Ahi Tuna Nachos

These Ahi Tuna Nachos are a bright, flavorful twist on the classic appetizer, featuring wonton chips piled high with seared sesame-crusted ahi tuna, avocado, mango, cucumber, and a kick from wasabi cream. Perfect as a party snack or even a fun weeknight dinner, they're both pretty and delicious!

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why this recipe works
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🍣 Recipe tips
• 🎉 Variations on recipe
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

If I'm at a restaurant and any kind of ahi tuna is on the menu, there is a very high chance I'm going to order it.

Since it's not the kind of thing I make at home often, but love, it's the perfect restaurant meal for me.

But guess what? It's actually incredibly easy to make at home. And so versatile. While I'm happy simply eating a seared ahi steak, I'm not obsessed with these super shareable ahi tuna nachos.

❤️ Why this recipe works

There are so many ways you can serve ahi tuna, but it's absolutely delicious in nacho form. Here's why this recipe works really well:

Lightly seared tuna: Searing the tuna briefly adds a tasty savory crust while keeping the center rare, adding great textural contrast. You can, of course, cook the tuna more if you want, but I love a light sear.

Crunchy wonton chips: Wonton chips are both sturdier and crunchier than the standard tortilla chips, acting as a great base for all your toppings.

Eclectic toppings: I love how bright and colorful these tuna nachos are! And when else do you get to make nachos with mango and cucumber? But really, the topping options for these nachos are nearly endless and so many ingredients go well with ahi tuna.

Easy prep: Despite giving off gourmet vibes, seared ahi tuna is one of the easiest dishes to make! Making the homemade wonton chips takes a little bit of time, but if you use store-bought chips, you can make these nachos so quickly.

Shareable snack: We've eaten ahi tuna nachos as a full meal before, but they also make a shareable snack that's perfect for serving on game day or as a party appetizer.

🗒 Ingredients

Here's everything I like to use for my ahi tuna nachos, but please note that you can top these however you want! See the section on recipe variations for more ideas (and be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Ahi tuna steaks
• Salt & pepper
• White sesame seeds
• Black sesame seeds
• Olive oil or avocado oil
• Wonton chips: I share my recipe for homemade wonton chips, but you can use store-bought chips if you prefer
• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Mango
• Scallions
• Wasabi cream: I share how to make your own
• Sriracha: optional for drizzle
• Soy sauce: optional for drizzle
• Picked ginger: optional for serving

🍣 Recipe tips

• It can be tough to find wonton chips that aren't "strips" and larger chips are much better for holding up all those toppings. Luckily, making your own is very easy.

• Make sure you heat your oil (a neutral oil like canola or peanut oil) properly before adding wonton wrappers. Heat to 350-360 degrees. If the oil isn't hot enough, you'll get greasy chips and if it's too hot, you could burn them.

• Once fried, use a slotted spoon to transfer the chips to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with salt so it sticks to the hot chips.

• Once completely cooled, store chips in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. I often fry up my chips the day before I want to make the nachos.

• Be sure to use sushi-grade tuna if you're just lightly searing it. You want to be sure it's safe to eat not fully cooked.

• You can season it however you want, but I recommend salt and pepper and black and white sesame seeds. There will be a lot going on with the nachos, so it's best to keep things simple with the tuna itself.

• Let the seared tuna rest for a few minutes before dicing. This allows the juices to redistribute and the texture to stay tender.

• Add whatever toppings you like, but make sure they're balanced. I like using mango (sweet), cucumber (crunchy), avocado (creamy), wasabi cream and sriracha (spicy), soy sauce (salty), and pickled ginger (bright).

• Try to dice all your toppings into similar-sized pieces so each chip gets a balanced mix.

• I like mixing wasabi paste with sour cream and lime juice as it cools it down a bit, but still brings some of that classic wasabi heat.

• Put your condiments in squirt bottles as it makes it easier for drizzling. I drizzled the nachos with sriracha and soy sauce and added little dollops of wasabi cream.

I'm just so happy to have another (easy) way to enjoy ahi tuna at home. Plus, another excuse to eat nachos. As a meal.

These ahi tuna nachos are fully loaded with so much good stuff that every bite is absolutely a dream come true.

Make these as a party snack or serve them as a dinner entree. You can easily suit them to your whole family's tastes.

🎉 Variations on recipe

While I'm pretty obsessed with my combination of ingredients, you can add so many different ingredients to these tuna nachos and serve them in so many different ways.

Here are some ideas:

• Instead of searing the ahi tuna, dice it and toss it in a poke marinade (soy sauce, sesame oil, a splash of rice vinegar, and a bit of sriracha). Now you have poke nachos!
• If you can't find and don't want to make wonton chips, you can use pita chips, plantain chips, taro chips, or rice crackers.
• Instead of (or in addition to) mango, use pineapple or papaya.
• If you're a cilantro lover, you can top the nachos with the polarizing herb. You can also use Thai basil.
• Add spiced kimchi as a topping.
• in addition to the seared tuna, top the nachos with crab meat.
• Add edamame for a protein hit.
• Add red cabbage.
• Add crispy shallots.
• Add charred corn.

If tuna isn't quite your thing, but you're as in love with nachos as I am, try some of my other unique nachos recipes, like breakfast nachos, shrimp nachos, and clam nachos.

These loaded fries are also a great alternative!

How do you like to enjoy ahi tuna?

📖 Recipe