Loaded Vegan Nachos - Toppings From Scratch

*All of these toppings (other than the guacamole) can be made in advance and stored in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the nachos. The vegan queso may need to be thinned out with some extra milk if it was made in advance.

1. Start by making the TVP taco “meat”. While the assembled taco meat finishes cooking for the last 10 minutes you can make the vegan queso.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 F and line a sheet pan or a couple of cast iron skillets with parchment paper.
3. While the oven warms up, make the salsa fresca and chop the fresh greens.
4. Layer half of the tortilla chips on the parchment lined sheet pan or skillet. Sprinkle on half of the taco “meat” and half of the vegan queso. Layer the remaining tortilla chips on top. Cover with the remaining taco “meat” and vegan queso.
5. Heat the assembled chips, taco meat, and vegan queso for just 5-7 minutes. Watch carefully so the chips don’t burn (you just want to heat the chips up and get everything smelling delicious).
6. Once warmed, top the nachos with the cold add ons.
7. If adding guacamole and sour cream, drop them in spoonfuls on top. (The sour cream can also be drizzled on top depending on the thickness).
8. Serve and eat it all up while it’s warm!

*This TVP taco "meat" can be made on the stovetop or baked. If baking, preheat your oven to 350 F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

1. Start by rehydrating the TVP in a medium heat proof bowl. Pour boiling water over the TVP and stir in 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce. Let stand for 5 minutes to rehydrate.

For the stovetop method:

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium low heat and add a drizzle of olive oil, water or broth. Finely chop the red onion or use a food processor to quickly mince it down. Add the minced red onion to the hot pan, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened and fragrant.
2. Meanwhile, chop or process the mushrooms into small pieces and add to the red onion. Lightly season the mushrooms with salt and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Finally, chop or grind the walnuts into a crumble and once the mushrooms have let out their liquid add the walnuts to the mushroom and onion mixture.
   Add the rehydrated TVP, tamari, vegan worcestershire, cumin, and smoked paprika. Stir together and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. To encourage browning, spread the mixture evenly in the pan and let it cook, undisturbed, for 2-3 minutes at a time. Then stir and repeat until the mixture has dried out a little bit and browned.

For the baked method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the minced onion, chopped mushrooms, and ground walnuts. (I like to process each of these separately in my food processor to optimize the texture of each. Otherwise, the walnuts can become a paste and the mushrooms can be too chunky).
2. Stir the rehydrated TVP and remaining seasonings into the mixture.
3. Spread the mixture on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake at 350 F for 30 - 35 minutes stirring after the 20 minute mark.

*Serve as tacos with my vegan queso, salsa fresca, pickled red onion, and chopped greens. Use up any leftovers on my taco mac and cheese or an epic nacho tray!

1. In a small saucepan, melt vegan butter over medium low heat until it starts to sizzle. Add the minced garlic and red chilli pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes (turn down the heat if the garlic browns too quickly). 
2. Slowly add in the flour, whisking to combine. Cook for another minute. 
3. Slowly whisk in the almond milk ¼ cup at a time. Adding it slowly will allow you to whisk the clumps out of the flour. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Whisk in the nutritional yeast, salt, and any spices you're adding.
5. At this point, you can transfer the mixture to a blender if you want to make sure it’s really smooth and blend down the garlic and chilli pepper. Make sure your blender can process hot liquid, otherwise use an immersion blender. Then add the mixture back to the same saucepan and continue to cook on low and allow to thicken for 5 minutes or so. 
6. If you decide not to blend the mixture, simply continue to cook for 5 minutes until the queso has thickened and the flavours have melded together.
7. Serve warm as a dip, drizzled over nachos, tacos, savoury breakfast bowls, etc! Once it's cooled you can freeze it and then shred it using a box grater when you need it! Use silicone molds to freeze it or line a container with plastic wrap which will allow you to remove it once it's frozen!
8. Keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave for a few seconds or in a saucepan over low heat. You can add a bit more almond milk when you reheat it if it gets a little thick in the fridge.

1. Dice the tomato, onion and deseeded hot pepper. Add them to a bowl.
2. Splash on the lime  juice, either fresh or from concentrate.
3. Add the chopped cilantro leaves (use any remaining leaves and the stems for cilantro lime vinaigrette, chimichurri, OR add the stems to your veggie scrap bag for homemade veggie broth!)
4. Then add salt and pepper to taste and stir well to combine.
5. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Although best served fresh as the tomatoes will let out more water as they sit. Try it on our Seaside "Fish" Taco Bowl!