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This homemade tostada recipe is an easy dinner that’s delicious and loaded with fresh ingredients. Try it when you need something quick and fuss-free on busy weeknights!
The word tostada means “toasted” in Spanish and refers to a flat tortilla that’s been baked or fried until crunchy and then piled with tasty toppings. It’s so easy to make your own tostadas! Super customizable, tostadas are great for picky eaters because you can lay the toppings out and let everyone choose what they want.
I cook ground beef as a topping in this recipe, but tostadas are a great opportunity to use up leftover meat or swap it for another ground protein! So, if you have pieces of rotisserie chicken in the fridge, shred it up and scoop it onto your tostadas, or defrost that package of ground turkey before it gets freezer burned. For more delicious Mexican recipes, try my homemade mexican rice recipe, huevos rancheros recipe, or chilaquiles.
What you need to make this recipe
Oil — to fry the tortillas, you need a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point like vegetable oil or canola oil.
Tortillas — you can make your own tostada shells by frying corn tortillas, as I do in this recipe, or buy ready-made crunchy tostada shells at the grocery store.
Refried beans — you’ll just heat up a can of refried beans to spread on the homemade tostada shells. Canned refried beans are really tasty and save so much time! You can use refried black beans or pinto beans.
Onion — a yellow onion works well to add flavor when cooking the meat.
Meat — I opted for ground beef, but you could also use ground turkey or ground chicken. Or, use leftover shredded beef or slow cooker carnitas!
Seasonings — there’s an abundance of flavor in this Mexican tostada recipe, which includes chili powder, salt, ground cumin, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper.
Toppings — get creative with your favorite toppings! Here are some of my favorites: queso fresco, chopped avocado, shredded iceberg lettuce, a dollop of sour cream, salsa or pico de gallo, chopped fresh cilantro, diced tomato, and sliced jalapeño.
How to make tostadas
1. Start by frying the corn tortillas in a large skillet. If you decide to use store-bought shells, skip this step and move on to the next one! Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Fry the tortillas, two at a time, turning occasionally until crisp with slightly browned edges. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil. Leave the oil in the skillet and set aside.
2. Warm the refried beans in a small pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, cover and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, heat the leftover oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 6 minutes, until softened.
4. Add the ground beef to the skillet along with all the seasonings. Break up the ground beef into smaller crumbles while it cooks. Once browned and cooked through, which takes about 8 minutes, remove the ground beef from heat.
5. Now, the fun part: assembling the ground beef tostadas! Start by spreading about 2 tablespoons of warm refried beans onto each crispy tortilla.
6. Spoon seasoned ground beef on top of the beans, and then have fun adding your favorite taco toppings!
Pro tips for making this recipe
- Only fry as many tortillas as you need for one meal. This recipe yields 12 crispy tostadas, but feel free to reduce the amount of tortillas you fry depending on how many people you’re serving. That way, your shells will be fresh and crispy.
- You can use store-bought tostada shells instead of frying tortillas. Warm them in a 350°F oven or air fryer for 3 to 5 minutes to re-crisp.
- Spread refried beans onto fried tortillas first. The beans will help the other toppings “stick” to the tortilla better, making the meal less messy.
- Don’t pile the toppings too high. Be generous with the toppings, but don’t pile them too high as they’ll topple right off when you start eating.
- Eat tostadas like you would a slice of pizza. If you’ve ever wondered how to eat tostadas, you’ll be happy to know that there’s nothing complicated about it! Just hold it like a slice of pizza and enjoy. Some toppings will inevitably fall off, so I keep a fork nearby to scoop them back onto the tortilla.
Frequently asked questions
You could think of a tostada as an open-faced taco. Tostadas are made with flat fried tortillas and have toppings piled over them, while tacos are made with soft tortillas or crunchy shells and folded around various fillings.
You can make both tostada shells and taco shells from corn tortillas, but they differ in shape. Tostada shells are flat and crispy. Taco shells can be soft or crispy but are folded so the meat, cheese, and toppings go between the sides of the tortillas instead of on top.
Tostadas are plenty filling by themselves, but you can add a side of Mexican rice if you’d like! You can also sip on a margarita with dinner, followed by tres leches for dessert.
While tortillas are best fried right before you assemble tostadas, you can prepare all the toppings a night ahead and store them in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. This doesn’t include avocados, though, which will become brown overnight. When you’re ready for dinner, fry the tortillas, heat up the meat and beans, and then make the tostadas.
Leftover toppings should be refrigerated separately in airtight containers. While I prefer to only fry as many tortillas as I need so those aren’t left over, tostada shells will keep in a Ziploc bag for a day or two. You can warm them in an oven heated to 350°F for about 5 minutes to crisp them up again.
If you’ve tried this tostada recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Tostada
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil (120mL)
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 (16-ounce/454g) can refried beans
- 1 onion diced
- 1 pound ground beef (450g)
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Toppings (optional)
- Queso fresco
- Chopped avocado
- Iceberg lettuce
- Sour cream
- Salsa or pico de gallo
- Cilantro
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the tortillas, two at a time, turning occasionally, until crisp and the edges are lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.
- In a small pot, warm the refried beans over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 6 minutes. Cover and set aside to keep warm.
- In the same large skillet used to fry the tortillas, heat the residual oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes.
- Add the ground beef, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally while breaking up the beef into small crumbles using the back of the spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- To assemble, spread about 2 tablespoons of refried beans on each fried tortilla. Top each with about ¼ cup of the seasoned ground beef and any desired toppings.
Notes
- Only fry as many tortillas as you need for one meal. This recipe yields 12 crispy tostadas, but feel free to reduce the amount of tortillas you fry depending on how many people you’re serving. That way, your shells will be fresh and crispy.
- You can use store-bought tostada shells instead of frying tortillas. Warm them in a 350°F oven or air fryer for 3 to 5 minutes to re-crisp.
- Spread refried beans onto fried tortillas first. The beans will help the other toppings “stick” to the tortilla better, making the meal less messy.
- Don’t pile the toppings too high. Be generous with the toppings, but don’t pile them too high as they’ll topple right off when you start eating.
- Eat tostadas like you would a slice of pizza. If you’ve ever wondered how to eat tostadas, you’ll be happy to know that there’s nothing complicated about it! Just hold it like a slice of pizza and enjoy. Some toppings will inevitably fall off, so I keep a fork nearby to scoop them back onto the tortilla.
Nutrition
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