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HomeRecipes30 Minute Meals

Homemade Tostada Shells

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By: IsabelPosted: 2/21/19

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These Homemade Tostada Shells are the perfect crispy crunchy base for all your favorite Mexican toppings! They’re baked, not fried, and ready in only 15 minutes!

Homemade tostada shells on a white plate.

Want to make tostadas but can’t find any tostada shells at the grocery store? It’s a-okay because making them at home is super easy! All you need is a little oil, some corn tortillas and salt.

What is a tostada?

Tostadas are corn tortillas that have been baked or fried until crispy and topped with things like refried beans, cheese, chicken, ground beef, and many other toppings.

I like to think of it as a big round tortilla chip that’s topped with my favorite toppings. Or an open-faced crunchy taco. Or a crispy Mexican pizza. I mean, what’s not to love about that?!

Corn tortillas being sprayed with avocado oil on a large baking sheet.

Making your own tostada shells are a great option when you don’t have any at the house or you can’t find any in stores near you. Here’s how to make them.

How to make tostada shells

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray two large baking sheets with cooking spray.
  2. Lightly spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray and place them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Lightly season them with salt.
  3. Bake for 5 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the tortillas are crispy like a chip.

That’s it! Pretty much one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever see!

These Homemade Tostadas Shells are baked and ready in only 15 minutes! Top them with refried beans and cheese for a delicious Mexican weeknight meal.

Tips and tricks for making tostada shells

These tostada shells stay super crispy when stored correctly. To store, place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag and leave them on the counter or in a cupboard at room temperature for up to 1 week. Don’t refrigerate them or they’ll get soggy.

Feel free to add different seasonings and spices to add some different flavors to your shells! Here are a few suggestions.

  • Chili lime – chili powder, lime juice and salt
  • Jalapeno – jalapeno powder, onion powder, salt
  • Cheesy – grated Parmesan cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, salt

If you don’t have cooking spray, you can use any cooking oil you have. Just lightly brush it on with a pastry brush or a paper towel.

Tostada shells on a white plate next to refried beans and limes.

While tostada shells are delicious on their own, they’re even better when they’re topped with tasty foods! Here are a few of my favorite toppings that turn tostadas into a filling weeknight meal.

Toppings for tostada shells

  • Mexican Carnitas
  • Easy Shredded Chicken
  • Mexican Refried Beans
  • Chicken Tinga
  • Chorizo and Eggs
  • Mexican Picadillo
  • Mexican Barbacoa

Don’t forget the shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and salsa!

Recipe

4.96 from 21 votes

How to Make Tostada Shells

Serves: 4 servings (2 tostada shells each)
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These Homemade Tostadas Shells are baked and ready in only 15 minutes! Top them with refried beans and cheese for a delicious Mexican weeknight meal.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total : 15 minutes
These Homemade Tostadas Shells are baked and ready in only 15 minutes! Top them with refried beans and cheese for a delicious Mexican weeknight meal.

Ingredients

  • cooking spray
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray two large baking sheets with cooking spray.
  • Lightly spray both sides tortillas with cooking spray and place in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Lightly season with salt.
  • Bake for 5 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the tortillas are crispy like a chip.
  • Remove from oven and serve with toppings such as Mexican refried beans, slow cooker carnitas, chicken tinga or juicy shredded chicken.

Isabel’s Tips:

  • Be sure to keep a close eye on the tostadas after the first 5 minutes. If your oven runs hot, they can go from undercooked to burnt quickly!
  • They should be crispy and light golden brown when they're ready. Keep in mind that they will dry out and firm up a little once they've cooled.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 2tostada shells Calories: 146kcal (7%) Carbohydrates: 22g (7%) Protein: 2g (4%) Fat: 6g (9%) Saturated Fat: 0g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 10mg Potassium: 0mg Fiber: 22g (88%) Sugar: 3g (3%) Vitamin A: 100IU (2%) Vitamin C: 0mg Calcium: 20mg (2%) Iron: 0.7mg (4%)
Author: Isabel Eats
Course:Breads
Cuisine:Mexican
These Homemade Tostadas Shells are baked and ready in only 15 minutes! Top them with refried beans and cheese for a delicious Mexican weeknight meal.
Did you Make my How to Make Tostada Shells?Leave a comment below and tag @isabeleats on social media!
@isabeleats

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Recipe Rating:




  1. Susan Guerrero says

    Posted on 11/13 at 4:19 pm

    5 stars
    They came out wonderful

    Reply
  2. Christina P says

    Posted on 2/19 at 6:51 pm

    5 stars
    This worked out perfectly and was so easy! Going to make huevos rancheros in the morning. Will experiment with seasoning next time. Thank you!

