until cheese is melted, about 20-25 minutes.
- When nachos are done, add toppings of choice.
- Topping Ideas: avocado/guacamole, sour cream, green onion, jalapeño, chopped cilantro, salsa, lime wedges, black olives
Notes
Nutrition
If this great weather has you in the mood to barbecue, you might like these posts:
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Now I’m hungry! This looks good enough to make some pulled pork just to use on them! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Have a great week!
What a delicious way to use up leftover pulled pork! Your nachos look mouthwatering, Niky! Pinning to 2 boards. Thank you for sharing, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. I hope you are having a good weekend!
Thanks so much, April!
These sound amazing! Nachos are always great… But adding some Pulled Pork sounds like a meal in itself.
Thanks for Sharing!
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Thanks so much, Kate!
These look delicious!
Looks so very yummy. I am actually eating some leftover nachos that I made about a week ago.
Haha, nachos are the best!
Delicious!!!