Watermelon Nachos with Avocado Sauce

A delightfully surprising twist on nachos! In this summery version, watermelon slices get loaded up with all your favorite toppings, fresh herbs, and a creamy avocado sauce instead of cheese.

Ingredients

For the Sauce

  • Ripe avocado
  • Juice of a lime
  • Small handful of cilantro
  • Generous pinch of salt
  • Little splash of water as needed

For the Nachos (choose a few of your favorite toppings from this list of ideas!)

  • Watermelon
  • Grilled protein of choice
  • Black beans
  • Grilled corn (cut off the cob)
  • Pickled or grilled red onions
  • Blistered poblano, shishito, or jalapeno peppers
  • Raw or fire-roasted bell peppers
  • Quartered cherry tomatoes
  • Salty cheese like feta, queso fresco, or cotija
  • Crema or cashew crema
  • Roasted salted pepitas
  • Fresh cilantro and/or mint
  • Lime zest
  • Sprinkle of chili powder or chili salt
  • Few dashes of hot sauce
  • Generous sprinkle of sea salt

Instructions

  1. To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a smooth, creamy consistency. Thin it out with a splash of water as necessary, until you achieve a sauce that you can drizzle onto the nachos.
  2. Cut a watermelon into small triangles. Lay the triangles out on a serving platter and chill them while you work on the other ingredients.
  3. Prepare your toppings as necessary. This could include any grilling, fire-roasting, pickling, etc, you want to do.
  4. Assemble! Drizzle the sauce over the watermelon slices, then add your toppings afterward (the sauce will help them stick to the watermelon). Layer your toppings so that the heavy things (e.g. black beans) are on the bottom while the most fragile things (e.g. fresh cilantro) are on the top.
  5. Finish it off with a generous sprinkle of sea salt, since watermelon loves salt!