20 Minute Bean and Beef Tostadas
These 20 Minute Bean and Beef Tostadas come together quickly for a weeknight dinner. Using crispy tostada shells, seasoned taco meat, creamy refried beans, and all your favorite toppings everyone can enjoy their favorites.
Changing up taco night with these 20 Minute Bean and Beef Tostadas was a great idea last week and let me tell you, they were easy and delicious. The best part, besides being a quick dinner, was that everyone could customize their own beef tostadas with all the usual favorite taco toppings.
The ground beef tostadas are also a great way to use up leftover taco meat. I typically double the ground beef for tacos and will freeze any leftovers and then pull it out to make this recipe or this 30 minutes beef taco skillet dinner. Serve this slow cooker vegetarian spicy cheese dip and tortilla chips with the tostadas or some Mexican street corn. Save room for these Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert Tacos!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a fast, delicious, and easy recipe for dinner.
- Mexican food is always a winner.
- Great way to use leftover taco meat.
- The meal is balanced with carbs, fats, protein, and fiber!
Bean and Beef Tostadas
You can use a store-bought taco seasoning packet for this recipe or you can make your own homemade taco seasoning. Either way, this bean and beef tostadas recipe will be a hit for your dinner table. I love that this recipe uses ingredients that I almost always have on hand. I typically keep a package of tostada shells on hand, too but you can make your own. It’s a pretty healthy meal so you can feel good about serving this easy dinner to your family.
What is a Tostada?
Tostadas are a Mexican dish similar to a taco, but the corn or flour tortillas are normally fried until crispy and you serve it flat instead of folding it like a taco. You layer your fillings of refried beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, and other toppings on the tostada.
Can You Make Your Own Tostadas?
Tostada shells are made from corn tortillas or flour tortillas that are fried in oil until crispy. If you prefer not to fry, you can bake them in the oven. Just bake them directly on your oven racks at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes until crispy.
Equipment
- Medium skillet
- Medium saucepan
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 12 tostada shells
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ounce taco seasoning
- ⅔ cup water
- 16 ounce can of refried beans
- 1 cup lettuce, shredded
- 1 cup Fiesta blend cheese, shredded
- 1-2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced and diced
- ½ cup sour cream
Steps to Make 20-Minute Bean and Beef Tostadas
Step 1
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Once browned, drain grease, and add taco seasoning, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and cook for 3 minutes.
Step 2
Add refried beans to a medium saucepan and heat over low/medium heat while the ground beef is cooking.
Step 3
While the beef and beans are cooking, chop your lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado.
Step 4
To assemble the tostadas: Add a small amount of refried beans to the tostadas, and spread in a thin layer. Add some ground beef.
Step 5
Finish it off with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and avocado. Drizzle sour cream over the tostadas.
Tips, Tricks, and FAQs
- Substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the ground beef.
- Try using refried black beans.
- You can use your favorite shredded cheese such as Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, cheddar, or cotija.
- Top these tostadas with any or all of your favorite taco toppings. I love to use pico de Gallo made with red onion on mine.
More Great Recipes to Make with Taco Seasoning
Printable Recipe Card for Bean and Beef Tostadas
20 Minute Bean and Beef Tostadas
Equipment
- Medium skillet
- medium saucepan
- spatula
- spoon
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 12 tostada shells
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 package taco seasoning
- ⅔ cup water
- 16 ounce can of refried beans
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- fiesta blend cheese, shredded
- 1 avocado, diced
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef ina large skillet. Once browned, drain grease, and add taco seasoning, and water.Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and cook for 3 minutes
- Add refried beans to a medium saucepan and heat over low/medium heat while the ground beef is cooking.
- While the beef and beans are cooking, chop your lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado.
- To assemble the tostadas: Add a small amount of refried beans to the tostadas, and spread in a thin layer. Add some ground beef, then sprinkle with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and avocado. Drizzle sour cream over the tostadas.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“Blogghetti” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
2024 Alphabet Challenge – “B”
This year I am joining fellow foodies in an Alphabet Challenge in which we will share recipes with the letters of the alphabet. Twice a month we will bring you two letters – recipes that either start with the letter or the main food in the recipe starts with that letter. Today is the letter “B” and I am sharing this Tostadas recipe with you. Here is what the others are sharing. To see all the recipes I have shared so far, go here.
- Palatable Pastime: Blueberry Biscuits
- A Day in the Life on the Farm: Bisque of Lobster
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Bagel Chips from Leftover Bagels
- Sneha’s Recipe: Beetroot Mezhukkupuratti
- Food Lust People Love: Braised Brown Sugar Pork Belly
- Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Spicy Barbecue Seasoned Rice Chex Mix
- Culinary Cam: Börek with a California Twist
- Mayuri’s Jikoni: Beetroot Tomato Soup
- Magical Ingredients: Beet Fennel Paratha
- Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Brooklyn Blackout Cake
- Sizzling Tastebuds: Barley Karamani Adai
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Enjoy!
Love this double “B” meal. Tostadas are always a hit.
Lisa, that sounds super easy and the perfect weeknight dinner!
Why haven’t I thought of tostada till now?? I usually have bean chili leftover but have not thought of serving them with tostada. Like your suggestion of baking them instead of frying them.
I love a recipe where everyone can customize their own meal…and these are a great alternative to basic tacos. Definitely a meal I will have to remember this summer when we have people over for dinner on the deck!
I’m totally in on fast meals that are filling and easy to customize for my picky people!
Great choice for “B”, and I love the 20 minutes meal idea! A winner !