Healthy Vegetarian Greek Nachos

5 from 5 votes

Healthy Vegetarian Greek Nachos

If you take the concept of a Mexican classic and swap out the ingredients with Mediterranean components, you get healthy vegetarian Greek nachos. I use crisp pita chips, baked chickpeas, and a tahini sauce for this innovative dish. In just 55 minutes, I have a wholesome dish with various layers, each offering a different flavor and texture.

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: servings

Calories: 353kcal

Author: Anjali Shah

Ingredients

Chickpeas

60 ounces cooked chickpeas 4 cans
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 yellow onions quartered and thinly sliced
8 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ cups vegetable broth

Fixings

3 tomatoes diced
6 mini english cucumbers or 1 large english cucumber diced
1 small red onion diced
lemon juice to taste
salt/pepper to taste
1 cup Whole milk organic yogurt or low-fat
¼ cup tahini
Fresh whole wheat pitas cut into chip-size pieces
olive oil cooking spray
1 clove garlic minced

Instructions

First, heat oven to 375°F. In a large, oven-safe heavy pot such as a Dutch oven, heat olive oil in the bottom of the pan over medium-high heat.
Add onions and cook for five minutes, until they begin to soften. Add garlic and saute for 5 minutes, until everything is wilted.
Add cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne and salt, and cook for one minute. Add canned chickpeas and 1.5 cups broth. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for one full minute. P
Place a lid on the pot and transfer it carefully to the oven.
Bake chickpeas for 25 minutes.
Dice your tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion and toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.
Make your yogurt / tahini sauce by combining 1 cup yogurt, ¼ cup tahini, 1 clove garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste — thin out the sauce with 1-3 tbsp water as neededn.
Meanwhile, bake your pita chips: Cut the pitas into chip-size wedges. Arrange on a large baking sheet and spray with olive oil cooking spray, sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
Assemble! Top the pita chips (use pita chips made from ½ of a whole wheat pita) with 1/8 of the chickpea mixture, ½ to 1 cup of the tomato mixture and a few tablespoons of the yogurt sauce.

Video

https://youtu.be/Zjlq2_tyuQU

Notes

My #1 Secret Tip for this healthy vegetarian Greek nachos recipe is to keep each part of the dish separate until serving. I never assemble these nachos ahead of time, as this may cause the pita chips to become soggy. And if possible, I recommend tossing the relish in the olive oil, lemon juice, and seasoning just before serving to avoid the mixture from becoming soft and watery.
Dry and dehusk chickpeas: Before adding to the Dutch oven, I rinse my chickpeas in a bowl of water, making sure to rub them with my hands, loosening the outer husk. I pat the chickpeas dry after rinsing, which allows them to better absorb the spices.
Cut into uniform pieces: I keep the shape and size of my pita chips similar, so they bake at the same rate.
Serve chickpeas warm: For this dish, I recommend serving the chickpeas warm and keeping the topping cool or at room temperature for a contrast.
Thin sauce slowly: Add the ingredients of the sauce to the tahini slowly. If I add it all at once, the tahini may seize up and become thick. If the sauce is not thin enough, loosen it up with a trickle of water.

Nutrition