Vegan tostadas are versatile, easy to make, and a great choice when you're in the mood for Mexican cuisine. Serve them with a side of Spanish rice for a quick and simple weeknight dinner.
In as little as 20 minutes, you can enjoy these vegan tostadas. They start with crisp tostada shells, or soft corn tortillas, which you can easily bake or fry.
Load them up with refried beans, tofu ground beef, vegan cheese, and fresh veggies. Add a dollop of dairy-free sour cream or a squeeze of lime juice on top for an extra kick.
These tostadas are not only customizable, but they're also packed with flavor, making them a delicious lunch or dinner.
Ingredients You'll Need
You'll need 4 simple ingredients, some seasonings (or salsa), and your favorite toppings for these vegan tostadas.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Tostada shells – Any store-bought tostada shells are fine. You can also bake or pan-fry soft corn tortillas, see below for instructions.
- Refried beans – Use your favorite brand of refried beans. You can add the seasonings listed below or a few scoops of salsa to enhance the flavor or the beans.
- Vegan meat crumble – My tofu ground beef is my go-to for these vegan tostadas. It's quick and easy to prepare. Feel free to use store-bought crumbles as a substitute.
- Vegan cheese – I used packaged vegan cheddar cheese shreds. Use your favorite vegan cheese or drizzle on some vegan nacho cheese.
- Toppings (not shown) – To make them 7-layer tostadas, add shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream, and finely chopped cilantro. Other topping options include fresh salsa, diced avocado, sliced onion, taco sauce, or my BBQ ranch dressing.
- Seasonings (not shown) – If you are using canned refried beans, adding some seasonings will boost their flavor. I like to add onion powder, garlic powder, a chili powder mix, cumin, sea salt, and paprika. I also like to add a few splashes of plant milk to thin them out a bit.
Another flavor option is to add a few spoonfuls of store-bought fruit salsa (or your favorite salsa). Recently, I've been loving the pineapple peach salsa from Target and skipping the extra seasonings altogether.
How To Make Vegan Tostadas
These tostadas come together in a few simple steps.
Vegan meat crumble - Make the tofu meat crumble or your vegan meat crumble of choice. Then, gather and prepare your veggies and toppings and set aside.
Refried beans - Add the beans and seasonings (or salsa) to a medium saucepan. Mix and heat over medium-low until the beans are warm. If they are too thick, add plant milk to thin them out.
Tostada shells - To warm up store-bought tostada shells, pop them in the oven at 350ºF for about a minute. Watch them closely since they can brown fast.
If you are making your tostada shells, cook the soft corn tortillas until they are crispy. You can bake them in the oven or fry them in a pan.
For baking, lay the tortillas on a baking sheet and place them in a preheated oven at 400ºF for about 10-15 minutes, or until they’re nice and crispy. Flip them halfway through.
To pan-fry corn tortillas, heat about an inch of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add the tortillas one at a time, frying them for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until they reach your desired crispiness.
To assemble 7-layer vegan tostadas - Top your tostada shells with refried beans, tofu crumble, vegan cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, dairy-free sour cream, and freshly chopped cilantro.
Now that's lunch in 20 min!
Other Topping Ideas
In addition to what I used, consider adding sliced avocado, diced onions, black olives, purple cabbage, or jalapeños for a spicy kick.
To finish off your tostadas, top them with fresh salsa or mango pico de gallo for a burst of flavor. You can also add a dollop of guacamole or drizzle on some BBQ ranch dressing for creaminess.
Each tostada can be customized to suit your taste, making them a versatile and fun lunch or dinner.
So get creative with your toppings!
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Recipe
Vegan Tostadas
Ingredients
Tostadas
- 8 tostada shells, see notes to make your own
- 1 batch vegan tofu crumble, or vegan crumble of choice
Refried Beans
- 1 14-ounce can refried beans
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder mix
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2-4 Tablespoons unflavored and unsweetened plant milk, optional to thin the beans
Topping Ideas
- vegan cheese shreds
- shredded romaine lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- freshly chopped cilantro
- dairy-free sour cream
- diced avocado
- BBQ ranch dressing
- freshly squeezed lime juice
- fresh salsa
Instructions
- Start by making the vegan meat crumble. Use my tofu ground beef recipe or your favorite packaged vegan crumble.While that cooks, gather and prepare your veggie toppings.
- Now, mix the refried beans and seasonings in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low until the beans are hot. If they are too thick, add almond milk to thin them out.
- Warm the tostada shells in the oven at 350ºF for about a minute. Watch them closely since they can brown fast.
- To assemble the tostadas, layer them with beans, vegan meat, vegan cheese and your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Baking corn tortillas - Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Place the corn tortillas on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 min, or until crispy. Flip the tortillas halfway through baking.
The cooking time for the tortillas may vary. If you notice some browning faster than others, remove them from the oven and allow the others to finish cooking. - Pan frying corn tortillas - Heat about an inch of oil over medium-high. Once the oil is hot (about 350ºF) lower the heat. Carefully place a corn tortilla in the hot oil using tongs. Fry for 3-4 minutes, flipping the tortilla halfway through. Once crispy, use your tongs to transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Nutrition
**Nutritional info is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients I used and for convenience and as a courtesy only.**
This recipe was originally published in December of 2015. It has since been updated with new photos and more detailed information.
More Vegan Mexican Dishes
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Nicole
Has anyone tried using soy or rice milk instead of almond? If so, how was the flavour (nut allergy)?
Marlena Luna
I would suggest trying a soy milk over rice milk since rice milk is thinner. Using an unsweetened plain soy milk shouldn't affect the flavor at all. Enjoy! :)
andrea
nice recipe, i can feel the spices in my mouth! I do something similar using black beans and tahini, i love the touch of cilantro on the top! Nice graphic post. Bless
andrea