Crispy Bean Tostadas with Smashed Avocado and Jicama-Cilantro Slaw
These Mexican tostadas feature refried beans, avocado and cabbage slaw on crisp, baked corn tortillas. This tostada recipe is easy, filling and meatless!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
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Any tostada fans out there? If you love tacos, you’ll love tostadas. Tostadas are basically flat tacos with a crispy tortilla base. They’re a little messy to eat—don’t order them on a first date—but so fun and satisfying.
This recipe comes from my friend Maria’s new book, the Two Peas & Their Pod Cookbook (affiliate link). Her beautiful book offers approachable and fresh, everyday recipes that are perfect for busy families.
I knew this recipe would be great because these tostadas share all of the same qualities of a great taco: something hearty (refried beans), something creamy (avocado), something crisp (shredded cabbage and jicama), something tangy (pickled onions), and lots of fresh flavors.
The best part? Maria designed this recipe to be quick and easy enough for a regular weeknight. You could make them today!
Two Peas & Their Pod Cookbook
Two Peas & Their Pod Cookbook: Favorite Everyday Recipes from Our Family Kitchen offers 115 family-friendly recipes with vibrant photos, plus party menus and cooking tips. This tostada recipe comes from the Vegetarian Main Dishes chapter.
Maria is a vegetarian and her husband, Josh, is not, so this book is perfect for blended families or those trying to eat less meat. Here are just a few recipes I’ve bookmarked to try:
- Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
- Mushroom-Farro Soup
- Stir-Fried Snap Peas with Orange, Ginger and Sesame Seeds
- Enchilada-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Pesto-Havarti Mac and Cheese
Maria is famous for her homemade cookies, so you’ll find a bunch of delicious cookies (and desserts) in the back of the book.
Tostada Ingredients
These vegetarian tostadas (which are easily made vegan if you omit the cheese) are layered with several components. Maria’s techniques help these tostadas come together quickly.
Crispy Baked Tortillas
Be sure to use 100 percent corn tortillas so your tostadas turn out nice and crispy. I’ve made the mistake of trying to use a corn and wheat flour blend, and they never crisped up!
Refried Beans
Beans make these tostadas hearty enough to fill you up, offering protein fiber. Maria suggests buying vegetarian refried beans. I’m an over-achiever and decided to make my own with canned beans.
Mashed Avocado
This is basically simplified guacamole, and offers a wonderfully creamy component. You’ll mash up some avocados, stir in lime juice and add salt, to taste. Easy!
Jicama-Cilantro Slaw
This slaw is made with shredded green cabbage, crisp jicama, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, and chili powder. It’s simple to prepare and makes the perfect refreshing topper. (Jicama is a root vegetable that is delightfully crisp and mild in flavor. If you can’t find it, simply add more cabbage.)
Lightly Pickled Red Onions
We’ll stir some lime juice and vinegar into sliced onions, and let them rest. By the time the remaining components are ready to go, the onions will be lightly softened, mellowed in flavor, and pickled.
Grape Tomatoes and Queso Fresco
A handful of grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes) and some crumbled queso fresco finish off these tostadas. Queso fresco is a mild, creamy, crumbly Mexican cheese. Feta cheese is a good substitute if you can’t find it. Feta is more salty and tangy.
Tostada Tips & Notes
Traditional tostadas are made with fried tortillas; these are baked. I don’t like to deep fry at home, and corn tortillas bake up nice and crisp, anyway.
These tostadas are lighter than deep-fried alternatives since you’re brushing the tortillas with olive oil or spritzing them with cooking spray. (Primal Kitchen’s avocado oil spray is a great option for high heat and has no additives.)
Adjust these tostadas to taste. Lime juice and salt are key seasonings in this recipe, so be sure to use enough of each to make the flavors sing.
If you plan to have leftovers: Tostadas components are best stored separately before assembling. Store leftover mashed avocado with plastic wrap pressed against the surface, or save your avocado and mash it just before serving. Reheat the beans before assembling.
