Easy Tostadas Recipe

Our family’s favorite tostada recipe comes together in about 30 minutes, layered with seasoned ground meat, creamy refried beans, and all the best toppings.

We eat tacos a lot for dinner (they are a big hit with our son!), so Adam and I are always looking for fun new ways to switch things up. First, we turned our favorite ingredients into our popular taco salad, loaded nachos, and now we are obsessed with these baked tostadas. If you aren’t familiar, a tostada starts with a crispy, toasted corn tortilla (you can buy them from the store or make your own).

We top the crispy shells with refried beans, seasoned taco meat, and cheese, and then bake them until hot and melty. Just before serving, pile on your favorite taco toppings and dig in.

Key Ingredients

• Tostada Shells: Most stores sell these, but you can also make them at home. You can bake or fry them. Here’s our tostada shell recipe if you’d like to learn more.
• Refried Beans: Again, you can use store-bought (Siete refried beans are our favorite canned option). Or, make a batch of our homemade refried beans or refried black beans.
• Taco Meat: We’ve used the taco meat recipe shared below over and over in blog recipes. The seasoning is so good! Use ground meat of choice (our photos show ground turkey, but lean ground beef or chicken are great). Then, use our taco seasoning blend, which calls for spices you likely already have, tomato paste, and a bit of chicken stock or water. For the spice mix, you will need chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt.
• Toppings: Cheese is a must, and we love making a simple lime sour cream and avocado mash for our tostadas, which is included in the recipe below. Then add your favorite extras, like shredded lettuce or cabbage, chopped tomatoes or salsa, and even a few dashes of hot sauce.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Tostadas

First, make the taco meat. We make this seasoned ground meat once a week (maybe more) because it is fast and we all love it. Start by browning the ground meat (in our photos, we used ground turkey), then add the spice mix and cook until it’s no longer pink. Then stir in the tomato paste and chicken stock, and cook for a few more minutes.

Then, assemble the tostadas. Lay the tostada shells on baking sheets so they don’t overlap, then add small spoonfuls of refried beans, a generous spoonful of the taco meat, and top with cheese. As you layer them, be careful not to crack the shells (this is why we don’t spread the beans on and instead add tiny spoonfuls).

Bake until hot and melty. Now, slide the baking sheets into a 400°F oven and bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until the shells crisp up and the cheese melts.

Finally, serve with your favorite toppings. Remove the baked tostadas from the oven and top with whatever you love. We make a simple lime sour cream (sour cream stirred with fresh lime juice and a pinch of salt), mashed avocado or guacamole, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and sometimes a dash or two of hot sauce. Just keep in mind that while the shells are pretty sturdy, they will crack when you pick them up if you add too much weight.

More Taco Recipes to Try