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Chicken Tostadas are a quick meal that’s easily customizable with all your favorite toppings. Try this easy Mexican tostada recipe as a simple and delicious alternative to Taco Tuesday!
The Best Chicken Tostadas
My kids are huge fans of tostadas. They love to order them in Mexican restaurants, despite the fact that they are so fully loaded with stuff that it makes them difficult to eat. They will happily pick up the tostada and munch away at it as quick as they can to keep the toppings from slipping off.
So it’s no wonder that tostada night is a favorite in our family. Whether we make our easy Oven Baked Tostadas or we indulge a little and fry them up in a little oil on the stove, it’s fun to get creative and add your favorite toppings. Sometimes it’s just beans, lettuce, and cheese, and sometimes we go all out, using my easy chicken taco recipe and adding tons of topping, like olives, tomatoes, and homemade guacamole.
How to Make Tostadas
There are two methods you can use for making tostadas. Using premade corn tortillas, you can either fry them or bake them. Each method has it’s benefits.
How to Fry Tortillas for Tostadas
- Heat vegetable, canola or corn oil in a deep skillet or pan on the stove over medium heat. You want to make sure to use an oil with a high smoking point – olive oil will not work for frying tortillas. You’ll know the oil is ready when it begins to appear glossy or shimmery. You can also test it by sprinkling a few drops of water into the oil – if it sizzles, it’s ready. If you’re using a thermometer (aff), you want to oil between 350 and 375 degrees F.
- Once the oil reaches the correct temperature, place the tortillas into the oil. Do not crowd them in the pan – the tortillas should not be touching. It’s usually easier to fry one tortilla at a time, depending on the size of your skillet.
- Flip the tortilla once, and fry for a few minutes total. The tortilla will start to turn a golden color; just be sure to remove it from the pan before it starts to really brown.
- Place the tortillas on a paper towel lined surface to drain and immediately sprinkle with a little bit kosher salt for flavor. Be sure to salt them before the oil is soaked up so the salt will stick.
How to Assemble Your Chicken Tostadas
Assembly is really a matter of preference with tostadas. We always start with refried beans as the base so the toppings have something to stick to. Then add other toppings like:
- chicken
- lettuce
- cheese
- tomatoes
- sour cream
- homemade guacamole
- cilantro
- Fresh Homemade Salsa
- the possibilities are pretty much endless!
Chicken tostadas, or any kind of tostadas really, do get messy, so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand and enjoy!
What to eat with tostadas
We love these these Chicken Tostadas with some Slow Cooker Mexican Beans and Authentic Mexican Rice on the side! You could also serve up some Mexican Street Corn Salad, Refried Beans Recipe or Fresh Pineapple Salsa.
Here are some more Mexican inspired recipes we love:
Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients
- 6 corn tortillas
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups chicken taco meat
- 1 ½ cups shredded lettuce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese
- 2 cups refried beans
- 1 avocado
- 2 limes
- Other garnishes like tomatoes, olive, cilantro and sour cream
Instructions
- Heat 2-inches vegetable, canola or corn oil in a deep skillet or pan on the stove over medium heat. You want to make sure to use an oil with a high smoking point - olive oil will not work for frying tortillas. You'll know the oil is ready when it begins to appear glossy or shimmery. You can also test it by sprinkling a few drops of water into the oil - if it sizzles, it's ready. If you're using a thermometer (aff), you want to oil between 350 and 375 degrees F.
- Gently and carefully slide the tortillas into the hot oil. Do not crowd them in the pan - the tortillas should not be touching. It's usually easier to fry one tortilla at a time, depending on the size of your skillet.Â
- Flip the tortilla once, and fry for a few minutes total. The tortilla will start to turn a golden color; just be sure to remove it from the pan before it starts to really brown. The amount of time will really depend on the temperature of the oil but they will continue to crisp up as they cool.
- Place the fried tortillas on a paper towel lined surface to drain and immediately sprinkle with a little bit kosher salt for flavor.Â
- Top each tostada with refried beans, lettuce, cheese and chicken. Serve immediately.
- Set up a garnishing station with things like avocado, sour cream, tomatoes, olives or cilantro so that each person can customize their own chicken tostada.
Notes
Nutrition
Bottoms do not look like corn tortilla? Thanks for the recipe.
They are fried corn tortillas as stated in the post and the recipe.
Excellent I am sure they taste as good as they look great recipe
My mouth is watering. I want to eat that!