Air Fryer Tostada Shells & 23+ Tasty Tostada Recipes

Super crunchy, hot and fresh crisp tostada shells are super easy to make in the air fryer in just 8 minutes! While the air fryer is cooking up the hot fresh shells, get all your yummy tostada toppings ready … then go to town topping your tostada to your heart’s delight.

What’s so great about a tostada?

“Tostada“ literally means “toasted” and usually we use the word to refer to dishes made on crispy fried flat tortillas. “They can be compared to an open faced sandwich in how the toppings usually lay over one crispy tortilla, though sometimes you’ll find layered varieties too,” says Kelly Jones MS, RD, CSSD, LDN.

While tacos and tostadas are similar, tostadas invite lots of good toppings and always involve a delightful crunch factor. I fell in love with tostadas back in my teenage years when I worked at a Mexican restaurant. My favorite thing to eat on break after a long shift was the bean and beef tostada and I always asked the cooks to pile on the toppings, which they gladly did for me. It was a filling, satisfying, relatively healthy meal for a little bit of nothing (especially with my employee discount) and it made me SO happy.

The other great thing about tostadas is they are SO versatile! You can use just about taco or sandwich or sandwich filling to top a tostada. Oh and hey, if you use gluten free corn tortillas, they are completely gluten free.

The downside of tostadas

With all that going for them, what could possibly be BAD about tostadas? Tostadas can be a bit messy to eat, especially if you love to pile on the toppings and drizzle the top with salsa as much as I do. I may have spilled salsa on my keyboard recently while eating a tostada at my desk. Ooops! My work days are busy so I find myself eating at my desk a lot, but I’ve found a way to protect the keyboard now while I eat, which basically involves sliding my keyboard back under my desk, minimizing my typing while eating and just clicking things with my mouse. Because spills are inevitable, I always have two napkins handy as well, so I cover my lap with one and have the second one handy for wiping things up.

However, I’ve always said that the best sandwich is a messy sandwich and tostadas definitely fit that bill!

Why make tostada shells in the air fryer?

Since you can buy pre-made tostada shells, why would you bother making them in the air fryer? First of all, tostada shells can be tricky to find and often get crunched or broken in the package. But I think the number one reason for me is that they just taste so much better. Whenever you make something hot and fresh, it’s going to be eons better than store-bought. Sure, you can toast them in the oven, but you won’t get the same lovely crunch. You can also fry your tortillas in oil, but an air fryer makes it SO much easier and faster, with less mess, less fat, and fewer calories.

Another thing I like about air fryer tostada shells is I can make one shell hot and fresh just for me anytime I feel like a tostada, which for me has been just about every day for weeks … ever since I discovered that my air fryer works beautifully for tostada shells. I can pile it as high as I like with all my favorite toppings and it all comes together so fast that I can make one in a quick 10-minute break and be back at work with a beautiful well-balanced Mexican meal in front of me.

How do you make air fryer tostada shells?

The process is very simple, really. First, preheat the air fryer. (This step is technically optional, but I think they just turn out better when you preheat.) While the air fryer is pre-heating, you spray or brush the tortillas with avocado oil. (You CAN use other oils, but avocado oil is a heart-healthy oil with a high smoke point, so it’s perfect for air frying tostadas!)

Then set the tortilla in your air fryer, top with an oven-safe measuring cup or small bowl and cook for about 4 minutes. Air fryers DO vary, though, so if after 4 minutes your tostada shell is either too done or not crisped up and nicely browned yet. If it’s too done, discard that one and start over, reducing the initial time. If it’s not quite done yet, simply flip it over and cook for another minute or two on the other side. Once you’ve figured out the perfect timing for your air fryer, it’s all nicely repeatable!

A word of caution: make sure you use tongs (and wear gloves!) for handling the hot measuring cup and pulling the hot tostada shell out of the air fryer. I’ve burned my fingertips more than once absent-mindedly grabbing the hot cup after it’s out of the air fryer.

