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Tostadas topped with chicken tinga, drizzled with crema.
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5 from 2 votes

Easy Homemade Tostada Recipe

These homemade Tostadas are crunchy and easy to make! Crispy fried corn tortillas topped with refried beans, ground beef or chicken, cheese, and all the best toppings are a perfect family friendly dinner idea. 
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 8
Author: Serene

Ingredients

Chicken Tinga

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless, skinless
  • 4 cups water
  • ½ white onion quartered
  • 1 bulb garlic top cut off
  • 1 bayleaf
  • 4 roma tomatoes stems cut off
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
  • 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Tostada Shells

Toppings

Instructions

Chicken Tinga

  • Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. 
  • Sprinkle the chicken with a small amount of salt. Sear the chicken in the dutch oven turning to sear both sides. 
  • Pour water into the pot, ensuring that the chicken is completely covered. Add more water as needed to fully cover. 
  • Add the onion, garlic, and bayleaves. 
  • Bring to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and easily shredded. 
  • Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. 
  • Add the tomato to the pot of water and let simmer for several minutes until the peel starts to come off. 
  • Remove the tomato, onion and garlic from the pot and add to a blender. 
  • Pour in 1/2 cup of the broth into the blender. 
  • Add the chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and the seasonings. 
  • Blend until smooth. 
  • Pour the sauce into a clean skillet or braising pan, heat over medium heat. 
  • Shred the chicken and add to the chipotle sauce in the skillet. Stir to coat the chicken. 
  • Cook for 10 minutes. 

Tostadas

  • Prepare a large baking sheet with a wire cooling rack, set aside. 
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet, once the oil is heated add the corn tortillas one at a time and fry until crisped, approximately 30 seconds. Using tongs, flip the tortilla and fry the other side. Tortillas should be lightly golden on both sides. 
  • Remove the fried tortilla and set on the wire cooling rack, sprinkle with sea salt. 
  • Continue until all tortillas are fried. Add more oil as needed to fry all the tortillas.
  • Assemble the tostadas by spreading a layer of refried beans, topped with chicken Tinga. Add the remaining toppings as desired, shredded lettuce, radishes, crumbled queso fresco, cilantro and a drizzle of crema. 

Notes

  • Make Ahead: Prepare all of the toppings ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator until needed. Heat up the beans and meat as needed when ready to serve. 
  • Leftovers: Store any remaining toppings in sealed container in the refrigerator. Tostada shells can be stored in a bag or container at room temperature for 5-7 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 784mg | Potassium: 373mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 354IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg