I'm a huge nacho fan. From gourmet nachos to so-bad-they're-good ballpark nachos, I love them all. Justina, however, is a much cleaner eater than I am, so when the idea for these 'nachos' came to me, while not total health food, I knew they'd still be a hit at her Jungalow.

Swapping in baked (or air-fried) sweet potato fries for the standard tortilla chips, and trading layers of cheese for just a sprinkling ups the nutrition quotient, while keeping the flavor game strong.

SWEET POTATO NACHOS

Prep Time: 20 min

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

1 bag sweet potato fries (I used Alexia's Waffle Cut Fries)

2 (15 oz) cans whole black beans (or make your own from dried beans)

2 tsp olive oil

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

2 avocados

Cottija cheese (to taste)

Cilantro leaves (to garnish)

Directions

Preheat oven to temp specified on sweet potato fries package.

In a med sauce pan, saute minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Rinse black beans, with cold water, in a colander, add to pan. Add cumin and salt. Simmer on med-low, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

Once oven is hot enough, bake sweet potato fries according to package directions. Be sure to spread them out evenly on the baking sheet so they get crispy- you may need to use two baking sheets (just rotate them on the racks halfway through).

While fries are baking and beans are simmering, dice avocado and prep washed cilantro by stripping whole leaves off by hand.

When fries are crispy, assemble nachos by layering beans, avocado, cheese, and cilantro over the fries.

This is a great dish to customize too- add diced jalapeño, some salsa, sour cream, or a different kind of cheese-whatever you like best! I'm definitely excited to have a new go to nacho recipe, that I can feel less guilty about, at my house!

Photography, styling, and original recipe by Danae Horst for The Jungalow.