Anyone else have a family that’s a huge fan of Tex Mex? These easy baked tostadas are a great way to switch things up.
Now, you can go to the store and purchase a package of fried tostada shells, or you could simply get a bag of corn tortillas and crisp them up by baking them in your oven.
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Why You Should Bake Your Own Tostada Shells
I always choose the latter option. Why?
- You will save money. You can get a big pack of 80 corn tortillas for just a few dollars. I store the leftovers in the fridge to use for more tostadas, enchiladas, tacos etc.
- It’s better for you because they aren’t fried in vegetable or soy oil. I’ve even seen a brand that added yellow dye to their tostadas.
- Baking them is so simple. It really adds barely any extra work to your dinner prep. If your house is like mine, time is a precious commodity and fast meals are so helpful.
This is one of those recipes that you feel silly writing out. It’s a semi-homemade recipe for baked tostada shells, after all. But sometimes it’s helpful to just know that it is even possible.
How to Bake Tostada Shells
You have to choices for these baked tostadas. Both work great, one will taste just slightly better than the other. 😉
Option 1: You can bake the tostada shells dry, just as they are. You will place them on a large cookie sheet or you even can lay them directly on your oven rack.
For the cookie sheet, I use the large basic half sheet pan or jelly roll pan I have. I think these USA sheet pans would be amazing though!
If directly on your oven rack you will want to be sure to flip them every 5 minutes so they don’t end up curling around the rack. It’s not fun having to break them to get them out of the oven. 😉 The benefit of having them directly on the rack is that you can do a lot more at one time.
So which way to go is a toss off. The pan is more hands off with only 1 flip needed but you are limited as to quantity.
Option 2: With this option you lightly brush the corn tortillas, on both sides, with an oil of your choice. You can also just use your hands and rub the oil on each tortilla. Then you can sprinkle the tortillas lightly with salt. This method you will want to be sure to put on a large sheet pan. Flip once part way through the cooking process.
LEFTOVERS:
Make sure the leftover tostadas (plain, untopped) are cooled completely. Store in a zipped storage bag for up to a week. Please note, if the humidity at your house is high they might lose their crispness sooner.
Tostadas baked on the rack are on the left and baked on a pan on the right.
How to Use Baked Tostadas
If you’ve never bought tostada shells before, you might be wondering what all you can do with them. These are great to have on hand for any simple lunch or supper. It’s easy to always have the ingredients on hand for some type of tostada.
- Top just like you would fill a taco.
- Mexican Pizza. This was an option on the kids’ menu of the Tex Mex restaurant I used to work it. All you do is top a tostada shell with taco meat and cheddar cheese and place in oven to melt. You can make it fancier by throwing some other topping on it.
- Crunch them up to serve on top of soup.
- Bean Tostadas. I have a basic “recipe” for these here. Spread with refried beans (that’s the link to how I make my own) and cheese. Melt. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, etc.
- Beef Tostadas. These next three are the same as the bean tostadas, just start with a different base. I think shredded cabbage makes a great topping as well.
- Chicken Tostadas
- Fish Tostadas
Don’t forget you can also make your own salsa (using canned tomatoes makes it so easy) and guacamole to use with your baked tostadas!
I’m sure you already know this, but I feel like I have to remind you that tostada shells that have toppings on them will not keep as leftovers. The shell will become soggy. 🙂
Baked Tostadas
- 12 Corn Tortillas
- Oil, optional
- Salt, optional
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Two Methods:
- Spread tortillas out on a large sheet pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip and bake another 5 minutes. Check and bake up to 2-3 minutes longer, if needed.
- OR place directly on oven rack. Bake for 15 minutes flipping every 5 minutes to help keep the tortillas from curling quite as much. After 15 minutes, bake 2-3 minutes longer checking every minute, if needed.
- Cool and store leftovers in a zipped storage bag.
- Brush or rub oil on both sides of the tortillas. Lightly sprinkle with salt if desired. Place tortillas on a large sheet pan, no overlapping. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes. Check and bake an additional 2-3 minutes if needed.
- Cool and store leftovers in a zipped storage bag.
Originally published July 22, 2014. Updated July 24, 2020.
Thanks for this! How long do you reheat the leftovers?
Your welcome! I just use the room temp tostada shells in whatever recipe. They get heated up after the beans or meat and cheese are on them anyway. 🙂 They are what Kenna’s been eating for lunch all week and I love they are sooo easy!
I always wanted to know how to make these! Pinned and stumbled!
They are so easy! Hope you love them. Thanks for pinning and stumbling.
LOVE this idea! I just added tostadas to our monthly menu rotation and plan on having them often for lunch. (after eight years of marriage, I’ve finally come to grips with the fact that my husband doesn’t love Mexican food *quite* as much as the kiddos and I do, lol!)
I didn’t even check the ingredients list, assuming it was the same as corn tortillas, but plan to toast my own now. Thanks for the recipe!
It’s so easy! It’s a perfect lunch for the kids. I agree, I always like lunches for those meals my husband doesn’t love. For me it’s tomato and bean based salads. So tasty!
Me too, I was shocked to see there was dye added to the fried shells. 🙁
This is a fantastic idea! I’ve always fried mine on the stovetop one at a time, but this is so much simpler!
Thanks! It is so easy it’s crazy! I love just filling up the oven with as many as it can hold. I’ve fried them before too and this is way easier.
Great idea and so much less work than frying them! Thanks for sharing on Natural Living Monday.
I agree. So easy and less messy. Thanks for hosting!
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I am a little bit disappointed. I tough, I will find real recipe, how to make these corn tortillas. But instead, I just see instructions how to turn on the oven and preheat something. I am making wheat wraps by my self, just from wheat four, salt and water. I bake them in the pan, and they get really delicious. And I know exactly what is in my wraps.
True, this recipe isn’t from scratch. Reading the labels on the package of corn tortillas versus the package of tostada shells it still is a huge improvement. I too, love making wheat tortillas from scratch. I’ve tried making corn tortillas but until I have a press, it’s something I’m not going to do again – it was a pain and they cracked and broke. 🙂 I hope you find a wonderful recipe for corn tortillas!
Hi Deanna,
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
I’m a dietitian and I’ve recently started posting healthy,easy recipes – and I put your link on my blog Nutritionistics so that people can learn how to make their own baked tostadas. I love baked tostadas and they make eating Mexican food so much healthier – you can even use them like nachos!
Thanks again,
Mandy
Thanks, Mandy! Agreed- they are so versatile and easy and way better for you than the fried ones you can buy in the store. My kids like to eat them plain like a big chip too.