    Reply
  3. Lia says

    Posted on 1/30 at 7:03 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious!!! Loved these. And so easy.

    Reply
  4. Michele L Trachier says

    Posted on 7/2 at 7:18 pm

    5 stars
    Easy instructions, great taste

    Reply
  5. Sara says

    Posted on 5/15 at 2:34 pm

    5 stars
    I have used this recipe sooooo many times, and my tostadas always come out perfect! I like to put chipotle chili powder and flake sea salt on mine—delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe with the world!!!

    Reply
  6. Kathryn Josefosky says

    Posted on 5/1 at 10:27 pm

    I made tostada shells with mini flour tortillas. Topped with shredded cheese and placed back in oven long enough to melt the cheese. Once that was done I added seasoned ground beef, salsa crema, and guacamole. Topped with plain salsa, salt/pepper and more shredded cheese. Microwaved for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.

    Reply
  7. Marlene says

    Posted on 4/5 at 7:41 pm

    5 stars
    Hi I. Love your beautiful recipes
    Will u please print the recipe to make the tortilla
    Marlene

    Reply
    • Deborah kick says

      Posted on 12/7 at 2:44 pm

      Can I use flour shell for tostadas instead of corn shell

      Reply
      • Ana @ Isabel Eats says

        Posted on 12/7 at 3:50 pm

        Hi Deborah! Yes, you definitely can!

        Reply
  8. Mike says

    Posted on 10/2 at 8:22 pm

    5 stars
    Taco Bell at home! Love it! Yum yum at Chez Mike

    Reply
  9. Frank says

    Posted on 6/27 at 9:09 am

    5 stars
    After making corn tortillas as directed in the Maseca package (I actually did 1/2 recipe) and having a manual tortilla press, I cooked the tortillas until little brown spots showed up on both sides. Then I allowed them to cool mostly.

    At this point, I had the oven pre-heated to (convection 375F) 400F. I sprayed baking pan with spray oil (lightly) and placed the cooled tortillas. I again sprayed lightly the top with spray oil.

    As indicated here, I baked for 5 minutes on one side and then 5 minutes on the other side (my tortillas are small, around 3 inches diameter).

    They were stiff and nice. Incidentally, waiting 10 more minutes to serve did not make them appreciably stiffer and serving from the oven was better in my opinion. However, they’ll keep well in the refrig. for a few days.

    Reply
  10. Dee says

    Posted on 5/22 at 5:28 pm

    5 stars
    I just made these for my husband, and he loved it! They were delicious and crunchy. Great way to stay healthy and eat something we love. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂

    Reply
  11. Alicia says

    Posted on 4/20 at 7:08 pm

    I tried this recipes and they came out kind of stale feeling and hard to chew. Were they in the oven too long or not long enough? The edges of most were crispy. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Ana @ Isabel Eats says

      Posted on 2/15 at 10:47 am

      Hi Alicia! That sounds like it may have been the problem. Try it again and let us know how it goes!

      Reply
  12. Neeman says

    Posted on 11/26 at 4:14 am

    wow use 8 corn tortillas… How do you make them?

    Reply
    • Isabel says

      Posted on 5/14 at 3:42 pm

      I usually use store-bought for making these since they’re usually a little thinner and crisp up better than homemade. But here’s a homemade corn tortilla recipe if you want to make them!

      Reply
      • Michelle Accardi says

        Posted on 9/26 at 2:41 pm

        I would like to learn how to make them from scratch the tortillas and the tostadas too

        Reply
        • Ana @ Isabel Eats says

          Posted on 1/19 at 5:10 pm

          Hello Michelle! There are recipes for both corn and flour tortillas on our site!

          Reply
  13. Theresa says

    Posted on 6/22 at 1:21 pm

    Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn?

    Reply
    • Isabel says

      Posted on 6/25 at 4:57 pm

      Yes, though I’ve never made them with flour tortillas so I don’t know if the cook time will be the same. If you try it with flour tortillas, just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn or anything.

      Reply
  14. Gemma says

    Posted on 2/28 at 7:38 pm

    We always fry our tortillas for tostadas and have never thought about baking them. What a great idea! I’m going to tell my parents about it too, I think they’ll want to give this a try.

    Reply
    • Isabel says

      Posted on 3/17 at 1:38 pm

      Yes! It’s such an easy and healthy way to make tostada shells!

      Reply

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Isabel Orozco-Moore, Founder of Isabel Eats
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i’m isabel

A first-generation Mexican American who loves to cook! Here at Isabel Eats, you’ll find a mix of all your favorite authentic Mexican recipes with a twist!

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