Healthy Chicken Tostadas

These Healthy Chicken Tostadas are low-fat and low-carb. They’re made with tender and perfectly seasoned ground chicken, cauliflower rice, lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickled onions and cilantro all piled on a crispy tortilla. This is a super quick and easy chicken tostada recipe you can make any night of the week!

Chicken Tostadas are one of my go-to dinners when I need something quick and easy to make. They’re healthy and delicious and they satisfy my Mexican food cravings.

One of the great things about this tostada recipe is you can make everything ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. So then all you have to do is reheat the meat and pull it all together.  When I make these Healthy Chicken Tostadas (tostadas de pollo)  I usually pile the lettuce high and maybe even drizzle a little of this Lime Vinaigrette or this Avocado Salad Dressing over the top.

Chicken Tostada Recipe

These chicken tostadas come together with basic ingredients that you may already have on hand.

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Fresh garlic
• Chili powder
• Ground cumin
• Dried oregano
• Salt
• Ground chicken
• Unsalted chicken broth
• Tostada shells (flour or corn)
• Lettuce
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cheese (cheddar or Jack cheese or a combo of both) 
• Cauliflower rice

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Variations

This chicken tostada recipe is super versatile!  Here are a few ideas for you to create your own masterpiece.

• Shredded chicken.  You can easily swap out the ground chicken and use this Mexican Style Shredded Chicken instead.
• Toppings. Chopped avocado, scallions, Pico de Gallo, Homemade Guacamole, Restaurant Style Salsa, Salsa Verde, Pickled Jalapenos, Pickled Radishes, black olives, sour cream, Tapatio.
• Rice.  Instead of cauliflower rice, you can add Restaurant Style Spanish Rice, Spanish Quinoa, Salsa Verde Quinoa or Cilantro Lime Quinoa, Mexican Cauliflower Rice
• Add beans. Tostadas are often made with beans. You can add a few tablespoons of Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Vegetarian Borracho Beans or even canned refried beans to these tostadas. If using refried beans, heat the beans and spread 2-3 tablespoons on top of the tostada shell.
• Toss everything together.  You can also toss all of the ingredients in a bowl like a salad and then pile it high on crispy tortillas.

How to Make Chicken Tostadas

This easy chicken tostada recipe comes together in under 30 minutes start to finish.

• Chop and grate ingredients. Rinse and chop lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro and grate cheese.  
• Fry or bake tortillas.  You can either fry the tortillas in a skillet with a little oil or bake them in the oven.
• Cook ground chicken, onion and garlic. Add onions and garlic to skillet over medium low heat and cook for about 5 minutes or until golden. Add seasoning and cook another minute more while stirring. Add in the ground chicken and cook over medium high heat breaking the meat into smaller pieces using a spatula or wooden spoon. 
• Heat cauliflower rice. Warm cauliflower rice to serve with tostadas.
• Enjoy. Garnish with your favorite toppings (beans, Mexican rice, avocado, salsa, etc.)

How to Make Tostada Shells

I typically use flour tortillas for these Healthy Chicken Tostadas rather than corn.  I just like the lightness and crispiness of flour better.  But of course use whatever tortilla, flour or corn, that you prefer. 

Fried Tostada Shells

1. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable oil) in a skillet.
2. After oil is good and hot, place one tortilla at a time in the oil and fry on both sides until lightly golden.  Depending on how many tortillas you’ll be making, you may need to add more oil.
3. Remove fried tortilla from hot oil and lay on a paper towel lined plate.

Baked Tostada Shells

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• Lightly brush olive oil (or vegetable oil) on a cookie sheet. 
• Lay the tortillas in a single layer on the cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the tortillas are golden and crispy (depending on the heat in your oven).

Looking for More Easy Mexican Recipes to Make?

• BBQ Chicken Tortilla Pizza
• Caldo de Pollo
• Taco Salad Bowl
• Mexican Style Shredded Chicken
• Taco Skillet
• Mexican Avocado Chicken Burgers

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6

Healthy Chicken Tostadas

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

These Healthy Chicken Tostadas (tostadas de pollo) are low-fat and low-carb. They're made with perfectly seasoned ground chicken, cauliflower rice, lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickled onions and cilantro all piled on a crispy tortilla. This is a super quick and easy tostada recipe to make any night of the week!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth
• 4 tostada shells (flour or corn)
• 2 cups lettuce, shredded
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (or 1 cup diced tomato)
• 1 cup cheddar or Jack cheese, grated
• 2 cups cauliflower rice

Instructions

1. Prepare tostada shells
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes or until golden. Add garlic and cook another minute.
3. Stir in the chili powder, cumin and oregano.
4. Add ground chicken and cook 5 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula and break pieces apart.
5. Pour in chicken stock and cook another 4-5 minutes until it starts to thicken a bit.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Divide meat and cauliflower rice evenly among tostada shells.
8. Garnish with grated cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes (cherry or chopped tomatoes), pickled onions, cilantro.

Notes

How to Make Tostada Shells

Fried Tostada Shells

1. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable oil) in a skillet.
2. After oil is good and hot, place one tortilla at a time in the oil and fry on both sides until lightly golden.  Depending on how many tortillas you'll be making, you may need to add more oil.
3. Remove fried tortilla from hot oil and lay on a paper towel lined plate.

Baked Tostada Shells

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• Lightly brush olive oil (or vegetable oil) on a cookie sheet. 
• Lay the tortillas in a single layer on the cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the tortillas are golden and crispy (depending on the heat in your oven).

Tostada Variations

• Toppings. Chopped avocado, onion or scallions, Pico de Gallo, guacamole, salsa, black olives or sour cream.
• Rice.  Instead of cauliflower rice, you can add Spanish Rice or Spanish Quinoa
• Add beans. Tostadas are often made with beans. You can add a few tablespoons of Mexican Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Vegetarian Borracho Beans or even canned refried beans to these tostadas. If using refried beans, heat the beans and spread 2-3 tablespoons on top of the tostada shell.

• Toss everything together.  You can also toss all of the ingredients in a bowl like a salad and then pile it high on crispy tortillas.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 375Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 495mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 26g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.