Please let us know in the comments how your tostadas turn out, and be sure to check out Maria’s book!
Crispy Bean Tostadas with Smashed Avocado and Jicama-Cilantro Slaw
These Mexican tostadas feature refried beans, avocado and cabbage slaw on crisp, baked corn tortillas. This tostada recipe is easy, filling and meatless! Recipe yields 6 hearty tostadas, enough for 3 to 6 servings.
Ingredients
Pickled red onions
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- Pinch of salt
Jicama-Cilantro Slaw
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ cup ¼-inch-thick slices peeled jicama, or additional shredded cabbage
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tostadas
- 6 corn tortillas
- Extra-virgin olive oil or cooking spray
- Salt, to taste
- 2 cans (16 ounces each) vegetarian refried beans, or 1 batch homemade refried beans
- 3 large ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ cup halved grape tomatoes
- ½ cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
Instructions
- Make the pickled onions: In a medium bowl, combine the sliced onions with the lime juice, vinegar and salt and stir until the onions are well coated. Let the onions sit while you make the slaw and tostadas. The pickled onions can be stored in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Make the slaw: In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, cilantro, jicama, lime juice, cumin and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
- Assemble the tostadas: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush or spray both sides of each tortilla generously with olive oil or cooking spray, season with salt, and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 4 minutes, then flip and bake for 4 to 8 more minutes, until the tortillas are crispy.
- Gently heat the refried beans in the microwave or on the stovetop. In a large bowl, mash the avocados with a fork or potato masher. Stir in the lime juice and season with salt, to taste.
- Spread refried beans evenly over each tortilla. Add a layer of smashed avocado and top with the slaw, pickled onions, tomatoes and queso fresco. Serve immediately.
Notes
This recipe comes from Two Peas & Their Pod Cookbook by Maria Lichty.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the cheese.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to buy 100% corn certified gluten-free tortillas.
Make it tomato free: Skip ’em!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I am so glad you loved the tostadas! Your photos are beautiful! Thanks for sharing about my cookbook! I hope you enjoy it, you bookmarked some good ones:)
They’re so good! I’m so happy to promote your work, Maria. :) I have several bookmarked!
It will be Tostada Thrusday at our house tonight!! Thank you Kate for the great recipe (and Maria too!) The Jicama slaw will be perfect for a hot Phoenix supper. Love to Cookie!!
You’re welcome, Janeth! I hope you love it.
SO GOOD! The flavors work together perfectly and the tostadas being baked is such a good idea!
Thank you, Ava! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
any suggestions for a replacement for the avocado? I’m leaning towards sweet potato.
You could try potato or just leave it out.
I am so making this tomorrow night. I already have all the ingredients. Keep up the delicious work, it is amazing!
I love when that happens!
I love jicama but I don’t know many ways to use it. I’ll enjoy this new recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for your review!
These were delicious! The whole family approves. I needed to get dinner on the table a little faster tonight, so I took the canned refries beans shortcut, as well as the already-crispy tostadas they sell in the tortilla section. Still amazing. I’m in love with the slaw. Gracias!
You’re welcome, Amy!
I’ve never made tostadas before but I’ve always wanted to. I love crispy corn tortillas! These look so fresh & easy too. Pinning :)
I hope you love them, Hayley!
This looks great and thanks for posting. I just wonder, how do you eat tostadas without getting all over the table, your shirt, etc.?
Be ready for a napkin! :)
Gorgeous! I can’t wait to try this for dinner this week.
Kate,
We made these tonight complete with your homemade refried beans. Your recipes always turn out wonderfully, thank you! This one, in particular is especially delicious – fresh, light and perfect for a hot September football watching evening…..we will make the components individually and together often. Thank you so much for the fantastic posts! -Beth
You’re welcome, Beth!
When I lived in Mexico City as a teenager we ate tostodas asll the time! They were in heavy rotation :)
I bet they were so good, too! Let me know if you try this version!
