These crispy and crunchy Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tostadas are topped with a layer of delicious refried beans, salsa verde chicken, tomatoes, cilantro, queso fresco and avocados.
Today’s Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tostadas recipe is sponsored by HERDEZ®, but my love for their delicious beans and salsa is completely my own!
Hooray for difficult and complicated weekday recipes! Said NO ONE EVER.
Let’s be serious – who likes to come home after a long day of work and get stressed out about making dinner? Not me, and definitely not my husband. During the week, our main dinner requirements are that it’s easy to make, good for us and super delicious. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, right?
These slow cooker salsa verde chicken tostadas meet all of our requirements. Topped with salsa verde chicken made in the slow cooker and quick 5-minute refried beans, these tostadas are one of my favorite authentic Mexican meals.
But first things first – you may be wondering…
What are tostadas?
Tostadas are crispy and crunchy baked corn tortillas (almost like a big round tortilla chip) that are often topped with refried beans, cheese, and meat. You pick it up, bite into it like a pizza and chow down. Sounds amazing, right?
They are. If you’re a tortilla chip fanatic like me, then tostadas are practically made for you.
Not only do I love the flavor of them, but they also hold a special place in my heart. I grew up eating tostadas practically every week. My family would get together every single Sunday after church and eat a big early dinner. Because there’s so many of us (well over 15 including my nieces and nephews), my mom always made something that was easy to make but could feed an army. Tostadas fit the bill!
She’d set all the ingredients on the kitchen counter and everyone would get in line to make their own. Well, sort of a line. With so many of us in the kitchen and dining room, things often got a little chaotic!
Some people preferred topping their tostadas with lots of salsa, some people didn’t want tomatoes, some people didn’t want meat, the variations were endless. So a make-your-own-tostadas-bar was the perfect solution.
One ingredient that’s a staple for tostadas are authentic Mexican refried beans. I love them so so much, but I don’t always have the time to make them. So instead of spending time making them from scratch, I used HERDEZ™ Instant Refried Beans for this chicken tostadas recipe. The flavor and texture of these instant refried beans is SPOT ON and the cook time is only 5 minutes! Awesome home-cooked flavor in that amount of time? Yes, please!
I cooked up the Traditional flavor, but HERDEZ™ Instant Refried Beans are also available in Queso, Chorizo and Jalapeño flavors. You can find them at your local grocery store in the bean aisle or just click here for more information.
Once you’ve got the refried bean situation sorted out, next up is the shredded chicken.
How to make slow cooker salsa verde chicken
You’ll need:
- 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 16-ounce jar of HERDEZ® Salsa Verde
That’s literally it! Just put those ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. Once it’s done, simply shred the chicken using a fork and it’s ready to serve. Aren’t slow cookers the best?!
Now I don’t say this often about products, but this salsa verde is literally my favorite store-bought salsa verde I’ve ever tried. It’s tangy, adds some brightness and acidity to foods and is available in mild or medium spiciness. It’s seriously the best. When you don’t feel like making your own homemade tomatillo salsa verde, I highly recommend HERDEZ® Salsa Verde. Hands down.
Last but not least, you’re going to need the one essential component that every single tostada recipe needs – tostada shells! You can find them in the Hispanic food aisle of most grocery stores, but if for some reason they’re sold out (as was the case when I went to buy some), you can easily make your own. Here’s how to do it.
How to make homemade tostada shells
You’ll need:
- 1 pack of corn tortillas
- cooking spray
Just preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place the tortillas in a single layer on two large baking sheets. Spray the tops with cooking spray and bake for 5 minutes. Flip the tortillas over and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the tortillas are crispy like a chip.
That’s it! Super easy and a great option when you can’t find any near you.
The final result is a crispy, crunchy tostada topped with a layer of delicious refried beans, salsa verde chicken, tomatoes, cilantro queso fresco and avocados. Yum!
The HERDEZ® Brand is giving you a chance to WIN $300 and a year’s supply of HERDEZ™ Instant Refried Beans. Simply share a recipe on Facebook or Instagram using Herdez Salsas & Herdez Instant Refried Beans, tag with #FrijolesConTodo & #Sweepstakes. (My recipe can serve as inspiration!) For more information, click here.
{VIDEO} How to make Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 16-ounce jar Herdez Salsa Verde
- 2 packages HERDEZ Traditional Instant Refried Beans
- 16 large tostada shells
- 2 cups queso fresco
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 2 avocados, pitted and diced
Instructions
- Add the chicken to the slow cooker and pour salsa verde on top. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or for 6 hours on low.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with a fork. Transfer shredded meat back to slow cooker, mix and season with salt and pepper if desired. Cover and set temperature to "keep warm."
- To make the beans, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.
- Stir in contents of both packages. Cover and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat, uncover, stir and let sit 5 minutes before serving.
- To assemble, spread each tostada with refried beans and top with shredded chicken, queso fresco, cilantro and diced avocado.
Nutrition Information
For more HERDEZ® recipe inspiration, visit www.HerdezTraditions.com or follow along on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #FrijolesConTodo.
This recipe is sponsored by HERDEZ®, but my love for their delicious beans and salsa is completely my own!
Wonderful recipe. Added some pico de gallo and guacamole instead of the avocado. Delicious.
Hi! I love this super easy recipe! My girls all love it and I actually have time to cook it (I have 4 girls 5 and under).
But I was wondering if you can freeze the chicken. I made extra this time and we’ve had a couple of meals from it, but I’d like to put it in the freezer and get it back out when we’re ready for it again. Can I do that? Thanks!!
Yes, you can freeze it!
What is the spice level on this?
It’s not very spicy at all since I used a mild salsa verde. But Herdez also sells a medium spice salsa verde that is a little spicer if you prefer that.
I totally agree with you – I love their salsa verde. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thanks, Heidi. I hope you really like it 🙂
Wow. Tostada Tuesdays might have to be a new thing– these look AMAZING! Need to try!!
Thank you so much, Karly! 🙂 Tostada Tuesday should definitely be a thing, haha