Italian Nachos
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A fun appetizer for your next party that gets everyone involved!
Make Italian nachos with homemade chips, creamy Alfredo sauce, all of your favorite Italian-inspired toppings, and plenty of shredded cheese.
Any recipe with minimal hands-on cooking is a winner in my book! For this dish, you’ll spend most of your time chopping ingredients and cooking the won-ton chips.
All that’s left to do is assemble and broil to melt the cheese.
Guests can build their own from a festive nacho bar, or you can throw this recipe together for a simple weeknight meal.
Even better, it’s easy to customize your toppings based on what you are craving!
White Bean Hummus with homemade pita chips is another crowd-pleaser, and it’s ready in minutes. We also love these meatball subs for dinner or a tailgate menu.
Key ingredients & substitutions for Italian Nachos
- Pasta chips — These are made with won-ton wrappers instead of sliced tortillas. The dough is very similar to Italian pasta dough, except it is cut into squares and circles — perfect for making homemade chips!
- Alfredo sauce — Grab a jar of your favorite or use a homemade recipe if you prefer.
- Sausage — If you want some extra heat, cook up hot Italian sausage instead of a mild blend. You can also replace half of the sausage with shredded chicken, either leftovers or a rotisserie bird.
- Veggies — Chop up some fresh Roma tomatoes, removing the seeds so your Italian nachos don’t get soggy. Sundried tomatoes are great too, just be sure to drain them along with the sliced olives.
- Banana peppers — Reduce the amount of prep and use jarred rings. These are very mild and add a layer of sweetness instead of heat.
- Green onion — This can be added before or after the dish goes in the oven. Red onion slices would also taste delicious, but they will need to cook under the broiler to mellow out the sharper flavor.
- Cheese — Use a combination of shredded mozzarella and freshly grated Parmesan.
- Fresh basil — It’s not an Italian-inspired recipe without basil! Stack the leaves, roll tightly, and slice them into thin shreds for garnish.
How to make pasta chips?
STEP 1 | Bake the won-ton wrappers
Slice each wrapper in half diagonally while you preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray the wontons with cooking spray, then bake for about 5 minutes — flipping halfway — until crisp and lightly browned.
tips
- If you prefer to fry your pasta chips, use a thermometer to ensure the frying oil reaches the correct temperature of 400 degrees. Too hot, and they’ll burn. Too cold, and you’ll end up with a soggy, oil-drenched mess. Watch carefully — in just 30 – 40 seconds they’ll be toasty!
- I like to use canola oil for frying because it has a high smoke point and a neutral flavor. Vegetable and grape seed oils are good alternatives, and either will blend seamlessly with the other flavors in the dish.
STEP 2 | Heat Alfredo sauce
Pour the jar into a saucepan and warm over low heat. Since it will be buried under toppings, it might not heat through in the oven.
STEP 3 | Build your Italian nachos
Gather all of your desired toppings, then start your nachos with homemade chips. Spoon Alfredo sauce evenly over the top. Add the other ingredients, finishing with a layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
tips
- Disposable foil containers are perfect for parties! They are safe for the oven, you can buy them in a large pack, and you won’t have piles of dishes to clean at the end of the night.
STEP 4 | Broil
Cook for a few minutes, just until the cheese is melted. Top with fresh basil and dig in!
Frequently asked questions
Yes! The won-ton wrappers can be baked up to 3 days in advance. Cool completely, then store at room temperature in a Ziploc bag or airtight container.
Your imagination is the only limit! Anything you would enjoy on a white sauce pizza should work with this recipe. Instead of sausage, try leftover turkey, bacon, or cooked shrimp. For extra veggies, add sautéed mushrooms or sweet bell peppers.
The prepped ingredients can be kept in the refrigerator (in separate containers) for 2-3 days. However, this recipe should be prepared just before serving.
Serving suggestions
For parties, prepare the pasta chips ahead of time and store them in a sealed container. Set up a nacho bar with all of the toppings, then let guests build their own Italian nachos in an oven-safe dish.
Have the oven preheated so you can rotate everyone’s creations in and out, then watch them disappear!
Italian Nachos
Ingredients
Pasta Chips
- 1 12-oz. pkg. wonton wrappers
- cooking spray
Nachos
- 1 15-oz. jar Alfredo sauce
- ½ lb. Italian sausage cooked and drained on paper towels
- 2 small Roma tomatoes diced
- ½ cup black olives sliced
- ½ cup banana pepper rings
- 2 green onions chopped
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
Pasta Chips
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the wonton wrappers in half diagonally and lay in an even single layer on a large baking sheets.
- Spray the wonton wrappers with cooking spray and bake for about 5 minutes until crisp and lightly browned, flipping them midway. Bake in batches until all the wrappers are used.
Nachos
- Increase the oven on broil.
- Heat Alfredo sauce until warm.
- Place pasta chips on an oven safe dish or foil-lined cookie sheet. Pour Alfredo sauce evenly over chips. Top with desired ingredients (chicken or sausage, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc.) then sprinkle a layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over top.
- Place under broiler just long enough to melt the cheese, being careful not to burn the chips.
- Remove and garnish with fresh basil. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you prefer to fry your pasta chips, use a thermometer to ensure the frying oil reaches the correct temperature of 400 degrees. Too hot, and they’ll burn. Too cold, and you’ll end up with a soggy, oil-drenched mess. Watch carefully — in just 30 – 40 seconds they’ll be toasty!
- I like to use canola oil for frying because it has a high smoke point and a neutral flavor. Vegetable and grape seed oils are good alternatives, and either will blend seamlessly with the other flavors in the dish.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
Insanely good! Made them as an appetizer for my son’s birthday dinner. They were inhaled!
Alfredo sauce was easy and yummy. Worth the little bit of extra effort to avoid strange aftertaste from jarred sauce.
I don’t like to deep fry. I misted cut wontons with cooking spray, 400 degree oven for 5 mins.
Oh, yum! Happy Birthday to your son!!
Absolutely delicious !
Thanks for a great & different recipe, it’s a nice change from Mexican nachos.
Absolutely delicious.
These nacho’s were the best nacho’s I ever had. I couldn’t stop eating them and neither could my family. We have this several times a year, for parties, late night snack, for dinner and hanging out with friends.
I had some Italian Nachos at a great Italian restaurant in Branson, Missouri. This is exactly what I had there. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!
These were a GIANT hit for our nacho-loving family! We do nachos for dinner at least once, sometimes twice, a week! So this was a fun way to change it up!