Loaded Italian Nachos with Zucchini

These nachos have been a dream of mine for a very, very long time.  Years ago Kris and I were out to dinner with friends at Old Chicago, and they ordered Italian Nachos.  Sounds delicious, right?   Well, when they arrived at the table I saw that they were made with wonton wrappers as the chips!  And it just didn’t work for me. Wonton wrappers as chips…okay if you’re doing some sort of Asian twist on nachos, but wonton wrappers with Italian nachos…not so much.  I don’t remember what they had as toppings but I always thought I could do better.  And I’m pretty sure I’ve succeeded.  So here’s my version of Loaded Italian Nachos with Zucchini.

To make these nachos, I started out by making zucchini chips with my dehydrator.  And I dehydrated some eggplant to make eggplant chips too.  You do not have to start with dehydrated zucchini and eggplant chips, you can use fresh.  In fact, for these nachos, I used both zucchini chips and fresh zucchini.  Zucchini originate from Italy, so of course they make the perfect “chip” for Italian nachos.  And these are a great way to use up garden veggies or make use of all those vegetables you bought at the farmer’s market.

I topped the nachos with Italian sausage, garden fresh tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, parmesan, mozzarella, and fresh basil.  And these are sooooo good.  Kris and I ate them for lunch and I’m tempted to make them for dinner again.  I have to admit that I ate these nachos with a fork.  Typically I’m more hands on with nachos but these are deliciously messy.  Feel free to add much more cheese.

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Loaded Italian Nachos with Zucchini

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Amazingly, delicious Italian nachos made with zucchini, eggplant, Italian sausage, fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, parmesan, mozzarella, and basil.

Course: Easy

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 2 -4

Author: Emily

Ingredients

• 1 lb of Italian sausage
• 3-4 small zucchini sliced into 1/8th inch rounds or zucchini chips - see zucchini chips post
• 1-2 small eggplants sliced into 1/8th inch rounds (or eggplant chips)
• 2-3 medium tomatoes diced
• 1 small white or yellow onions diced
• medium bell pepper diced
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
• Italian seasoning
• Red pepper flakes optional
• Pepper
• Fresh basil chiffonade (stack, roll, slice)

Instructions

1. In a skillet over medium heat, brown sausage.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Meanwhile, arrange zucchini and eggplant on a small baking sheet.
4. When sausage is fully cooked, spread it on top of the zucchini and eggplant rounds.
5. Next, top the sausage with tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion.
6. Evenly distribute parmesan and mozzarella on top of the nachos.
7. Sprinkle the nachos with the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and pepper.
8. Bake the nachos for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
9. Remove from the oven and top with basil.
10. Enjoy!