A Really Good [Authentic] Mexican Tostada Recipe

I’m living in Mexico right now and all I can say is that I kind of eat tostadas every single day.

And that’s not an exaggeration.

In fact, this Mexican tostada recipe I’m sharing was one of the first of many I’ve made since being here, and they happen to be one of my favorite Mexican recipes.

My husband and I have been trying to eat healthier, but also not be bored out of our minds with tasteless recipes, and homemade tostadas have been an incredible solution for this.

You have no idea how many combinations of flavors we’ve been using, and if you want some ideas before you get to the main tostada recipe, then you might like the ideas down below.

It really is a great way to get into Mexican food!

Potential Tostada Toppings: Tested & Approved

Some tostadas I made just today.

• Chorizo – Ground not in sausage form. Trust me, there’s a difference.
• Rice – Preferably mixed with beans and spices. Another option is to mix the rice with canned chipotle peppers. The tangy smokiness is so delicious!
• Pickled jalapenos – The tanginess of the peppers adds a nice twist to the flavor.
• Beans of your choice – We go with either black, pinto, or chickpeas (garbanzo). You can also use refried beans.
• Avocado – Either cut up or made into guacamole. I like to just put salt in my guac, no salsa – it adds this kind of creaminess to the tostada that can’t be beaten.
• Chicken – Make sure it’s spiced well with garlic powder, cayenne, onion powder, and whatever other spices you’d like. I’d recommend using chicken thighs as they’re juicier.
• Tuna – We use raw tuna, and that’s gonna be in the recipe down below, but you can also just cook it as well!
• Crema – So we Americans use sour cream, but in Mexico, they use creama. Now creama is kind of similar to sour cream, except it’s WAY more creamy and delicious. If you can find it at an ethnic grocery store, then go for it!
• Lime – It’s kind of essential.
• A HUGE assortment of salsas – I kid you not, when you find good salsas that you like, and you have a good variety of them, it makes the meal so much more enjoyable.
• Scrambled eggs – As you can tell with the other tostada ingredients up there, we like getting our protein in, and eggs are a great way to do that. Also, you kind of just feel like you’re having breakfast for dinner.
• Mole – My husband and I are kind of addicted to mole which is a chocolate-based Mexican sauce and it is oh-so good!
• Queso Fresco – This just translates out to fresh cheese and you can crumble it on top of your tostadas. It’s not like Feta, although when crumbled, it can resemble that type of cheese. However, it actually has a very light creamy flavor and it makes for a great cheese for tostadas!
• Bacon! I know, not a traditional Mexican topping, but it adds good texture plus it tastes great. 🙂
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Again, not traditional, but as I said above, we’re trying to live a more healthy lifestyle and incorporate more good ingredients into our dishes. Also, it just tastes good.

So What Are Tostadas Exactly?

Tostadas are like toast, just in taco form.

But in all seriousness, they’re corn tortillas that have been fried in oil to become crisp like a tortilla chip. You might also hear people call them tostada shells. And of course, the amount of firmness depends on your preference and how long you want to fry it.

My husband likes them the traditional way, completely toasted and firm. But I (because I’m weird), like them a little bit chewy and not as firm. Honestly, that probably counts more as a very firm/crisp taco, but I’m gonna keep on calling it a tostada.

But, in the end, just know that the longer you fry it, and the more firm it gets, the more toppings it will be able to hold.

How to Make Tostadas

As I said above, they’re corn tortillas that have been fried in oil for a few minutes.

But one key thing that my husband and I like to do, is to spice them up while frying. We’ll spice it with salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder. It gives you that much-needed extra flavor and makes eating healthy not so boring.

Mexican tostadas are also great for meal prep. So for example, at the beginning of the week (or whenever you do meal prep), you can make all the ingredients that you need for the tostadas, and then on the night of, you can quickly fry up some corn tortillas and you’re all set!

And lastly, you could just simply buy some pre-made tostadas, but it’s all up to you!

How to Adapt Tostadas to Work for You

The options for what you can top them with are kind of limitless, so if you don’t really feel like making something healthy, then that’s up to you!

Also, traditional or not, it really doesn’t matter. As long as it’s filled with enough flavor for your personal palette.

And it’s the perfect recipe for lazy nights when you don’t feel like cooking! You just heat up a few ingredients, put them on the tostada, pour some yummy salsa on top, and bam, non-boring quick and easy dinners!

There’s really no need to feel intimidated, especially when you can just go to a grocery store and grab some pre-made tostadas.

Oh, and if you’re not feeling lazy, then they can also be complex depending on how creative you wanna get.

So if you wanna make 6 or 7 different options for toppings, then you can do it. I’ve personally found that putting rice, refried beans (or whole beans), chorizo, bacon, avocado, queso fresco, and salsa on top makes for one of the best most flavorful bites ever. It really is versatile and easy to make!

Think of it this way: You know how on Thanksgiving, you make sure to get that perfect combination of mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, and corn all in one bite? Yeah, it’s like that, but even better. Or maybe you’re not weird like me when it comes to getting that oh-so-good Thanksgiving dinner bite, but I think you get the point.

So in the end, remember this: More flavors = more enjoyment.

Are These Actually Authentic Tostadas?

Yep, this is an authentic tostada recipe!

It started when my friend here in Mexico took me to a local restaurant that served Mazatlan-based cuisine.

Mazatlan is a coastal city in Mexico that does quite a bit of fishing. We lived there for around a couple of months in 2016 and we had some of the freshest seafood we’d ever eaten.

So when I went to this restaurant, I ended up ordering this delicious concoction of raw tuna, mango, and avocado (which you can put on a tostada). It was so incredibly good, it wasn’t fishy, and it left me wanting more.

Which meant that I needed to replicate this at home.

And with just one try, I succeeded in creating a very similar recipe to the one I got at the restaurant. But with this one, I didn’t add mangoes. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, I thought it was pretty good, but I just didn’t feel like adding the extra step. 🙂

So give them a try, they’re fresh and tasty and a fun recipe to customize!

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