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Pink Owl Kitchen » Recipes » Appetizers » Sheet Pan BBQ Salmon Nachos

Sheet Pan BBQ Salmon Nachos

Published: Jun 17, 2021 · Modified: Jun 22, 2022 by Ashley · This post may contain affiliate links

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These Sheet Pan 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!

overhead shot of bbq salmon nachos
Table of Contents
  • A Bit of Memphis BBQ History
  • What You Need to Make These Salmon Nachos
  • How to Make BBQ Salmon Nachos
  • Additional Topping Suggestions
  • Recommended Tools for This Recipe
  • Try These Other Summer-Ready Recipes Before You Go!
  • 📖 Recipe

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!

side angle shot of bbq salmon nachos

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.
close up shot of bbq salmon nachos

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.

bbq salmon
making bbq salmon nachos

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

  • Medium nonstick skillet
  • Large spatula/turner
  • Tongs
  • Large sheet pan
overhead shot of bbq salmon nachos
close up shot of bbq salmon nachos

Try These Other Summer-Ready Recipes Before You Go!

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SEARED SEA SCALLOPS OVER CREAMY CORN RISOTTO

AVOCADO, SHRIMP AND MANGO CEVICHE

VIRGIN MANGO MARGARITA

📖 Recipe

overhead shot of bbq salmon nachos

BBQ Salmon Nachos

Ashley Boyd
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!
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
Prevent your screen from going dark
Servings 8 servings
Calories 392 kcal

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!

Notes

*see blog post above for suggestions on each and other important recipe notes

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 35.5g | Protein: 23.9g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 545mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 12.7g | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Tag @thepinkowlkitchen on Instagram! And don't forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and review!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marlon Boyd

    June 24, 2021 at 5:40 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was so easy to make! Never thought about Salmon on nachos but it definitely works! It was so good! Thank you!!!

    Reply
    • Ashley

      June 24, 2021 at 6:20 pm

      I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you!

      Reply
5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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