Easy and delicious grilled vegetarian tostadas are great to enjoy on their own or to accompany other Mexican food-inspired recipes. These tostadas are satisfying and loaded with refried beans, creamy corn, and your favorite tostada toppings.

Serve Vegetarian Tostadas with Cajun Corn on the Cob, Lime cilantro rice, Pico De Gallo. And Vegan Chili for a wholesome Mexican-style dinner.

So what are tostadas? Tostadas are traditionally made with corn tortillas, but it is very common to use wheat or in my case gluten-free tortillas. (El Paso has quite a few options)

Tortillas are cooked until crispy and topped with delicious toppings of your choice. In my humble opinion, for an easy assembly, grilling the tostadas is faster and creates less mess in the kitchen.

Read below about different ways of cooking tortillas for vegetarian tostadas. 

Did you know you can also make a delicious MEGA CRUNCHwrap with leftover crispy tostada shells? Make your own vegetarian version or try this Chicken Crunchwrap or a Beef Crunchwrap Supreme for a change.

Ingredients

• Refried beans – either homemade or canned. If you don’t like the flavor, feel free to use guacamole as a base instead. What I usually do, is take a variety of canned beans, drain them from the liquid and mash until creamy paste texture. I have also used my beans and cornbread recipe for this in the past. This contains bacon!

• Tortillas – I use gluten-free tortillas (5-6 inch size) but if you are looking for a more authentic Mexican tostada version, try corn tortillas. What you can also do is to cut smaller tortillas out of a large one if small not available. You can always modify the recipe to your liking.

• Spices – use cayenne, cajun, chipotle powder, chili powder to sprinkle on top of assembled tostadas for an extra spicy flavor.

Serving suggestions

Serve in gluten-free (if applicable) tortilla, corn wraps, or hard taco shells, with plenty of toppings such as shredded cheese, fresh or pickled jalapenos, fresh tomato salsa, avocado slices or guacamole, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Want to make it a full meal? Start your dinner with a little aperitive like this mouthwatering Skinny Watermelon Margarita or serve Spicy Watermelon Basil Margaritas (Frozen) for dessert!

Instructions

Tostadas are very similar to tacos, as it is basically a flat crispy taco and usually made with corn tortillas. 

Bake the tortillas in the oven, grill, or flash fry on the pan – anything that is easy and more comfortable for you. Let’s discuss different ways of making crispy tostadas:

How to grill the tostadas – Oil the grates and grill the tortillas until charred, flipping each so both sides are crispy and charred. Proceed as per recipe to assemble the tostada with toppings.

How to bake the tostadas – Preheat the oven to 425°F. Brush each corn or gluten-free tortilla on both sides with vegetable oil. Lay them separately from each other on a baking tray.

Bake for 4-5 minutes on one side, flip them over, and bake another 3-4 minutes or until crispy and golden (don’t leave the tortillas unattended, they burn very fast!). Proceed as per recipe to assemble the tostada with toppings.

How to fry tostadas – heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Add oil just enough to cover the entire mini tortilla. When oil is hot, dip each tortilla and fry until golden crispy brown, and bubbly on both sides.

Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels for the excess oil to escape to. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Proceed as per recipe to assemble the tostada with toppings.

Finally, when you have decided how to make tostadas, let’s proceed with this vegetarian tostada recipe.

First off, make the Creamed corn mix. In a medium bowl, mix corn, mayo, sour cream, lime juice, salt, pepper. Set aside in the fridge.

Refried beans. Heat up a smaller saucepan with a little amount of vegetable oil and stir refried beans and adobo. Mix until combined and warm. (You can also use the microwave for this)

Tortillas. Grill (or fry or bake as per the above instructions) the tortillas until nicely charred (grill pan will also work here) and set on an even surface.

How to assemble the vegetarian tostadas. To assemble, spread about 1-2 tablespoon of refried beans on each tostada,

follow with 1-2 tablespoon creamed corn mixture, red onions, cabbage, avocado and tomatoes.

Sprinkle with cilantro, cayenne or chili powder to taste.

Serve right away!

Toppings

For that extra touch, I love to top tacos, tostadas, and any Mexican dishes off with all sorts of toppings such as veggies, spices, and herbs.

Let’s see what are the best options for tostada recipe:

• Diced avocados
• Pico de gallo (authentic Mexican salsa)
• Chile con Queso – a cheesy dip that consists of melted cheese and chili peppers.
• Avocado crema – a mix of avocado, sour cream and lime/lemon juice.
• Guacamole
• Hot sauce
• Jalapenos (fresh or marinated/pickled)
• Diced tomatoes
• Cilantro/Coriander chopped or whole leaves
• Lime wedges
• Cherry tomatoes cut in half
• Black olives (pitted & sliced)
• Cotija cheese or feta cheese
• Sour cream or plain greek yogurt (also coconut yogurt will taste delish!)
• Pickled cabbage
• Marinated onions

Storing and Freezing Instructions

Vegetarian Tostadas or any tostada with toppings do not freeze well. The bottom will become soggy very quickly and after reheating will not be the same.

However, crispy tostadas, especially corn ones can be stored for up to a week (without toppings).

Bake a bunch of tostada shells, sprinkle some salt on top, and store them closed in an airtight container or wrapped in a plastic bag for up to a maximum of one week. When ready to eat, top with toppings and bake or make a Crunchwrap!

FAQ

These vegetarian tostadas will be the hit of your summertime dining, or really anytime. Enjoy!

Thank you for reading,

Love,

Julia

Easy Appetizer Recipes

Need a different visual? This recipe is also available as a story!

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