Easy and delicious! Really loved the Jicama in particular. The perfect weeknight recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Mindy!
We made these last night for dinner and liked them. I bought gross refried beans so I’d make your recipe or buy a different brand next time. Super easy and crispy!
My family and I loved this recipe! The variety of textures and the bright flavors are a perfect mix. Using a mandoline slicer makes the cabbage slices nice and thin. I have already made it twice and will certainly do so again soon! Thanks for yet another great recipe!
I had printed this recipe off months ago, thinking it looked so good; but when I read the recipe details I was a bit hesitant to actually make it. Pickled onions? Cabbage with chili seasoning? Huh.
Well, I am so glad that I felt adventurous today! I actually put the onion and cabbage steps together in the morning before I went to work so I would only be left will a simple heat-and-eat at supper time. Those onions I wasn’t too sure about? Awesome! I started in on them while I was waiting for the tortillas. I did omit the cumin from the cabbage. Not a huge fan of it and the chili powder was more than enough seasoning for me. I also found that one can of refried beans was enough for 5-6 tostadas. The whole combination of flavors going on here is amazing! I will definitely be making this again.
I’m glad you felt adventurous too, Gayle! Thanks so much for your review.
Lovely recipe as always! Couldn’t find jicama in the store right now so thought a pear might make for a good substitution. I think this recipe will be a perfect go-to template for lots of quick weeknight variations!
Loved this! I skipped the cabbage and added Nopales, Made your refried beans recipe using dry black beans and they came up fantastic. I added a garlic Chipotle aioli ( vegan)
I love that combination! Thank you for sharing.
Another fantastic meal! It all comes together pretty quickly (I did cheat and use canned refried black beans because I already had some). This was actually my first time buying jicama – I had to look up what it looked like whole at the store because I had only seen it chopped up!! Yay for new experiences! I think next time I’ll add in some heat because I’m addicted to spice but it’s not really necessary since it’s already so delectable without it. Your recipes are always so easy to follow, thanks for another gem to add to our regular rotation! Mexican food all day every day.
I’m happy you loved it, Hayley!
Loved this recipe! The slaw and pickled onions were my favourite part! Will definitely make again!
Wonderful to hear, Baillie!
I made this last night. It was fabulous!! I really enjoyed it, I’m looking forward to making it again, real soon!!
These tostados were wonderful! The colors and flavors of this dish made it appetizing and fun to eat. I made extra of the pickled onions and I’m using them on sandwiches and garnishes for other dishes. I’ve never tried crisping the tortillas in the oven, but I will never fry again! The jicama slaw was the perfect spicy crunch to top off this dish.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed them, Connie.
My wife and I have been eating tostados for years. They have been good, but not great. I came upon your recipe for tostados and tried them. Wow! They were easy to make and delicious. The combination of beans, avocado and slaw was perfect. This is the only recipe we will use when making tostados. Thank you for your magic in the kitchen.
Made this last night as i had (mostly) everything in the cupboard. BOY OH BOY is that refried bean recipe amazing!!! I’m never buying tins of it again!
I love to hear that, Charlotte! Thank you for sharing.
These were fabulous! This was our first introduction to jicama and we are hooked. We toasted the tortillas on an electric griddle instead of in the oven just for convenience and that seemed to work just fine as well. Thanks Kate and Maria!
Followed exactly and the flavors were so nice. Love the pickled onion. We topped it with a dollop of greek yogurt. I’ve NEVER bought jicama, now with the extra going to try and make jicama fries :-)
This was DELICIOUS and so easy!
Hi we’ve made several of the recipes from your blog. Our favorite is the tostadas. It was fun adding the jicama, a vegetable new to the family. Both of my adult children had seconds and were all smiles. My son asked for the recipe. I think I’m gonna get a request for this dinner in the near future.
I’m happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Monica.
