15 Minute Meals – Easy Baked Tostadas With Beans & Avocado

You may remember that we don’t eat much meat in our family. These easy baked tostadas (made with refried beans and smashed avocado!) are one of our favorite go-to 15 minute meals when we’re in a pinch.

There are many recipes using tostada shells out there, but this one is truly easy and cheap to make. Nothing fancy here. Just being real — this is a simple dinner for a busy family. It doesn’t look like much, but everyone loves it and I can have it on the table in 15 minutes or less.

My mother made these when I was a kid, and she still makes them when we come to visit. For a long time, when you would ask my oldest son about this favorite food, he would quickly smile and reply, “Tostadas!”

Where to buy tostada shells

We buy our tostada shells from our local Aldi store. There are 21 in the package, which lasts at least two meals for my family. They’re made from white corn flour, and each tostada shell is 110 calories.

If you have a hard time finding them, or don’t have an Aldi near you, you can also buy tostada shells on Amazon.

Some people substitute with tortillas, but baked tostadas taste so much better. Their delicious crunchiness is hard to beat!

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Easy Baked Tostadas Recipe

• Tostada shells
• Can of refried beans (or smashed pinto beans)
• 1/2 packet of taco seasoning
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Avocado
• Lime juice
• Salt
• Optional toppings: Lettuce, onion, tomato, salsa

Turn on your oven’s broiler. Layer tostada shells on a large baking sheet.

While the broiler is heating up, warm up the refried beans in a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl, stirring frequently.

Stir the 1/2 packet of taco seasoning into bean mixture, then spread evenly onto each tostada shell. Be gentle or the shells will have a tendency to break. It’s up to you how thick/thin you want the bean layer to be — for example, one of our kids doesn’t like beans very much, so I only spread a very thin layer on his.

Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on each tostada.

Place in broiler until cheese is melted and just beginning to brown. Keep an eye on them, because this only takes a couple minutes. You don’t want burnt tostadas!

In a separate bowl, mash the avocado. Stir in a tablespoon or two of lime juice and a pinch of salt.

Top your baked tostadas with the smashed avocado mixture, and any of the optional toppings: finely chopped onion, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and/or salsa.

A few notes about these baked tostadas

Often, refried beans contain lard, which is an animal product. If you’re vegetarian, vegan,  or on the Daniel Fast, you can look for vegan refried beans in the store (no lard), or you can simply mash up your own pinto beans. If you prepare dried pinto beans beforehand, once you’ve cooked them and mashed them you’ll find they have a wonderful, buttery texture — it’s just a bonus that they’re healthy, too! We’ve done this several times. Just remember to leave off the cheese, or use an acceptable vegan cheese substitute.

Alternatively, if you have big meat-eaters in your house, it’s easy to add a bit of shredded chicken or ground beef as a topping for them.

Enjoy! I hope your family loves them as much as we do!

Let’s chat soon,

 

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