Vegan refried bean tostadas (air fryer, baked, or fried)

Air fried tostadas with refried beans, pickled onions, avocado, salsa, and cilantro on plate.

5 from 9 votes

Vegan refried bean tostadas (air fryer, baked, or fried)

Crunchy vegan tostadas make a fun & delicious lunch or dinner.

Cook the tostada shells from scratch in the air fryer, oven, or pan fry. Slather on a layer of refried beans. Then finish with your favorite toppings.

It's a meal the whole family will love!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican, Vegan

Keyword: air fryer recipe, flat tacos, gluten free

Servings: people

Calories: 177kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

4 soft corn tortillas
Spritz of oil spray (optional) Or more if frying
½ cup refried beans
½ cup shredded cabbage
½ cup salsa or pico de gallo
¼ cup pickled red onions
¼ cup pickled jalapenos
¼ cup cilantro chopped
1 or 2 avocados sliced & removed from peel

Instructions

TO BAKE TOSTADA SHELLS: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put corn tortillas onto a baking sheet.
If you like, lightly spritz or brush oil on both sides of the tortillas.
Bake for five minutes on one side. Flip the tortillas and continue baking for another 5 to 8 minutes, until crisp.
TO AIR FRY TOSTADA SHELLS: Put one corn tortilla into the air fryer basket.
If you like, lightly spritz or brush oil on both sides of the tortilla.
Top the tortilla with something small & oven-safe to hold it down, so that it doesn't blow into the air fryer fan. (I like to use a metal taco holder.)
Air fry at 390 degrees for 5 minutes, stopping once halfway through to flip. (Be careful. The air fryer will be hot. I recommend using toast tongs to flip.)
Remove crisp tortilla from air fryer basket. Then repeat with the remaining tortillas until all of them are crunchy.
TO PAN FRY TOSTADA SHELLS: Fill a non-stick skillet with a quarter inch of high-heat oil (like canola or avocado oil). Bring to a medium high heat.
Fry each tortilla one at a time for about 30 seconds on each side until golden brown. (You’ll know the oil is ready if bubbles immediately form around the tortilla.)
If the tortilla is rising to the top of the oil, press it down with tongs or a spatula.
Once brown, move each tortilla to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
Once all of the tortillas are toasted and crunchy, it’s time to add the toppings.
Top each crispy tostada shell with a slathering of refried beans, a sprinkling of a shredded cabbage, a spoonful of salsa, a few slices of avocado, a pinch of pickled red onions, and pickled jalapenos. Finish with a garnish of cilantro.
Serve right away.

Video

Notes

The calorie/nutrition counts listed are for oil-free tostada shell preparation. If you choose to add oil, the calories & fat will increase.

As a time saver, feel free to use canned vegetarian refried beans, bagged shredded cabbage mix, jarred salsa, diced onion, and jarred pickled jalapenos.

You can also use packaged tostadas instead of making tostada shells from scratch. Simply warm them in the oven briefly, following package instructions.

If you have leftovers, I recommend storing the toppings separately in the refrigerator from the tortillas. Otherwise, the tortilla shells will become soggy.

Nutrition