These were the BEST tostadas we have ever made! A delicious blend of flavors. I never eat raw onion and my husband is not a cabbage fan, especially on Mexican cuisine, however we both loved how they tasted in this recipe. This will be a new addition to the dinner rotation. Thank you for sharing!
This is so delicious and easy to make!
Two words: No leftovers! A delicious addition for our weekly Mexican night. I made your pickled radishes to add too. Didn’t disappoint! Thank you.
I love this recipe. But, I leave out cumin because I don’t like the taste. It sounds wild, but I substitute curry.
I’m glad you found a substitute that you like, Heather! That’s interesting. I may need to try it sometime.
Loved it! So good and family loved it too!
Followed the recipe exactly and it was soo easy and delicious! I’m trying to eat more vegetarian meals and it’s so nice having Cookie and Kate to help me – I feel like I can really trust any of your recipes. :)
I planned to make this last night for a quick and easy dinner. We had a few early evening appointments so I made the slaw and onions ahead of time to make the throw together even quicker upon returning home. The appointments ran late and we ending up grabbing a bite out so instead I made these for lunch today and they were a hit. The flavors really compliment one another and they were so filling. My first wave of tortillas in the oven baking for four minutes on each side we’re burnt so the second round I did three minutes on each side and they were perfect. I would simply attribute that to either my tortillas were smaller or my oven runs hotter, who knows but I look forward to this becoming a regular meal. Oh and I layered all the leftovers, sans tortillas, in a small container to make a sort of layered dip for snacking. Yum yum!
SO good! I could eat the pickled onions like candy. This recipe is definitely making it into our rotation.
We found these refreshingly delightful in the February winter! I was worried the tostadas would break apart when eaten but they held together great while having a very satisfying crunch.
I think the 6 cans of refried beans must be a typo, we had plenty leftover with two cans serving four people. Next time I would roughly chop the cilantro and thinly slice or julienne the jicama.
Decided to make these to use up some cabbage and cilantro in my fridge – they’re beyond delicious. You really have a talent for coming up with fantastic flavor combinations that wow me and my carnivorous husband every time. Who would have thought tostadas without tons of fried cheese (my kryptonite) could taste this amazing…It’s all about the flavors you put together.
I’m happy you loved them, Rebecca!
I LOVE this recipe! I grew up eating tostadas all the time and it’s still a staple in my home. This was a great way to switch it up! Making it again tonight! My friend came over and I made it for her. She’s been making them herself now! She loved them! So good!!!! Thank you!
That’s wonderful! I’m glad these helped you get creative. I appreciate your review, Tina.
I think this would be fabulous as part of a summer dinner. I’m going to use the mini cocktail tortillas (about 3 inches) and serve as part of a Mexican (
“Smorgasbord”. Looks like a great appetizer and you can easily have a few bowls of seasoned chicken,pork and/or beef for your non vegetarian guests to add. These will surely help beat the Phoenix summer night heat!
What a tasty and simple recipe! I left the jicama out as they didn’t have it at the store but just added additional green cabbage as you recommended. I’ve been eating leftovers for a couple of days even after serving my family for dinner! Thanks for another great one. :-)
I’m glad you loved it, Jen!
Excellent! I’ll be adding this to our rotation
Hello Kate!
Thank you so much for the recipes, I am cooking with you for some years now. I have a bit a problem with the avocados, in my country the price of it so high I cannot afford it and when I try I don’t like it that much. Can you help me how to substitute this ingredient in your recipes? Thank you so much!
Hi Fruzsi, I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t have a great substitution for you. I would just try a different recipe.
I made these for my family tonight and everyone loved them! My 8 year old had 3! The pickled onions were so good!
I love to hear that, Lauren! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! First try our tortillas were too crisp but the toppings were the best, will try shortening the oven time.
These were easy & tasty. I used canned vegetarian refried beans. Next time I will season the beans a bit more (oregano, garlic).
My family loves these tostadas with your refried beans recipe as well! Thank you