These BBQ Salmon Nachos will be your go-to summer appetizer and snack recipe! Shredded salmon is mixed with tangy BBQ sauce and piled on top of crispy tortilla chips with cheese and more BBQ sauce. It's seriously good!
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During the summer, I'm all about quick, tasty recipes that require no to minimal oven time. Enter these BBQ Salmon Nachos. If you've ever had the pleasure of trying Memphis style pork BBQ nachos, these are similar but with delicious, nutritious salmon!
A Bit of Memphis BBQ History
For those of you who don't know, I live in Olive Branch, MS which is a suburb of Memphis, TN. And we take our BBQ serious serious in Memphis!
The Memphis in May World Barbecue Championship Contest is held here annually and people pile into Memphis from all over for their chance to go down as a legendary BBQ champion and win some serious prize money. The contest has even been listed in Guinness World Records as the largest pork barbecue contest in the world.
After World War II, barbecue became a lucrative commercial venture in Memphis. Small restaurants, known as "joints", began to pop up with pits built for slow-cooking the meat. Many small neighborhood joints in low-income areas have gained notoriety as they reflect the roots of Memphis barbecue. Many regional chains also developed from Memphis, including Tops, Neely's, and Corky's.
As Memphis-style barbecue became more popular across the country, restaurants such as Corky's and Memphis legend, The Rendezvous began shipping orders overnight to customers.
Now that you know where the inspiration for these nachos comes from and how deep our BBQ roots run in Memphis, let's get on with the recipe!
What You Need to Make These Salmon Nachos
- 1.5 lbs of Atlantic salmon. Farm-raised or wild-caught, according to your preference. The recipe does call for skinless salmon. You purchase the salmon skinless or remove the skin at home yourself.
- Spices for salmon. I love BBQ seasoning (store-bought or homemade), garlic powder, cracked black pepper and a pinch of cayenne for this recipe!
- BBQ sauce. You can use homemade or store-bought sauce. Any brand or flavor will work. I used Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar Sauce for this recipe.
- Tortilla chips. The thicker the better. We have a local Mexican restaurant that sells their homemade tortilla chips and they are divine! Check around to see anyone in your area does the same. An average-sized 12 ounce bag should do and you probably won't use the entire bag.
- Shredded cheddar cheese. I recommend sharp cheddar for these nachos.
- Sliced pickled jalapenos. This kick of heat is the perfect compliment to the sweet BBQ sauce and tangy cheddar!
- Sliced green onions. These are used for garnish and give the nachos a layer of freshness.
How to Make BBQ Salmon Nachos
Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Season both sides of your salmon pieces with BBQ seasoning, garlic powder, cracked black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Cook salmon in preheated skillet for 4-5 minutes per side, until salmon is just about cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. You may to need to flip the salmon a few times to keep it from charring.
Break salmon apart with a spatula or wooden spoon and add BBQ sauce to pan with salmon. Continue to cook salmon for 2-3 minutes longer, while continuing to break apart until shredded and well mixed with BBQ sauce. Remove pan from heat.
Preheat oven broiler while you assemble the nachos.
Spread tortilla chips out on a 9x13 baking sheet. Try to spread them out into an even layer. Some chips will overlap - this is fine. Use tongs or a large spoon to spread BBQ salmon evenly over top of tortilla chips.
Top nachos evenly with shredded cheddar cheese and drizzle remaining BBQ sauce over top. Add pickled jalapeno slices. Transfer pan to oven and cook under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Garnish nachos with sliced green onions and enjoy!
You may reheat individual servings of nachos in the microwave.
Additional Topping Suggestions
The options really are as limitless as your imagination here! I chose to stick with the traditional Memphis style toppings for this recipe, but you can add a number of different toppings to shake things up.
Some toppings I plan on trying out are:
- Black beans
- Sweet corn kernels
- Diced red onion
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- Sour cream
- Tangy slaw
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
Try These Other Summer-Ready Recipes Before You Go!
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📖 Recipe
BBQ Salmon Nachos
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs of Atlantic salmon farm-raised or wild-caught, skinless, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoons BBQ seasoning store-bought or homemade*
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1-2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1½ cups BBQ sauce homemade or store-bought
- 1 12 ounce bag tortilla chips you may not use the whole bag depending on the size of your sheet pan
- 1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup sliced pickled jalapenos
- fresh sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Season both sides of your salmon pieces with BBQ seasoning, garlic powder, cracked black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Cook salmon in preheated skillet for 4-5 minutes per side, until salmon is just about cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. You may to need to flip the salmon a few times to keep it from charring.
- Break salmon apart with a spatula or wooden spoon and add BBQ sauce to pan with salmon. Continue to cook salmon for 2-3 minutes longer, while continuing to break apart until shredded and well mixed with BBQ sauce. Remove pan from heat.
- Preheat oven broiler while you assemble the nachos.
- Spread tortilla chips out on a 9x13 baking sheet. Try to spread them out into an even layer. Some chips will overlap - this is fine. Use tongs or a large spoon to spread BBQ salmon evenly over top of tortilla chips.
- Top nachos evenly with shredded cheddar cheese and drizzle remaining BBQ sauce over top. Add pickled jalapeno slices. Transfer pan to oven and cook under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Garnish nachos with sliced green onions and enjoy!
Marlon Boyd
This recipe was so easy to make! Never thought about Salmon on nachos but it definitely works! It was so good! Thank you!!!
Ashley
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you!