Growing up on the West coast, my family came to love Mexican, Tex mex, and pretty much all southwestern cuisine. Tacos are one of my family’s favorite quick meals but sometimes I like to change it up and make tostadas like my Simply Quick Bean Tostadas. They start with a crispy stone ground organic tortilla, topped with spicy beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream. The are a fun and delicious change from regular tacos and you can use any type of prepared beans that you like such as refried beans, black beans, pinto, red, white, garbanzo, or soldier beans, which is what I happened to have on hand. Here’s how to make them:
Start by prepping your ingredients and in my case, I had some leftover soldier beans but you can use any beans you like. Take 3 cups of prepared beans and heat in a medium sauce pan. To the beans add 2 tsp. of cumin, 1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chile Powder, and salt & pepper to taste. Take a potato masher, and mash the beans but still leave it a little chunky. You could also use already prepared refried beans that do not need to be mashed. If too thick to spread, add a little water.
Grate 2 cups of cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese, 2 cups of chopped tomatoes, and 4 cups of iceberg lettuce thinly sliced. You will also need one pack of corn tortillas. I like to use the organic corn tortillas made by Vermont Tortilla Company because they are sturdy and thicker so they hold up well, and the package contains 10 tortillas. You can use which ever corn tortillas you can find but the thicker corn tortillas work the best.
Once all the ingredients are ready, heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in a skillet and fry each tortilla flat over medium high heat on both sides until very crispy.
As the tortillas are done frying, place on a plate lined with paper towels until all the tortillas are done. If desired, the tortillas can be held in a warm oven or heated in the microwave just before assembling.
Take each flat tortilla and spread with some beans and top with cheese then with lettuce, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream and serve.
These tostadas are a fun, healthy, and a delicious change from regular tacos, and they are simple a quick to make. Enjoy and happy cooking!
Prep Time: 20 min. Cook Time: 15 min
Difficulty: Easy Servings: 4-5
Ingredients:
1 package of whole ground corn Tortillas (8-10)
3 cups prepared beans roughly mashed or refried beans (any type)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp Chipotle Chile Powder (more if you like it hot)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated cheddar or Mexican cheese
4 cups iceberg lettuce thinly sliced or shredded
2 cups chopped tomatoes
2 cups sour cream