These easy and healthy tostadas use baked corn tortillas and rotisserie chicken spiced with cumin and paprika.
- Prep Time:
15 mins - Cook Time:
15 mins - Total Time:
30 mins
It has been a little crazy around here with several school and work related activities going on. By late in the week, I was suffering from dinner time burn out and hadn’t been to the grocery store in several days which is very unusual for me. I wanted comfort food but comfort food that was healthy and easy and (of course) tasty. Corn tortillas and rotisserie chicken came to the rescue.
These humble ingredients became some very yummy tostadas thanks to the cumin and paprika spiced chicken. Fresh guacamole and melted cheese didn’t hurt either. Despite the lack of many fresh ingredients in my fridge, I still had everything necessary to whip up a small batch of guacamole. Score!
Cumin and paprika has become one of my favorite spice combinations. It is a little unexpected but goes well with so many different types of flavors. It adds an instant flavor punch to the rotisserie chicken – making this dish come together in a flash. If you buy fresh made guacamole from the store, the prep time goes even faster.
My daughter felt that putting guacamole in the oven was a little strange but how else to get that layer of melty cheese on top? You could skip melting the cheese but why? Use the broiler to melt the cheese and the guacamole will barely even know it was in the oven.
Crunchy tostada shell, gooey melted cheese, fresh gauc – that’s comfort food at its best.
Cumin and Paprika Spiced Chicken Tostadas
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 tostadas 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
Description
These easy and healthy tostadas use baked corn tortillas and rotisserie chicken spiced with cumin and paprika.
Ingredients
For the tostada shells
- 4 corn tortillas
- Cooking Spray
For the guacamole
- 2 tablespoons white or red onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons very finely chopped tomatoes, cored and seeded
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1 large ripe avocado
- 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (or more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)
For the chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup sliced onions (about a 1/4 of a medium onion)
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Grated Cheddar cheese
- Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Instructions
For the tostada shells
- Prep oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Prep tortillas. Spray both sides of each tortilla with cooking spray. Lay tortillas on a baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake tortillas in oven for 8 minutes flipping the tortillas halfway through. When tortillas are crisp, remove baking sheet from the oven and turn the oven to broil.
For the guacamole
- Mix. In a medium bowl, stir together onion, jalapeño, tomato, garlic, and cilantro.
- Add avocado. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise around the pit. Twist the avocado halves in opposite directions and pull the halves apart. Scoop out the avocado pulp with a spoon and add to the onion mixture.
- Season. Add lime juice and salt.
- Mash. With a spoon or fork, roughly mash the avocado while mixing in the onion mixture until evenly combined. Taste and season with additional lime juice or salt as needed. Set aside.
For the chicken
- Cook onions. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to rush this step, the caramelized onions add a lot of flavor.
- Add chicken & spices. Add shredded chicken, cumin, paprika, and salt. Sauté until mixture is heated through and chicken is evenly coated with spices.
For serving
- Assemble tostadas. Spread guacamole on each tostada shell and then top with chicken mixture, dividing the guacamole and chicken mixture evenly among the tostada shells. Sprinkle cheese on top.
- Melt cheese. Place the baking sheet under the broiler just until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle tostadas with chopped cilantro leaves and serve.
Notes
- To cut down on prep time, you can buy prepared guacamole from your grocery store. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s offer fresh guacamole in their produce section. If you can’t find fresh guacamole, you can also buy fresh pico de gallo and mix it with the avocado, lime juice, and salt to make guacamole.
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