Chicken Tostadas

Make the most delicious Chicken Tostadas in just 15 minutes with this easy recipe! Shredded chicken is cooked with onions, chipotle peppers and spices to create a delicious base for the tostadas. Load them up with all of your favorite toppings to make a tasty Mexican meal!

Tostadas are essentially a crispy, open-faced taco, with a creamy base to hold all of the toppings in place. I love tostadas because I’ve always thought of them as one big nacho, which if you think about it, that’s kind of what it is!

In this recipe, I used guacamole as the base, but you can also use smashed avocado, or the most common base for a tostada, refried beans. I do have to say that the guacamole pairs really well with the chipotle chicken on top!

Using already cooked rotisserie chicken, or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, makes this recipe super easy to toss together in just 15 minutes, perfect for a weeknight meal! So next time you’re at the grocery store, or Costco, head to the deli section and grab a rotisserie chicken to make this easy, delicious recipe for dinner!

Ingredients

• Olive oil – or your favorite neutral-flavored vegetable oil.
• Onions – for this recipe, I diced up a yellow onion, but you could also use a sweet onion or red onion.
• Garlic cloves – I always recommend fresh minced for the best flavor!
• Ground cumin
• Chipotle chilies in adobo sauce – these canned chilies are found in the Hispanic section of major grocery stores. In this recipe, both the chilies and sauce are used to spice up the chicken and add tons of flavor!
• Cooked, shredded chicken – this can be pulled from a rotisserie chicken, or cooked in a pressure cooker, using this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe. In this recipe, I use my favorite chicken seasoning to season the chicken as it cooks, but you can also use taco seasoning, if you’re just making the chicken for this recipe. Feel free to use shredded chicken breasts, or chicken thighs, or a combination of both. You can also make this recipe with leftover shredded chicken birria.
• Salt – to season the chicken.
• Chicken broth – in a pinch you can use water, but I recommend chicken broth for the flavor it adds to the chicken mixture.
• Tostada shells – luckily there’s no need to make your own tostada shells, since they’re regularly available at almost all grocery stores these days. You’ll usually find them next to the tortillas.
• Guacamole – click the link for my easy, homemade guacamole recipe. In a hurry? Simply used smashed avocado as the base for the tostadas.
• Shredded lettuce – purchase pre-shredded lettuce in a bag at the grocery store, or shred your own iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce at home.
• Cherry tomatoes – I recommend quartering these tomatoes and piling them on top of the tostadas. They contain less juice than other tomatoes, so they won’t water down your tostadas. Diced roma tomatoes are also a great option for this recipe.
• Cotija cheese – this salty, crumbly Mexican cheese is so delicious on top of these tostadas. If you can’t find cotija, I recommend queso fresco, or another crumbly white cheese.
• Fresh cilantro – chop up some cilantro to give these tostadas a light, fresh finish and pop of color.

Optional toppings

These tostadas are delicious with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and cilantro. But if you want to mix things up, add some spice, or a sauce on top, check out these recommendations for additional toppings.

• Sliced fresh jalapenos
• Pickled jalapenos and onions
• Diced red onions
• Diced green onions
• Pico de gallo
• Hot sauce
• Sour cream
• Lime wedges – to drizzle fresh lime juice over the tostadas.
• Chipotle sauce – this is the sauce I recommend for topping the tostadas. Click the link for the recipe. It’s made in 5 minutes and pairs perfectly with the chipotle chicken!
• Poblano sauce – another scrumptious sauce option that’s smoky and flavorful!
• Cilantro lime sauce – a zesty, creamy sauce idea!

Instructions

I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Cook onions with spices. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add diced onions and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and ground cumin to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Add chopped chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce from the can of chilies, to the skillet.
2. Add the chicken. Stir all of the ingredients together, then add cooked, shredded chicken to the skillet. Add salt and chicken broth, then stir to combine. Simmer the chicken for 2-3 minutes, or until most of the liquid in the skillet has cooked into the chicken.
3. Assemble the tostadas. Spread 1/4 cup guacamole on each tostada shell. Top with the prepared chipotle chicken, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cotija cheese and fresh chopped cilantro. Add any other additional toppings of your choice, like chipotle sauce, then serve the tostadas immediately.

What to serve with it

These tostadas are delicious on their own, but if you want to make a Mexican fiesta at home, try pairing the tostadas with any of these tasty Mexican side dishes.

• Chips and Homemade Salsa – using my must-try 10 minute salsa recipe!
• Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice
• Mexican Street Corn – off the cob!
• Chips and Green Chili Queso Blanco
• Mexican Pickled Vegetables
• Mexican Quinoa Salad

Made this recipe for Chicken Tostadas and loved it? Be sure to rate it 5 stars below!

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