Home > Dinner > Bean Tostadas Bean Tostadas February 16, 2021 | No Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. These crispy Bean Tostadas are crazy simple to make and loaded with flavor! They start with crispy tostada shells, and are loaded with smashed avocado, saucy spiced pinto beans, veggies, and a quick cilantro-lime sauce. Bean Tostadas Pinto Bean Tostadas are part of my second mini-series “cook once & enjoy all week long” with these homemade Pinto Beans. A quick run-down: Prepare dried pinto beans (I promise, they’re simple!) in the slow cooker or pressure cooker (AKA Instant Pot®) at the beginning of the week. Enjoy those beans as a side dish that day for dinner and then use the leftovers in recipes throughout the week. (Or freeze the leftovers and use them in place of canned pinto beans for future recipes.) These tostadas whip together in twenty minutes or less with pre-made pinto beans… and those pinto beans have only gotten more flavorful as they’ve sat overnight! Beyond these Pinto Bean Tostadas, I also share how to use those homemade Pinto Beans in these Bean and Cheese Burritos and these Pinto Bean Tacos. Cook once and enjoy some kitchen shortcuts for the remaining meal preparation throughout the week! QUICK TIP Did you miss the first mini-series? We did another series using these homemade Black Beans in this very recipe you’re ready, these Southwest Egg Rolls, this Chipotle Chicken Salad, and these Black Bean Bowls Ingredients In Bean Tostadas Tortilla: Bake the tortillas until they’re crispy but not too brown. This makes them strong enough to hold the toppings without getting too tough. Pinto Beans: Homemade pinto beans are amazing in this, but canned ones work just as well. If using canned, be sure to rinse. Toppings: The sky is the limit for topping your tostada. My favorites are romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cotija cheese, and lots of cilantro-cashew sauce. Cilantro-Cashew Sauce: Use a powerful blender & soak your cashews before to get an ultra-smooth consistency. What is a tostada? A tostada is basically a taco, but it’s flat! It’s usually made with a fried corn tortilla and topped with refried beans and a myriad of toppings (anything you’d find on a taco could go on a tostada!) In this recipe, we’re using baked corn tortillas instead (Don’t worry– they still get super crispy and crunchy!) and adding just a few simple toppings. Bean Tostada Base (Baked instead of Fried!) While you can buy pre-made tostada shells, making your own is so simple and I think it tastes a lot better. While either will work, I’ll share a few notes about homemade tostadas: Use thin corn tortillas (Not sure where to start? Here’s an article breaking down the major brands of corn tortillas so you can better navigate what brand you’d enjoy). My family enjoys Mission’s® extra-thin corn tortillas with these bean tostadas (not sponsored). Spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray. I use an olive oil-based spray (canola works as well) and give each side a good spritz. Don’t forget the salt. Add a sprinkle of salt to each side. Bake the tortillas, spaced out. Give each tortilla plenty of space (I like using a 15×21-inch baking sheet for plenty of room). Bake, flip, and bake again, Watch closely. Different brands of corn tortillas will vary in bake time and not every oven is the same. Watch the tortillas carefully to avoid burning. Bean Tostada Toppings I use crunchy romaine lettuce, fresh cherry tomatoes, cotija cheese, and lots of cilantro-cashew sauce (more on this below). Here are some other options: If you’re making the Pinto Bean Tostadas in this mini-series, use leftover cabbage instead of romaine. I’d recommend very thinly slicing the cabbage and tossing it in sauce first. Iceberg lettuce (or pre-chopped “taco” lettuce in the produce section of the store) is also a great option for topping these tostadas. We loved adding some leftover pickled red onions (see how to make quick-pickled onions in this Chicken Tinga Tacos post) Fresh herbs like cilantro or green onions Pico de gallo or salsa Sour cream or Mexican crema (we like to use lite sour cream on these!) Cilantro-Cashew Sauce This sauce is packed with good ingredients but without the typical inclusions of mayo or sour cream! What do we use instead? Cashews! We’re so hooked on this sauce and we’ve used it in a few recent recipes. And also, as I mentioned earlier, this is intentional so you can prep the sauce early in the week with the beans and use it on recipes throughout the week. A few quick sauce notes: Soak the cashews to ensure they’re softened enough. Since I usually forget to soak the cashews overnight, I’ve found a short-cut: pour boiling water over the cashews and let them stand for 45 minutes to an hour. Soft cashews in a fraction of the time! Use roasted and salted cashews. The cashews can make or break this sauce! Be sure to get whole cashews that have been roasted and salted for maximum flavor. Other Delicious Recipes Shrimp Tacos with a creamy cilantro-lime sauce Taco Bowl with seasoned ground beef Mexican