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Chicken Tostadas are a fun spin on taco night that your family will love! Mix it up with different toppings and you can even take some store bought shortcuts to save extra time.
Serve it up with delicious Mexican inspired sides like homemade Refried Beans and Instant Pot Mexican Rice.
Why We Love This Recipe
- Fun Toppings – The best part is picking out your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, and more!
- Spin on Taco Night – If your family loves taco night, then this is an easy way to mix it up!
- Customizable – In addition to using chicken taco meat, like in this recipe, it’s great with other proteins as well!
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
How To Make Chicken Tostadas
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- Heat Oil – Start by heating about 2 inches of a high heat frying oil (like vegetable or canola oil) in a deep skillet or pot over medium heat. The oil is ready when it is glossy/shimmery or if you add a drop of water, it sizzles. The temperature should be between about 350 degrees F and 375 degrees F.
- Fry Tortillas – Frying in batches (even one at a time), carefully slide the tortillas into the hot oil. Make sure the tortillas are not touching. Fry for a few minutes total – flipping once. The tortilla will turn a golden brown when it is ready.
- Drain Fried Tortillas – Place the fried tortillas on a paper towel lined plate or sheet pan to drain excess oil and give a sprinkle of a little kosher salt.
- Assemble Tostadas – Top each tostada with refried beans, lettuce, cheese and chicken. Serve immediately with extra garnishes available such as avocado, sour cream, and tomatoes.
Tostada Toppings
The best part about tostada night is the topping options are endless! Some of our favorites to include are:
- Shredded chicken – You can simply use leftovers or shred a rotisserie chicken. Or, try one of these recipes for more Mexican flavor (using just the meat from the recipe): Salsa Verde Chicken, Chipotle Chicken Tacos, Chicken Street Tacos.
- Shredded Lettuce
- Shredded Cheese – like a Mexican blend, colby jack, or monterey jack.
- Diced Tomatoes – I like using Roma tomatoes because they aren’t super juicy when you cut them.
- Diced Red Onion
- Sour Cream – Plain greek yogurt is a great swap for a lighter option.
- Homemade Guacamole
- Fresh Cilantro
- Fresh Homemade Salsa
- Pico de Gallo
Serving Suggestions
We love rounding out the meal with other Mexican-inspired sides! Such as Slow Cooker Mexican Beans and Authentic Mexican Rice. Other great additions are Mexican Street Corn Salad, Refried Beans Recipe, or Fresh Pineapple Salsa.
Storage Tips
The Best Way to Store Leftovers
It’s best to store the individual toppings and ingredients separately. The fried tostada shells can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 5 days.
Recipe Tips
- Use High Heat Frying Oil – When frying, it’s important to use a high-heat oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or corn oil. Do not use olive oil as this has a much lower smoke point.
- How to Tell When Oil is Ready – There are a few ways to tell when the oil is hot enough to fry the tortillas. First is the oil will look glossy and shimmery, second is you can (carefully) add a drop of water to see if it sizzles, or third you can use a thermometer and see if it is between 350-375 degrees F.
- Store Bought Tostada Shells – If you want to save time, many grocery stores sell tostada shells that are already fried and crispy. You’ll find them near the regular tortillas or in the Hispanic section.
- Swap in Other Proteins – In addition to the chicken taco meat in this recipe, you can swap in other proteins like beef taco meat (recipe in this ground beef tacos), shredded salsa verde chicken, or even carnitas!
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients
- 6 Corn tortillas
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups Chicken Taco Meat Rotisserie chicken or leftovers will work just fine here.
- 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
Tostada Shells
- 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 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
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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!