Bean Tostadas

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With crunchy tostada shells topped with smashed avocado, saucy spiced pinto beans, fresh veggies, and a quick cilantro-lime sauce, these crispy Bean Tostadas are incredibly easy to make and packed with flavor!

Prep Time30

Cashew Soaking Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner, Vegetarian

Cuisine: Healthy, Vegetarian

Keyword: bean tostadas

Servings: servings

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $5.12

Equipment

Sheet pan (15" x 10")
Small blender high-powered

Ingredients

Sauce

1/3 cup cashews roasted and salted
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems
3 large limes
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Tostadas

1-1/2 cups avocado 2 avocados, very ripe, pitted and peeled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
6 extra-thin corn tortillas
Cooking spray
1-1/2 cups pinto beans or 1 can refried beans, see note 1
3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce or iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup queso fresco cheese

US - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Zest limes with a zester to get 1/2 teaspoon zest. Juice limes using a citrus juicer to get 5 tablespoons lime juice. Set aside. Heat pinto beans (see note 1).
To make the sauce, place cashews in a heatproof bowl. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the cashews. Let stand for 45 minutes to an hour, then thoroughly drain. Add the drained cashews, cilantro, 3 tablespoons lime juice, zest, water, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and 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 (see note 2).
Halve the avocados and use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a medium bowl. Mash the avocado with a fork, add in 2 tablespoons lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mash again to combine the ingredients.
Spray both sides of each tortilla generously with cooking spray. Sprinkle both sides lightly with 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 tortillas are crispy. Remove from oven and let stand for 5–10 minutes.
Divide mashed avocado mixture evenly among the 6 crispy tortillas. Spread beans 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.

Video

Notes

Note 1: This recipe uses leftovers from these homemade Pinto Beans!

If you don’t have time to make homemade beans, canned refried beans work too. Gently warm them in a small pot on the stove or microwave before adding to the tostadas.
If you do make the homemade pinto beans, which I highly recommend, 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 to the tostadas.

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. I love it on these black bean bowls. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Vegan: The only non-vegan ingredient in this recipe is the queso fresco, swap that for vegan cheese, or skip cheese entirely, for a vegan recipe.

Storage: Store leftover tostadas by keeping the shells, beans, toppings, and sauce separate. Place each in airtight containers in the fridge. Reheat the beans and assemble fresh for the best texture.

Nutrition