Look at how beautiful and crisp they are! I love the little puffy edges and how every single one has its own character and charm, with lovely little bubbles that add extra crunch. Once you’ve figured out the timing for your own air fryer, you’ll want to make these again and again.

How to top a tostada?

Deciding how to top your tostadas is the most fun thing about them! I like to make mine in 4 basic steps:

1. I like to start with a layer of melted cheese first, to help protect the crunchy shell from any wet ingredients. Simply sprinkle the fresh hot shell with a bit of shredded cheese and put it back in the air fryer for about 10 seconds.
2. Add the heaviest hot ingredients next. Use something sticky or creamy like refried beans or taco meat.
3. Now, sprinkle any other hot ingredients on there and (if you are so inclined), add a little more shredded cheese and put your tostada back in the air fryer for a few seconds more to melt the cheese.
4. Add the cold, fresh ingredients on top. Start with spreadable ingredients like guacamole and then sprinkle with crisp fresh lettuce or other veggies.

To balance the meal nutritionally and satisfy your appetite, pair your favorite proteins with fresh or roasted veggies.

How to eat a tostada?

Tostadas are typically finger food at heart, so don’t be afraid to pick your tostada up and take a bite! That said, if you’ve added TOO many toppings to pick it up without spilling the toppings, then go ahead and use a fork to cut into your tostada.

I confessed earlier that I often eat at my desk, but really, it’s so much better if you can tear yourself away for a few minutes and revel in the tastes, colors and textures of a tostada at a proper table. Mindful, slower eating where you take time to savor each flavor and texture helps your digestive system process and is so much healthier for your body. When you eat mindfully, it also helps clear your mind and feeds your soul.

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Creative Tostada Inspiration

To help you make the most of your new air fryer tostada shells, I’ve got a BUNCH of great ideas for you. First, I want to start with some of my own favorites you could easily repurpose for tostadas:

• Breakfast Tostadas – the same toppings as breakfast nachos, but in tostada form! Use refried beans as the base in place of the loose beans to help hold them together.
• Bean and Beef Tostadas – use your favorite refried beans along with homemade taco meat with melty cheese, then top with guacamole, chopped romaine, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, salsa. Omit the taco meat for a vegetarian version.
• Lentil Tostadas – my tasty lentil taco filling makes a great plant-based tostada topping too
• Hawaiian Shrimp Tostadas – transform these Hawaiian shrimp street tacos into delightfully tropical tostadas. The pineapple slaw is the perfect crunchy topping.
• Pork Banh Mi tostadas – all the delightful toppings that make pork banh mi sandwiches SO good couldn’t be wrong as a tostada
• Chicken & White Bean Tostadas – ditch the eggplant shell and go tostada style. (If you love eggplant, add some eggplant as one of the hot tostada toppings as well.)
• Chipotle Fish Tostadas – with mango salsa! Say goodbye to fish tacos and hello to fish tostadas instead.

Intriguing Tostada Recipes

I’ve also gathered together a collection of tostada recipes from other bloggers and around the interwebs that caught my eye:

• Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Tostadas – a festive way to start your day
• Chicken Tostadas – taco-flavored shredded chicken makes a great tostada topping
• BBQ Margarita Chicken Tostadas – BBQ AND margaritas all together on a tostada? Yes, please!
• Thai Shrimp Tostadas – this Thai inspired twist on tostadas sounds delightful. Even better: drizzle with Thai peanut sauce.
• Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Corn Tostadas – buffalo chicken definitely deserves a place on a tostada
• Pulled Pork Tostadas – what can I say? These just sound like yum!
• Jack O Lantern Tostadas – a super fun, kid-friendly idea for Halloween

Vegan / Vegetarian Tostadas

• Vegan Baja Fish Tacos – how can fish tacos be vegan? You have to see it to believe it.
• Sriracha Lime Cauliflower Tostadas – what can’t cauliflower do?
• Chickpea Chorizo Tostadas – another veggie inspired tostada (or sub meat-based chorizo for the vegan variety)
• Loaded Veggie Tostadas – plant-based eating at its finest
• 5 Vegan Tostada Recipes – so many good ideas here!