Pumpkin Sheet Pan Nachos

Pumpkin sheet pan nachos are the perfect appetizer for the fall season. They taste delicious and are a great way to sneak in extra vegetables and nutrition.

‘Tis the season for all things pumpkin. In our home, this means a whole lot more than just pumpkin spiced lattes and baked goods.

Although we love those things too, pumpkin is a delicious squash that can be used in almost every dish.

Sautéd in butter or coconut oil, small pie pumpkins taste a lot like butternut or acorn squash. It makes these ordinary sheet pan nachos a little more festive for the autumn season.

I brought them over to my sister’s house as an appetizer for a barbecue, and they were gone in minutes!

All things fall

I am doing this post in collaboration with several of my blogging friends. Read all the way to the end for some more fall appetizer recipe inspiration!

Pumpkin sheet pan nachos ingredients

For the pumpkin

1/2 small pie pumpkin, peeled and diced

3 tablespoons coconut oil

For the chicken

4 cups cooked chicken

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the nachos

9 ounces tortilla chips

6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 jalapeno, sliced

1/2 small red onion, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 whole lime

4 ounces feta cheese

pumpkin sheet pan nachos instructions

For the pumpkin

1. Peel the pumpkin. I use a regular vegetable peeler, and peel a pumpkin just like I would a butternut squash, apple or potato.
2. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds.
3. Dice half of the pumpkin into small bite size pieces. (I boiled the other half of my pumpkin on the stove and then pureed it. Now I can throw it in my sourdough pancakes, pumpkin soup, or feed it to my baby.)
4. Sauté the diced pumpkin and the 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large skillet (I prefer to use cast iron.) over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until almost soft. The pumpkin will be cooking a little more with the nachos in the oven, so don’t overcook them. You want the diced pieces to retain their shape and not turn into mush.

For the chicken

You can use a whole chicken, chicken breasts, legs, thighs, pretty much any part of the chicken!

If the chicken you are using is completely unseasoned, sprinkle it with 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

I made mine a few hours before in the pressure cooker, with only water, so it definitely needed some seasoning. I used a whole chicken, and set the rest of the meat aside for a future meal. Never a bad thing in our large (and hungry!) family.

Assemble the nachos

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spread 9 ounces of organic tortilla chips into a large sheet pan.
3. Top the chips with the cooked chicken, shredded cheese, diced red onion, sliced jalapeño and the sautéd pumpkin.
4. Bake the nachos for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and allow the nachos to cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the feta cheese and fresh cilantro.
6. Finish the nachos off with the juice from one lime.

A word on the ingredients for pumpkin sheet pan nachos

Pumpkin

For our family, pumpkin is a staple all fall and winter long. We use them in smoothies, meatloaf, granola, soup, lattes, sourdough pancakes, and more. You can sneak it in so many recipes. Its healthy, filling and CHEAP, especially at the end of the fall season!

When most people are getting rid of their front porch pumpkins, I’m in the store throwing the rest of the clearance pie pumpkins into my basket. They keep for months in a cool dry place.

Tortilla Chips

We use tortilla chips pretty regularly in our home, but always go for the organic options. One of the things I’m pretty serious about avoiding are genetically modified ingredients, or GMO. Conventional tortilla chips are full of them, in the corn and in the oils they’re cooked in. Brands that have the organic certification aren’t allowed to use anything genetically modified.

I also look for brands that have very few ingredients.

Feta cheese

The concept of using feta cheese in a Mexican inspired dish is actually pretty new to me. Recently I went to a potluck taco dinner with friends, and someone brought a tub of feta cheese for their accompaniment. At first it struck me as a little odd. After smothering my chicken, vegetables, salsa and sour cream with crumbled feta cheese, I wondered where that combo had been all my life. Seriously, it is a match made in culinary heaven.

Cheddar cheese

I prefer to use extra sharp and organic.

I never buy cheese that is pre-shredded, because it is coated with cellulose. This blocks moisture and prevents packaged shredded cheese from forming a massive clump. Unfortunately, it also prevents it from melting properly, and who knows the health effects of consuming it?!

Lime juice and cilantro

No Mexican meal is ever complete without fresh lime juice and cilantro. They transform ordinary food that is “meh” into something so fresh and delicious. We almost always have these two things on hand in our home.

Check out my other pumpkin posts and recipes

How to Cook a Pumpkin

Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Latte

Roasted Pumpkin and Acorn Squash Soup

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Some more fall recipe appetizer inspiration

Spinach Artichoke + Green Chile Dip by Ella Claire | Baked Garlic Knots by Sweet C’s | Savory Pumpkin Hummus by Zevy Joy | Spiced Warm Brie by Boxwood Avenue | Sea Salt Dinner Rolls and Herb Butter by House 214 Design

Roasted Stuffed Figs by Town and Country Living | Cranberry Sweet Potato Rounds by Tidy Mom | Gluten Free Baked Brie by Taryn Whiteaker | Healthy Pumpkin Dip by Tidbits | Fig Prosciutto Sweet Potato Bites by The Chronicles of Home

Beet Bruschetta with Goat Cheese and Basil by My Sweet Savannah | Cheddar Bacon Beer Dip by Inspired by Charm | Pumpkin Sheet Pan Nachos by Farmhouse of Boone | Everything but the Bagel Bubble Bread by Nest of Posies | Garlic Smashed Potatoes by Julie Blanner

Olive Pecan Cheese Log by anderson + grant | Stuffed Peppers by Nesting with Grace | Chicken Cranberry Meatballs by Shabby Fu Fu | Chicken Pot Pie Bites by Nina Hendrick | Cranberry Almond Mini Cheese Ball Bites by Summer Adams