The first bite of these Nacho Wings will have you wondering why we didn’t combine these two classic dishes sooner! Yes, you read that right. Today we’re throwing down some nachos and wings! We’ve paired up with Qalo, the toughest silicone ring on the market, and together we’re tackling not one, but TWO, of our favorite meals!
To kick things off, I smoked and fried some chicken wings that were juicy and delicious. Then I turned this dish into nachos by adding queso, pico de gallo, and some guacamole to our pile of wings– total slam dunk!
For this fun weeknight, or game day meal, all you need is 30 minutes of prep time and 1 hour of cooking time, and you’ll be ready to serve up to four people.
Post Sponsored by Qalo.
Why You’ll Love these Nacho Chicken Wings
This is a classic smoked-and-fried chicken wings recipe, but with some unique toppings. Making your own pico or guacamole is not necessary, but it will help with the freshness of the flavor. Add the queso at the end, and be generous with the toppings!
Nacho Wings Ingredients
All you need to cook the chicken wings is your favorite BBQ seasoning, hot sauce, frying oil, and melted queso.
For homemade queso ideas, check out my Skillet Choriqueso, Smoked Brisket Queso and Beer Cheese Smash Burgers.
Then, you’ll make homemade guacamole out of avocados, red onions, chopped cilantro, limes, and kosher salt.
Finally, chop up some tomatoes, red onions, a jalapeno, and some cilantro, then mix together and add coarse sea salt and lime juice and you’ll have your own homemade pico de gallo!
How to Make Nacho Wings
Let’s make these delicious topped BBQ chicken wings! Start by slathering your chicken wings in hot sauce in a large bowl, this will serve as a binder for our seasoning. Then add your favorite bbq seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Set chicken aside until ready to use.
Next, preheat your smoker to 250F for indirect cooking. Add some hickory wood chunks for added smoke flavor if desired.
Once your smoker is ready, add your chicken wings to the smoker and cook for about 1.5-2 hours or until 165F internal.
As the wings are close to done, preheat a grill, fire pit or stovetop for direct cooking. Add a Dutch oven to it and *carefully* add your frying oil (leaving at least 2-3” of space from the oil and the top of the skillet). Heat up the frying oil for 325-350F.
Once the wings are done, pull them off and let them rest for 2-3 minutes. Then, carefully add wings to frying oil and cook for 2 minutes. Flip occasionally. Once done, pull off and place on a paper towel to cool for 5 minutes.
Pro Tip
Fry the wings in small batches to avoid overcrowding.
While your wings cool, mix together all the ingredients for the pico de gallo in a bowl. In another bowl, mash your avocados and mix all the ingredients for the guacamole.
Finally, add your wings to a plate and drizzle the queso over the top. Add the pico de gallo and a scoop of guacamole. Serve and enjoy!
More On Chicken Wings
Nacho Wings Tips and Tricks
Get yourself a QALO silicone ring… Seriously. If you’ve been following my cooking journey, you’ll know I’ve been repping these rings for a long time (even before they became one of my sponsors #facts).
There are lots of moving pieces when it comes to cooking, especially when cooking with fire. The tools can sometimes be rough, things get dirty, I’m in close contact with lots of heat and flames. A Qalo ring is wayyyy better suited to this style of cooking than my metal one.
Metal rings get scratched, hold more heat and just are not as comfortable as a silicone ring when you’re in the midst of a cook. So, do yourself a favor. Get a QALO silicone ring, you’ll be happy you did, especially when you’re prepping for your next party or any other major cookout.
How to Store Leftovers & Reheat
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven for maximum flavor and texture.
Store leftover guacamole and pico de gallo separately from leftover chicken wings to avoid sogginess. To keep your guac extra fresh, keep the pits in there and squeeze some lemon or lime juice on top before sealing the container!
What to Serve with Nacho Wings
There are so many flavorful sides that can go alongside these nacho wings. Some sweet corn, salsa, or a Southwestern salad would all be perfect!
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can use regular nacho chips as a base for this recipe. Making these chicken wing nachos into a more traditional nachos recipe is simple: you just have to take the meat off the bones and put it on top of the chips.
You could also use crushed tortilla chips, Flamin’ Hot Dorito chips, or even Fritos if you wanted to go for a Frito pie type of feel.
You can absolutely alter the toppings on this recipe to fit your preferences. You can add sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped hot pepper, or sliced green onions. I’m all for unique flavor experiences, so feel free to make it your own!
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Nacho Wings
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1.5 lbs Chicken Wings
- 1 cup Favorite BBQ Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Hot Sauce
- 1 qt Frying Oil for frying
- 2 cups Queso melted & hot
Guacamole:
- 3 Large Avocados
- ¼ cup Diced Red Onions
- ⅛ tbsp Chopped Cilantro
- 2-3 medium Limes juiced
- Kosher Salt to taste
Pico de Gallo:
- 2 Tomatoes diced
- 2.5 tbsp of Red Onions diced
- 1 whole Jalapeno diced
- 1.5 tbsp of Cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp of Coarse Sea Salt
- 3 medium Limes juiced
Instructions
- Slather your chicken wings in hot sauce then add your favorite bbq seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Set chicken aside until ready to use.
- Preheat your smoker to 250F for indirect cooking. Add some hickory wood chunks for added smoke flavor if desired.
- Add your chicken wings to the smoker and cook for about 1.5-2 hours or until 165F internal.
- As the wings are close to done, preheat a grill, fire pit or stovetop for direct cooking.
- Add a Dutch oven to it and *carefully* add your frying oil (leaving at least 2-3” of space from the oil and the top of the skillet).
- Heat up the frying oil for 325-350F.
- Once the wings are done, pull them off and let them rest for 2-3 minutes.
- Carefully add wings to frying oil and cook for 2 minutes. Flip occasionally.
- Once done, pull off and place on a paper towel to cool for 5 minutes.
- In a bowl mix together all the ingredients for the Pico de Gallo.
- In another bowl, mash your avocados and mix all the ingredients for the Guacamole.
- Add your wings to a plate and drizzle the queso over the top. Add the pico de gallo and a scoop of guacamole.
- Serve and enjoy!
