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Tostadas de Polloare a great way to reinvent leftovers.
We live on leftovers at my house. I always make extras for a quick lunch the next day or an easy weeknight dinner.
This delicious chicken tostada recipe is perfect for the whole family.
Top with salsa de aguacate for an explosion of Mexican flavors!
How to Cook the Chicken
- Place chicken in a large pot with water, onions, garlic, bay leaf, and salt.
- Cook for 1 hour over medium-high heat.
Feel free to use any cut of chicken. Boneless chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs are the easiest since you don’t have to remove the meat from the bone.
Or, you can use pre-cooked shredded rotisserie chicken. Ready-to-go from the store to table. However, with homemade chicken, you get homemade chicken broth. That’s a big plus!
For easier cooking, make the chicken in the slow cooker, instant pot, or pressure cooker.
With two forks, shred the cooked chicken.
• Refrigerate the shredded chicken until ready to use.
You want to be sure you do this when the chicken is cool enough to handle.
With cooked chicken, you can make Chicken Mole Enchiladas, Chicken Tinga, or Chicken Entomatadas. Or this delicious Chicken Taco Soup during the cooler months.
How to Make Crispy Tostada Shells:
- Preheat an oven at 400 degrees.
- Place corn tortillas in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Brush lightly with vegetable oil on both sides.
- Bake for 4 minutes. Flip and bake for another 4 minutes, or until golden brown.
You can’t make tostadas using flour tortillas. If you cut the tortillas into small wedges, you are making tortilla chips.
Don’t have time to make your own? Using store-bought tostada shells is perfectly ok.
Storing Tostada Shells:
Place them in an airtight plastic bag. Try to remove the air from the bag, or as much as you can. Be careful not to break the crunchy tostadas.
They will last for several days outside of the fridge. I don’t recommend freezing tostadas because they will lose their texture. You’ll end up with soggy tortillas.
Assembling Tostadas
The ingredients for are very simple for a very easy dinner recipe. You’ll need:
- Tostada shells
- Shredded chicken
- Lettuce and tomatoes
- Avocado slices
- Mexican Crema (or sour cream)
- Refried beans (or black beans)
Stack ’em high, and give ’em a try.
However, it can be tough to fit everything on top of the tostada. Use your best judgement when assembling.
- Smear a thin layer of refried beans.
- Add the chicken on top of the tostada shell.
Instead of beans, you can also use mayonnaise or sour cream. Any of those will act like a “glue” for the shredded chicken.
All that’s left from here is to add your favorite toppings and serve.
Optional toppings:
- Pickled Jalapeños
- Chopped Cilantro
- Nopalitos
- Guacamole
- Cotija Cheese or Queso Fresco
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Pico de Gallo
- Squeeze of fresh lime juice
- hot sauce
Once you add the chicken, feel free to add whatever toppings you like.
More Mexican Tostadas:
- Tostada de Atún (Tuna Tostada)
- Salpicón de Res
- Lentil Tostadas
- Vegetarian Bean Tostadas (for my vegetarian friends)
For those spicy food lovers, try some Chile de Arbol Salsa or Chipotle Salsa.
Mexican recipes do not get any easier than this! Make these Tostadas de Pollo (Chicken Tostadas) on busy weeknights.
They make the perfect meal for chicken leftovers and hit the spot every time. iBuen Provecho!
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Chicken Tostadas (Tostadas de Pollo)
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts Boneless preferred
- 4 cups water enough to cover the chicken
- 1 tbspn salt
- 1/2 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 8 tostada shells
Optional Toppings:
- 1/2 head lettuce shredded
- 2 tomatoes diced
- avocado
- Crema Mexicana (or sour cream)
- Queso Fresco
- Salsa Verde
- Pickled Jalapeños
- Cilantro Chopped
- Refried Beans
- Guacamole
- Radishes
Instructions
- Add chicken to a large stock pot.
- Add enough water to cover (about 4 cups), ½ onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 tablespoon salt.
- Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool.
- Discard the onion and the garlic.
- Store the chicken broth in a separate container for later use.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin.
- Shred the chicken with two forks.
- To prepare the tostada, add about 2 tablespoons of the shredded chicken.
- Add the toppings - lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, crema mexicana, etc.
- Be sure not to load the tostada too much, or it will be difficult to eat.
- Eat by carefully picking up the tostada with both hands, just like a pizza.
- Serve with a fork. Some of the toppings are sure to fall on the plate.Enjoy!
These sound amazing! I always have cooked chicken on hand and this would be perfect to be able to have a quick and easy but incredibly delicious meal.
Totally in love with the recipe. Looks so delicious. I would love to try it soon!
I am always looking for new delicious recipes to serve to my family and these are everything! They look so delicious and love the avocados! Great recipe and I have printed this out to try… thank you for sharing!
These look so delicious! I’d love to try making them sometime.
Don’t forget seafood tostadas!
lol. Of course not. I have a few ceviche recipes on here. 🙂
Such a fantastic and fun dish to make. Super hit. I did not get tostada shells so used taco shells instead. Just delicious.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Using taco shells as a substitute for tostada shells is a great idea, and I’m sure it added a nice crunch to the dish. Enjoy!
Oh yum! Now these would be a nice change-up from our usual taco night. 🙂
Yes, Tostadas de Pollo are a great way to mix up your usual Mexican dinner routine! Plus, they’re super customizable, so you can add whatever toppings you like. Enjoy!
Love the leftover cooking idea. This dish sounds delicious and a perfect dinner option.
Yes! It’s a great way to use up any leftover chicken you may have. Plus, you can adjust the toppings to your liking, so it’s a versatile and flavorful dish!
I was going to ask if you can use rotisserie chicken because I just made some chicken salad with it. But you already answered my question in the recipe card note. Thanks!! I’ll get on it right away!
Glad to hear that the recipe card notes were helpful! Yes, rotisserie chicken can be a great time-saving option for this recipe. Enjoy!
These are delicious and easy to customize. I batch prepared the chicken and I’ve been eating this for lunches all week. Very delicious!
That’s awesome to hear. So glad you enjoyed it!