Quick and easy Italian Nachos are delicious and a super fun twist on classic nachos. From your first bite, you’ll be a big Italian Nacho fan. Instead of tortilla chips used in traditional nachos, this recipe calls for easy store-bought pita chips. Black olives, green olives, red bell peppers, pepperoncini peppers, and capers replace beans, jalapenos, fresh tomatoes, and avocadoes.

Close up of an Italian nacho over a cast iron skillet full of italian nachos.

Store-bought pesto sauce and marinara sauce are substituted for Mexican salsa. The best part is the cheese, creamy Havarti cheese, and freshly shredded parmesan instead of cheddar cheese. Lordy, are these yummy!

Why You’ll Love These Easy Italian Nachos

Easy and Quick: Since most of the ingredients come in a jar or a bag this recipe is super easy to put together. Assembly and baking combined takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.
Delicious Italian Flavor: These yummy Italian nachos are full of lots of comforting Italian flavors. From the pesto sauce, olives, and marinara sauce you’ll love all these flavors in one big cheesy bite.
Easily Customized: Just like classic Mexican nachos, you can top them with all kinds of different ingredients. Hot Italian sausage, pepperoni, seasoned ground beef, or diced chicken breast would be easy and tasty on top. Use baked pasta chips, crispy wonton wrappers, or egg roll wrappers instead of pita chips. Of course, you can also switch out the Havarti cheese for mozzarella cheese and creamy alfredo sauce.
Perfect Game Day Party Appetizer: For a larger crowd use a large cookie sheet instead of a smaller cast iron skillet. Make the base layer of chips and cheese and serve with different toppings and sauces for a nacho bar.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Italian Nachos Recipe

Chips: Chips are used as a sturdy base layer ready for all kinds of toppings. Use crispy wonton chips, tortilla chips, or baked pasta chips instead of pita chips.

Cheese: Havarti cheese is a buttery, creamy delicious cheese but it can be replaced with mozzarella, feta, or gruyere cheese.

Toppings: The six toppings used in this recipe are a perfect flavor combination of amazing Italian flavors but feel free to add or replace with your favorite Italian ingredients.

Sauce: Store-bought pesto sauce, marinara sauce or pizza sauce is easy, convenient, and adds the perfect Italian taste. To experiment with different sauces all you have to do is browse the many different kinds of sauces found on the grocery store aisle.

Italian nacho ingredients on a cutting board with a green and white towel.

1 bag of store-bought plain pita chips
1.5 cups of grated Havarti Cheese
1/2 cup of grated or shredded parmesan cheese
5 black olives, sliced
5 green olives, sliced
1/4 cup of jarred sliced pepperoncini peppers or banana peppers
1/4 cup of chopped red bell pepper
1 tbsp jarred capers
store-bought jarred pesto sauce
Italian seasoning
marinara sauce or pizza sauce

How To Make Easy Italian Nachos

Step One: Preheat the oven to 375^o.
Step Two: Lay the chips in a large skillet or sheet pan in a single layer. Top with the grated cheese and sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of the cheese.

Pita chips in a black cast iron skillet with grated cheese and italian seasoning on top.

Step Three: Drop pesto sauce in small dots on top of the cheese. Try and get a small portion on each chip

Pita chips in a black cast iron skillet with pesto, grated cheese and italian seasoning on top.

Step Four: Scatter the sliced black and green olives, sliced pepperoncini peppers, capers, and red bell peppers on top.
Step Five: Liberally spread parmesan cheese on top of the vegetable toppings then sprinkle again with Italian seasoning.

Pita chips in a black cast iron skillet with pesto, grated cheese, olives, red peppers, banana peppers, italian seasoning, and parmasen cheese on top.

Step Six: Bake for 10 minutes at 375^o or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

How to Serve Italian Nachos

Make a single or double serving and load them up for a quick and easy dinner.

Make a full batch for a fun family dinner.

Serve them for a big game party and make several baking sheets full. Set out your favorite Italian sauces with a buffet of toppings and serve as a nacho bar.

Baked Italian nachos in a black cast iron skillet with pesto, marinaria sauce, and red pepper flakes in white serving dishes on a cutting board.

Recipe Tips

Use oregano and garlic powder as a replacement for store-bought Italian seasonings.

Broil the nachos instead of baking them for toasty melted cheese.

Air fry small batches of Italian nachos.

Frequently Asked Questions-FAQ’s

Q: Can I layer these nachos in one pan?

A: Yes, you can add as many layers as you’d like but, I wouldn’t add more than three.

Q: How do you layer nachos without the bottom getting soggy?

A: Melt the cheese on each layer before you add toppings and then layer the next one.

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