These ground beef tostadas are a tasty combination of seasoned ground beef and refried beans layered on crispy corn tostadas. We top ours with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, green onions, and a sprinkle of cilantro. Mix and match toppings to satisfy your crowd’s tastes.
This tostadas recipe is perfect for a quick dinner or a casual gathering. Not only are they a treat for your taste buds but they’re budget-friendly too. With meat prices skyrocketing, ground beef is an economical choice, as is chicken. Make these shredded chicken tostadas next!
I make my own refried beans for this recipe. They’re easy and take just a few minutes. You can put them together while the beef mixture cooks. Here I used pinto beans, but these black refried beans are just as good. Canned refried beans work just as well. Find refried beans where you get tacos shells and seasoning at larger supermarkets or online.
Ingredients
- Oil - Use a neutral (flavorless) oil with a high smoke point (we use canola oil)
- Spices – Chili powder, salt (we use kosher salt), garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, and black pepper.
- Ground Beef – Use ground sirloin if you want lean ground beef. If you don’t mind a little extra fat go with round or chuck. (See cook’s notes)
- Pantry – Refried beans, tomato sauce, beef broth, corn tostadas. Find tostadas at larger supermarkets or online.
- Toppings – We top our tostadas with lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, sour cream, and cheese. These are totally customizable. Other tasty topping ideas include black beans, corn, sliced jalapenos, black olives, salsa, and hot sauce.
- See the recipe card for quantities and preparation.
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Arrange the beef in the skillet in a single layer and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir well.
- Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes until browned. Stir occasionally and break up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add the tomato sauce and beef broth to the pan, stir well to combine.
- When it starts to simmer, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep at a simmer; raise or lower the heat if necessary.
- The meat mixture should be saucy not soupy. If it has too much liquid, uncover and let it simmer for a few minutes until it reaches a thicker consistency. Stir occasionally.
Build the tostadas
Work with one tostada at a time. Be gentle because it will break if too much pressure is applied. Layer 1-2 heaping tablespoons of the refried beans going almost to the edge. Add 1-2 heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture to cover the refried beans.
Add the desired topping. We added cheese (cheddar), lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, green onions, and cilantro to ours.
Cook’s notes
If you want to keep the meat topping for the tostadas pretty lean, then use ground sirloin. If you don’t mind a little fat for flavor, then make it with ground round or chuck.
- Lean to fat ratios in ground beef are:
- Ground chuck – 80-85% lean to 15-20% fat
- Ground round – 85-90% lean to 10-15 % fat
- Ground sirloin – 90-92% lean to 8-10% fat (if you want the lowest fat content)
For dishes like this, or our tasty ground beef and potatoes skillet I’ll use chuck because it’s flavorful and reasonably priced. For a pasta dish like cheeseburger macaroni, I’ll use ground sirloin to avoid having to drain the excess grease.
Storing and reheating instructions
Store leftover ground beef mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To freeze, cool completely, place it in a freezer-safe container, cover, and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Place the desired portion in a non-stick skillet. Heat it covered on medium-low until hot, stir occasionally. Or reheat it in the microwave until hot all the way through.
Reheat leftovers to an internal temperature of at least 165°F. For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.
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📖 Recipe
Ground Beef Tostadas
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt we used kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper or to taste
- 1 tablespoon Oil use a neutral oil with a high smoke point we used canola oil
- 1 pound Lean Ground Beef (use ground sirloin, chuck, or round)
- 8 ounce can Tomato Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Beef Broth
- 16 ounces Refried Beans heated through (use homemade or canned)
- 8 Corn Tostadas
- Optional Toppings Suggestions cheese, sour cream, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, jalapeños, corn, black beans, hot sauce, black olive, salsa
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan or skillet (with a tight fitting lid) over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the ground beef, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Arrange the beef in the skillet in a single layer and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir well. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes until browned. Stir occasionally and break up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add the tomato sauce and beef broth to the pan, stir well to combine. When it starts to simmer, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep at a simmer; raise or lower the heat if necessary.
- The meat mixture should be saucy not soupy. If it has too much liquid, uncover and let it simmer for a few minutes until it reaches a thicker consistency. Stir occasionally.
Build tostadas
- Work with one tostada at a time. Be gentle because it will break if too much pressure is applied.
- Layer 1-2 heaping tablespoons of the refried beans going almost to the edge.
- Add 1-2 heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture to cover the refried beans.
- Add the desired topping. We added cheese (cheddar), lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, green onions, and cilantro to ours.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
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