This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Van’s Foods. All opinions are entirely my own.
Flavorful, easy, and gluten-free, these Haystack Nachos make for the perfect snack, appetizer or dinner meal! You will love them!
Hey There!!! Super excited to announce this $100.00 Gift Card Giveaway, $25 in Van’s Coupons and a cute lunch set! Details are at the bottom of the post! Make sure to read all the way down!!
When you hear someone say “Haystacks”, what do you think about? Have you even heard of Haystacks before? No…not the cookie. This is like a taco salad…kinda. For those who have never heard of Haystacks, let me introduce you to this yumminess! When I first met my husband 12 years ago, he would make me what he liked to call his “lazy” dinner when we wanted to have a relaxing night in instead of going out. He called them “Haystacks”. Being a foodie, I was shocked that I had never heard of these “Haystacks” before, but he promised they were fantastic. And don’t get me wrong…they did taste fantastic but they weren’t the most nutritious. He would pile corn chips onto a plate and then cover them with refried beans, hamburger meat, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. I did love how these tasted, but I always felt so guilty (and bloated) after partaking in the Haystack meal!
But the truth is, I wasn’t ready to break up with Haystacks….so I had to figure out a way to make this dish nutritious and delicious. And I did. When Van’s released their Say Cheese! gluten-free crackers, I knew these would incorporate perfectly into my new version of this dish. These Say Cheese! gluten-free crackers totally have a terrific cheesy flavor and also have a perfect crispy crunch! And with 16g of nutrient-dense, gluten-free whole grains, they’re a snack everyone will love! So heck yeah, they became the perfect substitute for those corn chips!
Ok, so let’s talk about how I changed this recipe up to fit my lifestyle. Let’s talk ingredients for a moment. I decided to substitute corn chips with Van’s Say Cheese! Gluten-free Crackers. I switched out the refried beans with black beans. Instead of using store bought guacamole and sour cream, I introduced fresh avocado, Colby Jack cheese and tomato. Using fresh ingredients make a world of difference when it comes to taste as well as nutrition. The fresh cilantro mixed with lime juice puts this one over the top! And if you choose to make this a vegetarian meal, have at it! But I chose to keep that extra protein in, substituting out the hamburger meat with lean ground turkey and made my own taco seasoning to mix in after browning the meat. Super yummy!
So, hubby was a little nervous about my switching out his ingredients to more nutritional ones. At first, he wasn’t overly anxious to try this new dish but once he dove in, he was in love. This has now become our “go to” recipe for game day appetizers and date night in. The kids love digging into this pile of yum and this plate is gone within minutes!
The Celiac Disease Foundation celebrates celiac awareness month in May and I think this is a perfect dish to share with my readers this month! Van’s has such an amazing line of gluten free products such as:
· Say Cheese crackers
· Lots of Everything crackers
· Cranberry almond bars
· Gramwich bars
· Double Chocolate granola
· Cereal (Cinnamon Heaven and Cocoa Sensation)
Oh, and my ABSOLUTE favorite is Van’s Gluten Free waffles! They have 13 different flavors of waffles and 4 of them are gluten free. Talk about variety! My favorite you ask? The Gluten Free Blueberry Waffles – so YUMMY! You just can’t go wrong with this new revised recipe. It’s an absolute must try! I promise, everyone will be diving into this dish! Happy Eats with this one!
Ingredients
- Van’s Say Cheese crackers Gluten Free Crackers
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey meat
- 2 Tablespoon Homemade Taco Seasoning
- 1/3 cup water
- 3/4 cup cooked black beans
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
- 1 avocado
- 1 lime
- 1 tomato
- 1 cup chopped lettuce
- 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
NOTES: Homemade Taco Seasoning: Mix 2 T. chili powder, 4 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. coriander, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. smoked paprika, 2 tsp. sea salt, and 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Directions
- Brown the ground turkey meat until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat.
- Pour turkey meat back into pan and mix in 2 Tablespoons of Homemade Taco Seasoning with 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil and stir well.
- When the water starts to absorb into the meat and the sauce starts to thicken, turn the eye off and set meat aside.
- On a large plate, spread out a large handful of Van’s Say Cheese crackers Gluten Free Crackers.
- Spread the lean turkey meat mixture on top of the crackers and top with black beans.
- Sprinkle cheese over the mixture.
- Top with your favorite toppings which could include tomato, avocado, lettuce, cilantro, lime and salsa.
- Serve immediately.
Haystack Nachos
Ingredients
- Van's Say Cheese crackers Gluten Free Crackers
- 1 lb . lean ground turkey meat
- 2 Tablespoon Homemade Taco Seasoning
- 1/3 cup water
- 3/4 cup cooked black beans
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
- 1 avocado
- 1 lime
- 1 tomato
- 1 cup chopped lettuce
- 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Brown the ground turkey meat until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat.
- Pour turkey meat back into pan and mix in 2 Tablespoons of Homemade Taco Seasoning with 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil and stir well.
- When the water starts to absorb into the meat and the sauce starts to thicken, turn the eye off and set meat aside.
- On a large plate, spread out a large handful of Van's Say Cheese crackers Gluten Free Crackers.
- Spread the lean turkey meat mixture on top of the crackers and top with black beans.
- Sprinkle cheese over the mixture.
- Top with your favorite toppings which could include tomato, avocado, lettuce, cilantro, lime and salsa.
- Serve immediately.
Such a bright and lovely salad!
My son loves the nachos. It’s a cool of serving it. Time to surprise him I guess
Always looking for good gluten free dippers! I’ll have to search these out! This looks like an amazing snacky dinner or appetizer!
Ok, so those are for me — what are you having? Looks delicious — just need a margarita!
These nachos would be perfect for any game day or even a party over the summer. I love Van’s crackers and usually just enjoy them out of the box but I will have to give dipping into this haystack a try.
Yummmmmmmmm It’s been a long time since I’ve had nachos (that’s all we call haystacks in the UK) but this looks delicious – way more nutritious than I usually make them! Thanks for sharing