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Tostadas are toasted or fried corn tortillas, topped with a layer of refried beans and other things such as cheese, lettuce, and salsa.
Growing up, my mother made tostadas or tacos for us at least once a month, the main difference being that tostadas are flat, crispy, and layered with beans, and tacos are folded and usually without beans. This food is kid heaven — messy, choose your own topping, and incredibly tasty.
This month we found a recipe in Fine Cooking for Smoky Refried Bean Tostadas. This recipe called for a slightly different approach to the beans — they suggested adding cumin and Chipotle Tabasco sauce.
The chipotle added such a terrific smoky chili flavor to the beans, no salsa was needed on the tostadas. I think they are the best refried beans we’ve ever had!
We make our beans from scratch on the stovetop or in the pressure cooker, so I don’t know how it would taste with canned beans, but the smoky flavor of the chipotle is wonderful.
Chipotle Bean Tostadas Recipe
Ingredients
The Beans
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- About 4 cups of cooked pinto beans, drained, or or 2 15-oz cans
- 4 teaspoons of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce (definitely do not use regular Tabasco sauce, only the Chipotle kind)
- Salt
The Tostadas
- 1/2 cup peanut oil or canola oil
- 1 dozen corn tortillas
- Salt
- 1 cup of crumbled Cotija Queso Seco (Mexican farmers cheese) or you can use feta cheese
- 1 cup finely diced fresh tomato
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red radishes
- 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
Optional
- Iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced and sprinkled with vinegar and salt
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
Method
1 Cook and mash the beans: Prepare the beans by sautéing onions in oil until softened in a large, thick-bottomed skillet. Add ground cumin and cook an additional 30 seconds. Add the beans, a teaspoon of salt, and a cup of water.
Use a potato masher to mash the beans into the pan, until the consistency of (somewhat lumpy) mashed potatoes. Cook for a few minutes on medium hight heat until water is absorbed.
Stir in the Chipotle Tabasco sauce and season to taste with more salt if needed. Remove to a warm burner out of the way, cover.
2 Make the tostada shells: To prepare the tortillas, heat the oven to 200°F. Line a baking pan with paper towels and place next to the stove. Heat 5 Tbsp of oil in a small skillet on medium high heat, until the bubbles form immediately when you insert the edge of a tortilla in it.
Using tongs, place a tortilla in the hot oil and let cook until golden brown on both sides, about 30 seconds per side. You can use a metal spatula to flatten down the tortilla while cooking.
Use tongs to lift the cooked tortilla out of the pan, allowing the excess oil to drip off of it, back into the pan. Place the cooked tortilla on the paper towels to absorb more of the oil. Sprinkle a little salt onto each warm tortilla.
Do each tortilla one at a time this way. As you fill up a baking pan, put the pan in the oven to keep the tortillas warm.
Add more oil as needed. Carefully monitor the oil temperature. Don't let it get too hot, or the tortillas will burn, or too cool - they won't fry up crisp enough.
3 Arrange toppings to serve: To serve, arrange the cheese, cilantro and tomatoes in separate small bowls. Put beans into a serving dish. Bring out the tortillas by batches, keeping the rest warm in the oven.
Let people spread beans on to their tortillas and add sprinkle on the cheese, cilantro and tomatoes for each tostada.
Optional additions are sliced lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa (though with the chipotle, you probably don't need any more heat).
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Chipotle Bean Tostadas
I love cooking and your tab that deals with a budget and gluten free recipes have been really helpful when thinking of meals for my little brother. We made the Chipotle Beam Tostadas for dinner and he loved them. Thank you!
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This turns into a super easy weeknight meal – I soak dry beans overnight (I used pinto as recommended but I’m sure almost any kind would work, maybe not kidney due to cooking recommendations); tossed the beans in a slow cooker with onion, garlic, salt in the morning before work; cooked on low all day. When I got home they made perfect “refried” beans as described in the recipe. I’ve never been able to find Cotija cheese around here but Queso Fresco was great in its place. Also had no chipotle tabasco but chipotle chili powder seemed fine in its place. Anyways, it was great and easy. Thanks! :)
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I have taken to making tostadas with cumin and chili laced lentils. And I just bake the tortillas instead of frying. GOOOOOD. I must say I am jealous of those fried tortillas up there…I just couldn’t though!
I have tried this recipe with black beans instead of pinto beans. It was delicious!!!
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You mentioned using Grapeseed oil and that it is hard to find. Ross stores and also TJ Max usually has it. They also carry alot of other hard to find items at very reasonable prices.