These Chicken Tostadas are a hearty and satisfying meal made with crispy corn tortillas layered Chipotle shredded chicken and refried beans. Topped with fresh lettuce, diced tomatoes, and a sprinkle of crumbled cheese. Perfect for when you want a quick & tasty meal.

One Chicken tostada on a plate topped with beans, shredded chicken, tomatoes, avocados and lettuce.

Chicken and tortillas are weeknight dinner wonders — so why not combine them into one quick and easy, secretly-healthy Mexican recipe? Here, a traditional tomato sauce is spiced up with chipotle peppers. Crumbled Cotija cheese gives this the final touch. Cotija is an aged Mexican cheese that’s similar to Parmesan in texture. It’s salty, somewhat dry, and crumbly, perfect for serving with all Mexican dishes.

These Chipotle Chicken Tostadas are always part of my menu as they are delicious and so easy to make. Everything can be made ahead of time and right before your guests arrive, just assemble and enjoy!

Why you’ll love it

  • The spices are subtle, which make the final dish pronounced in flavor, but not overwhelmingly spicy.
  • If you are feeding a crowd, good news: It doubles (or triples) beautifully. 
  • Got leftovers? Tostadas are a great way to repurpose leftover roasted chicken, grilled vegetables, or even last night’s steak can be reinvented into a delicious tostada, reducing food waste.
Two chicken tostadas on a plate topped with beans, shredded chicken, tomatoes, avocados and lettuce.

Ingredients

The beauty of this dish is that it’s very customizable. Add your favorite layers and toppings. Get creative!

  • Cooked shredded chicken: I like to use rotisserie chicken for a quick meal or you can cook your own chicken to shred. Use chicken breast or chicken thighs if you prefer.
  • Shredded white or yellow onion
  • Spices for the adobo you’ll need: Chipotle in adobo sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, chili powder.
  • Refried beans or black beans.
  • Tostadas: Homemade or store-bought tostada shells.

Toppings

  • Shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes and avocados. For the lettuce make sure it’s a firm one like iceberg or romaine lettuce.
  • Crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese. Your favorite shredded cheese will work too.
  • Fresh lime wedges and hot sauce.

Other topping ideas: You can top with guacamole, pico de gallo, salsa de chiltepin or chile de arbol.

The ingredients for this recipe on a cutting board.

How To Make Chicken Tostadas

Mixing the adobo sauce in a small bowl.
  1. In a small cup add the chipotles, ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, chili powder. Mix to combine and set aside.
Sauteing onions on a skillet.
  1. In a large skillet, add heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until it starts to become translucent.
The shredded chicken mixture on a skillet.
  1. Add the chicken and chipotle sauce and stir to combine.
The shredded chicken mixture on a skillet.
  1. Cover pot and simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, or until sauce is syrupy. Make sure to stir often to prevent the bottom from burning and sticking.

  1. Meanwhile, reheat the refried beans and keep them warm until ready to assemble the tostadas.
  2. Top each tostada with a thin layer of refried beans, then ¼ cup of the chicken mixture.
  3. Garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and avocados. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and your favorite hot sauce.


Tips and Notes

  • Only make two tostadas at a time per person. Otherwise they may get soggy as the wet ingredients sit on the crunchy tostada. Assemble a second batch if you need to serve more.
  • Warm the tostadas in the microwave for a few seconds before assembling.
  • Tostadas are best enjoyed immediately to maintain the crispiness of the shells and the freshness of the toppings.

Storing

  • Store the multiple layers (e.g., beans, chicken, veggies) separately. This prevents the tostada shells from becoming soggy.
  • Keep the shells in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. It’s essential to maintain their crispiness.

Serving Suggestions

Serve tostadas individually or on a large platter. They go well with a bowl of soup like fideo or complete with a side of Mexican rice or a simple pasta salad.

Two tostadas on a plate topped with beans, shredded chicken, tomatoes, avocados and lettuce.

How do you eat a tostada?

Eating tostadas can be messy. In fact, they WILL be messy! So grab a bunch of napkins and get ready to enjoy: the standard way is to eat them with your hands and bite into the tostadas all the topping at once. If you prefer, you can cut and eat with a fork. Nobody will judge… I promise 🙂 ;l…[-p

All it matters is that you eat all the layers together for that explosion of flavors that we go for.

Two chicken tostadas on a plate topped with beans, shredded chicken, tomatoes, avocados and lettuce.

Thank you for stopping by!

I hope you like this recipe! Do you have any questions I can help you with? Or if you made it, I would love it if you leave a comment or rating below.
Gracias!!!! xx, Ana

Print Recipe:

One Chicken tostada on a plate topped with beans, shredded chicken, tomatoes, avocados and lettuce.

Chipotle Chicken Tostadas Recipe

Servings 6 tostadas
Ana Frias
5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
These Chicken Tostadas are a hearty and satisfying meal made with crispy corn tortillas layered Chipotle shredded chicken and refried beans.
6 tostadas

Ingredients  

  • 10 ounces cooked chicken (about 2 cups once is shredded) (I use rotisserie chicken)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • ½ medium white or yellow onion sliced
  • 2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce chopped
  • ¾ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder (use 1 for more spicy)
  • 1 cup refried beans
  • 6 Tostadas for serving
Toppings
  • Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and avocados
  • Crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese
  • Fresh lime wedges and hot sauce.

Instructions 

  • Shred the chicken and set aside.
    10 ounces cooked chicken (about 2 cups once is shredded)
  • In a small cup add the chipotles, ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, chili powder. Mix to combine and set aside.
    2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce, ¾ cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon chili powder (use 1 for more spicy)
  • In a large skillet, add heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until it starts to become translucent.
    1 teaspoon olive oil, ½ medium white or yellow onion
  • Add the chicken and chipotle sauce and stir to combine. Cover pot and simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, or until sauce is syrupy. Make sure to stir often to prevent the bottom from burning and sticking.
  • Meanwhile, reheat the refried beans and keep them warm until ready to assemble the tostadas.
    1 cup refried beans
  • Top each tostada with a thin layer of refried beans, then ¼ cup of the chicken mixture.
  • Garnish each tostada with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and avocados. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and your favorite hot sauce.

Add Your Own Private Notes

Whenever you come back to this recipe, you’ll be able to see your notes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1shell | Calories: 42kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 53mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 2mg

The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.

**This post was originally published on Sept 2015. It has been updated to be more helpful.

Don’t forget to also follow on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




16 Comments

  1. For these chicken tostadas, should I chop the chipotles up? I buy them in a can with adobo sauce. The recipe doesn’t stipulate.

    1. Hi Tom! The chipotles need to be chopped. The instruction to chop them is next to the ingredient quantity for when you’re prepping your ingredients. So you want 2 tablespoons chopped chipotle in adobo sauce. Thanks for the question! Enjoy.