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Tuna Melt Nachos

Tuna melt nachos with sour cream cilantro and scallions divided among trays
Photo by Ren Fuller

We understand if the initial thought of a tinned fish nacho feels off, but hear us out: Nachos are usually loaded up with something tender and meaty, be it pulled pork or roasted chicken. Tinned tuna is both of those things, so why wouldn’t it work just as well? We’re here to confirm that it is, in fact, just as delicious, if not even more so, than the aforementioned alternatives.

Turn to these nachos when you have a late-night hankering for something sloppy and satisfying, when you have friends over for an impromptu midnight feast, or when you’ve had one too many drinks and need something fatty, salty, and satiating that requires minimum effort.

The key to success with any nachos is making sure there’s an even distribution of toppings for each chip. We achieve this by spreading the chips out in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet before loading on the goodness.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    15 minutes

  • Yield

    2 to 4 servings

Ingredients

4 cups sturdy corn tortilla chips
2 (3.2-oz.) tins oil-packaged tuna, such as Fishwife Albacore Tuna, flaked into bite-size pieces
½ cup cooked or canned black beans, drained
⅓ cup sliced black olives
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup pickled jalapeño slices
¼ cup sour cream
⅓ cup finely chopped scallions
1 small handful of fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the broiler.

    Step 2

    Spread 4 cups sturdy corn tortilla chips out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Evenly distribute two 3.2-oz. tins oil-packaged tuna, flaked into bite-size pieces, ½ cup cooked or canned black beans, drained, and ⅓ cup sliced black olives on top. Sprinkle ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese all over.

    Step 3

    Broil for 2–5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is starting to caramelize. Keep a close eye on the nachos, as they’ll go from meltingly delicious to burnt in a blink.

    Step 4

    Top with ¼ cup pickled jalapeño slices, dollops of ¼ cup sour cream, a scattering of ⅓ cup finely chopped scallions, and 1 small handful of fresh cilantro leaves, if desired.

Cover of The Fishwife Cookbook with illustrations of tinned fish
Excerpted from The Fishwife Cookbook: Delightful Tinned Fish Recipes for Every Occasion © 2025 by Becca Millstein and Vilda Gonzalez. Photography © 2025 by Ren Fuller. Illustrations © 2025 Danny Miller. Reproduced by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.

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