These Black Bean and Avocado Tostadas are crazy easy to put together such a delicious vegetarian meal. With a crunchy tortilla, creamy beans and avocado, juicy tomatoes, crisp onions, all topped with a sprinkling of cheese and fresh cilantro.
Ingredients
The core ingredients of these vegetarian black bean and avocado tostadas are truly black beans and avocados. Beyond that, the toppings can be interchangeable with any of your favorites.
- Corn tortillas: Taco-sized corn tortillas are what's traditionally used in tostadas - they crisp up really nicely and have a great texture. I used white corn tortillas but yellow corn also works.
- Black beans: I use a can of black beans that I drain and rinse. You could use dry beans just make sure to cook them first and you'll want about 2 cups cooked beans
- Water: Heating up the beans in some water helps soften them up so they're easier to smash.
- Cumin: We'll add this to the beans for some added flavor.
- Avocado: Simple as can be, just smashed avocado for the 2nd layer.
- Red Onion: You'll want to really thinly slice the red onion to be placed on top.
- Tomatoes: Grape or cherry tomatoes work really well here, but really any small tomato cut into ¼ pieces will work perfectly. You could even use a bigger tomato and simply dice it.
- Queso fresco: A light dusting on top gives just the perfect amount of cheesy flavor.
- Cilantro: A great fresh topping to finish these off.
- Oil spray: Any neutral oil spray will work - I used canola - this is to spray on the tortillas before baking to help them crisp and get golden.
- Lime: A nice squeeze right before serving.
Tip: to mellow out the flavor of the raw onion, place the slices in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Drain and pat dry before using.
Step by step instructions
Prep: preheat your oven to 425℉, drain and rinse the black beans, slice and smash the avocado, cut the tomatoes into quarters, slice the red onion (and soak if you'd like), chop the cilantro.
1. Bake the tortillas. Place the tortillas in an even layer on a large baking sheet. lightly spray both sides with the neutral oil spray. Bake in the preheated 425℉ oven for 8-10 minutes, filliping once half way through.
2. Cook the beans. In a small pot add the beans, water, and cumin. Cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes until most of the water is absorbed/evaporated. Smash with the back of a fork.
3. Assemble. On top of each tortilla, first layer the smashed beans, then avocado, then tomatoes, then red onion, then queso fresco, then cilantro. Squeeze some fresh lime over top. Serve immediately.
Tips and tricks
- Use corn tortillas, the texture is simply better and they crisp up really nicely.
- Be gentle when you're assembling and careful to not crack the tostada as you go.
- Smash the beans and avocado before assembling - if you try to smash them directly on the tostada it will break.
- Make these your own! One of the best things about tostadas is that they're completely customizable. Don't like tomatoes? Skip them! Try corn instead. Want to add meat? Go for it!
- Traditionally, the tostada is shallow fried instead of baked, however I find baking to be a bit less fussy and messy and they still get nice and crispy. More about traditional tostadas here.
FAQs
Yes and no, you can prep the topping ingredients ahead of time, but I wouldn't bake the tortillas or start to assemble anything until right before you're about to serve. They'll likely get soggy. If you are prepping more than an hour or so in advance, squeeze lime juice into the avocado so it doesn't turn brown.
Pour corn or vegetable oil into a skillet about ½" - heat on high heat and once hot (you can touch a tortilla to the surface and see if it reacts) place tortillas in one at a time for about 1 minute per side until puffed and golden.
Sure!
I honestly would recommend trying to make only as many as you'll eat when they're fresh because the tostada will get soggy as it sits. If you must, store in an air tight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. Eat right out of the fridge.
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📖 Recipe
Black Bean and Avocado Tostadas
INGREDIENTS
- 6 taco-sized corn tortillas
- 15.5 oz can black beans
- ½ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ small red onion
- 2 avocados
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup queso fresco
- 1 lime
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 425℉. Place the tortillas in an even layer on a large baking sheet. lightly spray both sides with the neutral oil spray. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, filliping once half way through.
- In a small pot add the beans, water, cumin, and salt. Cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes until most of the water is absorbed/evaporated. Smash with the back of a fork.
- Assemble – On top of each tortilla, first layer the smashed beans, then avocado, then tomatoes, then red onion, then queso fresco, then cilantro. Squeeze some fresh lime over top. Serve immediately.
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