This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Or simply, “The Best Thanksgiving Appetizer”.
Ever.
And that is not an exaggeration. Promise. These are the best.
Why are these the best?
Well, because there is tons of gooey melted brie cheese. Brie should always, always be added to nachos from now on. Guys, it is crazy good and they are nachos so they can be put together in very little time.
These are a real winner. Just sayin.
And please, please, please do not get scared off by the brussels sprouts.
Seriously, they get so caramelized and loaded with cheese that it is hard to tell they are there. And to be honest, if you really dislike them you can leave them off. But I did serve these to my brussels sprouts hating mom one afternoon and she went crazy for these. It’s the brie. I think it is kind of magical.
But there is not only just brie. No, there is actually three cheeses.
I know, three!! This excites me greatly. Oh, and speaking of cheese, have you guys entered my Wisconsin Cheese Basket Giveaway yet? You really need to do that. It ends Sunday and man oh man it’s a good giveaway. You get an entire holiday cheese basket shipped to your door.
Score!
I also made homemade cranberry molasses to drizzle over these guys and wow. The stuff is good and super easy to make. I could drizzle it on everything!
These nachos are the perfect thing to serve as a Thanksgiving (or Christmas!! Just look at those gorgeous red and green colors!) appetizer.
They are pretty, delicious and loaded with cranberries and brie. Which in my mind is a Thanksgiving staple. You just have to have brie and cranberries during the holidays. You just have too.
I have had the idea for these nachos in my head since mid October, but I held out so I could make them closer to the holidays. Finally the time has come to share them.
I am so incredibly excited!
First, you need to caramelize the butternut squash and brussels sprouts. It’s what makes them so delicious and so perfectly sweet and savory with the brie. It really just works.
Then you throw in some spices to balance the sweetness and add the cranberries in the last few minutes of cooking to liven them up a bit. Pretty simple stuff, but still so awesome.
Oh, and you only have to dirty one dish! Holy heck, yes!
After you get the veggies caramelized all you have to do is layer on the goodness and melt, melt, melt melt!
Oh, and there are loads of veggies in there, so these are totally healthy.
And I am totally in love.
Cranberry, Butternut and Brussels Sprout Brie Skillet Nachos
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 cup brussels sprouts, sliced thin (into shreds)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to your taste
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (may sub another white cheese, but fontina is so good!)
- 8 ounces brie, sliced
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- 4 ounces gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled (for topping)
Cranberry Mollasses/Syrup/Sauce Thing
- 1 cup pure cranberry juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet (10-12 inches) over medium heat, add the olive oil. Now add the butternut squash, sprinkle with brown sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently to avoid burning for 15 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. Now toss in the sliced brussels sprouts, garlic, thyme, chili powder, cayenne and crushed red pepper. Continue to cook another 10 minutes, stirring frequently until both the squash and brussels sprouts are beginning to caramelize all over. Once caramelized, remove from the heat and stir in the dried cranberries. Slide the mixture onto a plate.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In the same skillet you cooked the veggies in, add 1/3 of the chips to the bottom and then cover them with 1/3 the cheese (a little brie, a little fontina), then sprinkle with 1/3 of the veggie mixture. Repeat this 2 more times until all of the cheese and veggie mixture have been used.
- Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly! Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the gorgonzola cheese (or you can add this before with the rest of the cheese) and serve drizzled with the Cranberry Molasses (do this!). Devour!
- To make the cranberry molasses add the cranberry juice and brown sugar to a small sauce pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook 5-8 minutes or until the mixture is reduced and syrupy. Serve with the nachos. If the molasses gets too thick just add a little cranberry juice to thin it out.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
FYI, melted brie and tortilla chips is probably one of the best things ever. You’ll see.
These look amazing!!! So full of all my favorite fall things!
Thanks so much, Megan!
Question: Do you cut and pick up with fingers? Thank you…looks great.
Hey Marry! Yup, I just had everyone use their hands to pick these up, but if you want you can cut them up and serve them on plates. Hope you love these!
What a yummy (and incredibly interesting!) looking skillet!! YUM!
Haha! Thanks so much, Brenda!
I think I’m in looooooooove!
Thanks Ashley!
such a deliciously unusual way with nachos…loved the recipe and will love to gorge on the treat even more 🙂
Thank you!
What an inventive flavor combination and way to use it! I can imagine these were out-of-this-world!
Thanks Erin!
Oh wow! I want these in my mouth right. NOW!!!!! Amazing!!
Thank you, Renee!
I AM INSANELY IN LOVE! Tieghan, I don’t know how you do it…but, you keep outdoing yourself. AH-MAZING flavahs goin’ on here! I am so stoked to make these as soon as humanly possible. Girl, you ROCK! All of my favorite flavors are here. Thanks for sharing! I don’t care that I’m allergic to dairy…I’m diving in! Love me some brie. I’ll need to take some Benadryl first, that’s fer shure! 😉
Awe!! Thank you so much, Stacy! It means so much coming from you!
I did not know you were allergic to dairy, I cannot even imagine. That kind of makes me want to create some more dairy free foods! 🙂
This dish must be perfect for parties. For example any time when my friends are coming to watch film together I always make such dishes which are very convenient to eat even without plates! And they are really fast to cook.
It’s and they are fun to eat! Thanks Maria!
I never have time to experiment with new finds this time of year. However, I am making an exception. This looks and sounds delicious. Awesome dish. Thank you so much for sharing. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Thank you so much! Happy Holidays!
You amaze me every day friend!! This looks freaking killer!
Thanks Katrina!
BRILLIANCE! Any brussels sprouts hater would love this dish, I’m sure. And all that cheese is so swoon-worthy.
Pinning!
Thanks Abbie!! I agree, any brussels sprouts hater would love these!
What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving with NACHOS! Out with the simple and in with these nachos!
Thanks Meagan!
Wow – like Thanksgiving nachos!!! I am posting pan roasted brussel sprouts with butternut squash, crispy shallots and gorgonzola today. I think we may have been communicating telepathically 🙂
Ha! Agree! Thanks Liz!
The Best Thanksgiving Appetizer? I believe it! Let me just ship your trophy right over :-p My family all has this weird preconceived notion that brussels sprouts are gross — and they’ve never even tried them! I think there’s enough going on here that I could get them to sample without knowing the brussels even exist and convert them into sprout lovers forever!
Yes! I think they would love these! Thanks so much, Kelly! 🙂