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These open-face tostadas are topped with all of your favorite Mexican ingredients! These tasty tostadas are a frequent meal in our house.

Topped with Canned Refried Beans, cheese, and toppings, we love to serve tostadas with our Homemade Salsa and a side of Mexican Rice.

Three tostadas topped with refried beans, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.


Gotta Love Fried Tortillas!

A tostada is a crunchy fried tortilla that is topped with any Mexican topping or ingredient you like. Almost like an open-faced taco!

We’ve made tostadas my entire life, and they’re a family favorite for dinner and one we have at ever Cinco de Mayo and Mexican fiesta because they’re simple, delicious and loved by all.

Get ready for one of the easiest Mexican dishes you’ll ever make!

Why we love them:

  • Prep ahead for gatherings. The ability to prepare the toppings and shells in advance allows for stress-free entertaining.
  • Individual assembly. Lay out all the toppings, fry some tortillas, and everyone can assemble their tostadas – easy!
  • Make it your own. I love making tostadas because there are no wrong ingredients to put on top. Sometimes we do beef or chicken tostadas with rice and other toppings.
  • No waste. Making tostadas is a great way to use up stale corn tortillas.
Stack of fried corn tortillas on a wooden table used for tostada recipe.

TOstada Ingredients

  • refried beans
  • Crisco shortening
  • milk
  • shredded Mexican blend or Colby Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, cotija cheese
  • vegetable oil canola oil or olive oil labeled for frying
  • corn tortillas – or skip the frying time and buy a package of store-bought tostada shells. Simply top the crispy tortilla and eat. 
  • salt to taste
  • toppings shredded cooked chicken, beef or pork; shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, hot sauce, salsa, avocado cream sauce, guacamole.

How to Make Tostadas

  1. BEANS. Combine beans, shortening, and milk in a pot over medium heat. Stir vigorously with a wire whisk until silky smooth. Add cheese and let melt, then remove from the heat and set aside.
  2. Tortillas. You’ll need about 12 corn tortillas for this recipe, but you can easily adjust it for how many people you’re serving. Heat ½ inch oil in a medium saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat.
    • Fry tortillas one at a time for 30–60 seconds on each side, until golden. Place them in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil and sprinkle with salt.
  3. ENJOY! When ready to serve, top each tortilla with beans, then add any desired toppings.
Creamy beans for tostada recipe.

Recipe Tips

  • Oven-baked tortillas. Brush both sides of the tortilla with vegetable oil, or spray generously with cooking spray, and sprinkle with salt.
    • Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 5 minutes until tortillas are toasted and crisp, then flip over and bake for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Serving suggestions.
Creamy beans spread on top of fried corn tortilla.

Storage Tips

  • Make tostadas ahead of time. Prepare all of your toppings and keep them in separate air-tight containers in the fridge. I suggest frying up the tortillas right before serving them. This tostada recipe is best when served warm!
  • STORE. We like to make fresh tostada tortillas, but you can make these up to 48 hours in advance. Just store them in a Ziploc bag to keep them crunchy until serving.
Three bean tostadas with various toppings on a platter.

For More Favorite Mexican Dishes:

5 from 22 votes

Tostadas Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
These open-face tostadas are topped with all of your favorite Mexican ingredients! These tasty tostadas are a frequent meal in this house.
Servings: 6
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients 

Creamy Refried Beans

  • 1 (30-ounce) can refried beans
  • ¼ cup Crisco shortening
  • cup milk
  • cups shredded Mexican blend or Colby Jack cheese

Tostadas

  • ½-1 cup vegetable oil
  • 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  • salt to taste

Toppings

  • shredded cooked chicken, beef or pork; shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Instructions 

  • Combine beans, shortening, and milk in a pot over medium heat. Stir vigorously with a wire whisk until silky smooth. Add cheese and let melt, then remove from the heat and set aside.
  • Heat ½ inch oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas one at a time for 30–60 seconds on each side, until golden. Place on a paper towel–lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
  • When ready to serve, top each tortilla with beans, then add any desired toppings.

Video

Notes

Make ahead of time. We like to make our tostada shells fresh, but you can make them up to 24 hours in advance. Just store them in a resealable plastic bag to keep them crunchy until serving time.
You can also prepare the beans ahead of time as directed in Step 1 and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.
Warm them up right before serving on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding additional milk, if needed, to make them smooth again.
Feed a crowd. This is a great meal idea to serve a crowd. Lay out all your favorite tostada toppings, fry some tortillas, and let everyone assemble their own tostadas.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tostada, Calories: 226kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 212mg, Potassium: 86mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 372IU, Calcium: 261mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Making this recipe? Tag us!
Share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #lilluna, so we can see what you’re creating in the kitchen!


About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Recipe Rating




15 Comments

  1. I just love you’re work babbeeee! It’s so amazing I just want to be like you and make my munchkins happy and full of your delicious masterpiece. My cutie would also destroy these after a long day of hard work.

  2. 5 stars
    This is really flavorful! Super loved the seasonings in it! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing tostadas recipe! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!

  3. 5 stars
    Another favOrite recipe! My family loves these. I think they come together pretty quickly. I also love the salad on top. What a great combination of flavors.