Spiced Beef and Refried Bean Tostadas

Warmed crispy store-bought tostadas and canned refried beans make this beef tostada recipe quick to pull together for any weeknight. The only real effort—aside from chopping up a fresh pico de gallo for topping each tostada—is preparing the spiced ground beef, which gets its savory flavor from a medley of spice cabinet staples and a few tablespoons of tomato paste. When finished with an array of favorite toppings such as avocado or guacamole, diced onion, crumbled Cotija cheese or queso fresco, and hot sauce, it makes a fully-loaded meal.

Tostada means “toasted” in Spanish and refers to both the toasted flat tortilla base as well as the Mexican dish in which heaps of toppings, including refried beans and an assortment of proteins, adorn said tostadas. They’re easy and crowd-pleasing, great for a meal or an anytime snack. If you like these, you’ll also love our Chicken Tinga Tostadas topped with shredded chicken. And if you really want to go the extra mile, you can bake or fry your own corn tortillas for homemade tostada shells.