Zucchini Boats low-carb, mega-flavor meal Healthy Tacos with black beans and corn Loaded Sweet Potatoes Inspired by Mexican Street Corn FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Bean Tostadas 5 from 1 vote - Review this recipe These crispy Bean Tostadas are crazy simple to make and loaded with flavor! They start with crispy tostada shells and are loaded with smashed avocado, saucy spiced pinto beans, veggies, and a quick cilantro-lime sauce. SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Bean Tostadas 5 from 1 vote - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe These crispy Bean Tostadas are crazy simple to make and loaded with flavor! They start with crispy tostada shells and are loaded with smashed avocado, saucy spiced pinto beans, veggies, and a quick cilantro-lime sauce. Course Dinner, Vegetarian Cuisine Healthy, Vegetarian Keyword bean tostadas Prep Time 30 minutes minutes Cashew Soaking Time 1 hour hour Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes Servings 3 servings Chelsea Lords Calories 614kcal Author Chelsea Lords Cost $5.12 IngredientsSauce▢ 1/3 cup roasted and salted whole cashews▢ 1 cup fresh cilantro (leaves & stems)▢ 3 tablespoons lime juice + 1/2 teaspoon zest (1-2 limes)▢ 1/3 cup water▢ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powderTostadas▢ 6 extra-thin corn tortillas (we use Mission's extra thin)▢ Olive oil cooking spray▢ Fine sea salt & cracked pepper▢ 1-1/2 cups pinto beans (or 1 can refried beans) Note 1▢ 2 small/ medium (or 1 large) very ripe avocados pitted and peeled▢ 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice▢ 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder▢ 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved▢ 2 cups crisp romaine or iceberg lettuce, thinly shredded▢ 1/4 cup queso fresco cheese (or more to taste)US - Metric USMetric InstructionsPREP: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.PINTO BEANS: See Note 1. SAUCE: See Note 2. Place cashews in a heatproof bowl. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the cashews. Let stand for 45 minutes to an hour and then thoroughly drain. Add the drained cashews, cilantro, lime juice & zest, water, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper) to a small powerful blender. Blend until completely smooth. Refrigerate so the flavors intensify and meld. The sauce can be made ahead of time; simply stir before serving. MASHED AVOCADO: Halve the avocados and use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a medium-sized bowl. (Discard the pits.) Mash the avocado with a fork, add in the lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon EACH: garlic powder, and freshly cracked pepper. Mash again to combine the ingredients.TOSTADAS: Spray both sides of each tortilla generously with olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle both sides lightly with fine sea salt. Place the tortillas on a sheet pan (with plenty of space -- don't overlap). Bake for 4 minutes and then use tongs to flip the tortillas to the other side. Bake for another 3-6 minutes or until the tortillas are crispy. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes.ASSEMBLY: Divide mashed avocado mixture evenly among the 6 crispy tortillas. Spread beans evenly over each tortilla (about 1/4 cup per tostada). Top each tostada with equal amounts of lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. Drizzle the sauce over tostadas to taste. (There will likely be some leftover sauce, but it works best to make in this quantity.) Video Recipe NotesNote 1: This recipe uses leftovers from these homemade Pinto Beans! Don't have the time to make from-scratch beans? It's okay! Canned refried beans work too. Gently warm them through in a small pot on the stovetop or microwave before adding to the tostadas. If you do make the homemade pinto beans (highly recommended!), wait until the next day so the beans are thick enough to use in this recipe. (Right after being made, they're a bit thin; they thicken a lot overnight.) Warm them in a small pot or in the microwave before adding them to the tacos. Note 2: This is likely way more sauce than you'll use, but I find this quantity blends up the best. If you'd like, you can halve it or make the full batch and use it on recipes throughout the week. (We love it on these black bean bowls.) Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Make it vegan! The only non-vegan ingredient in this recipe is the cojita cheese. Swap that for vegan cheese (or skip cheese entirely) for a vegan recipe. Note, however, that you should read the ingredients for the tortillas, and for the beans (if using canned beans) to be sure there are no non-vegan elements. If you make the recipe for pinto beans that I include, omit the bacon. Nutrition FactsServing: 1serving | Calories: 614kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 580mg | Potassium: 1399mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 19514IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 357mg | Iron: 8mg We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
