Chicken Tostadas

We eat a lot of Mexican food. At least two to three meals a week are typically Mexican food. I like it so much because I grew up eating a variety of cuisines and it’s relatively inexpensive to recreate the flavors of Mexico at home.

These Chicken Tostadas are so easy to make and are great as a fast lunch or dinner option. We pile our tostadas up with my Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken or chicken that I’ve cooked on high pressure for 10 minutes in my pressure cooker. If you are a vegetarian they’re absolutely delicious without the chicken because the refried beans are very filling.

I like to use green enchilada sauce as an added flavor enhancement to these tostadas, but if you prefer red enchilada sauce it works well too, or just use a jar of red or green salsa. To make these even more authentic I use Cotija cheese which is a dry Mexican cheese that crumbles and is similar to Feta cheese. If you’re not a fan then use your favorite shredded cheese.

I prefer that everyone has a chance to build his/her own tostadas. Similar to taco bars, I cut up all of the toppings and set everything out in bowls and we have an assembly line of tostada builders. These are excellent because I find that sometimes crunchy shell tacos split in half and are hard to fill, but since a tostada is just a taco shell that was fried flat, it holds all of the toppings and doesn’t crack down the middle. I always overload mine as you can tell by the photos, but most of my family members can pick their tostadas up and eat them without a fork.

I hope that you’ll try this recipe and leave a comment below. Also, please follow @lifeabovethecafe on Instagram and Facebook. You can find my social media links below.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of tostada shells
• 1 large can of refried black beans (or pintos if you prefer)
• 1 can of green enchilada sauce (or red if you prefer)
• 2 – 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken
• chopped lettuce
• 2 -3 diced Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• shredded cheese or Cotija cheese (Mexican style cheese)
• sour cream or Mexican crema
• optional – salsa

Directions:

Shred the cooked chicken and place it in a bowl.

Empty the can of refried beans into a microwave safe bowl and warm them or place them in a pan and warm them on the stove.  The beans need to be a spreadable consistency so if they seem too thick add 1 – 2 Tbsp. of water to thin them out, but don’t make them too runny or they won’t stay on the tostada shell (if that happens you can mix in shredded cheese to thicken them back up).

Grate the cheese if you plan to use a block of cheese or try these with Mexican Cotija cheese or a bagged pre-shredded cheese.

Thinly slice the lettuce and place in a bowl.

Dice the tomatoes and onions and place them into separate bowls.

Warm the green enchilada sauce in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.

To build the tostadas spread a layer of beans on the tostada shell, then place a layer of shredded chicken on the beans.  Next spoon a little green enchilada sauce over the chicken and then add the lettuce, tomato, onions, and cheese.  I also like to top my tostada with a little more green enchilada sauce and sour cream or creama, which is Mexican sour cream.  If I have pico de gallo I use it as well.  Other great toppings are fresh or jarred salsa or red enchilada sauce if you prefer it over green enchilada sauce.