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If you thought Taco Tuesday was something to look forward to then just wait until you try these BBQ Chicken Tostadas!

Similar to chalupas, crispy crunchy tostada shells are layered shredded rotisserie chicken covered in a zesty barbecue sauce, followed by an array of diced toppings like creamy avocado, fresh and juicy tomato, chopped cilantro, and sour cream.

If that's not enough, these chicken tostadas are then sprinkled with a generous amount of shredded cheese and baked until the cheese is melted and the ingredients are warmed throughout.

Similar to a slice of pizza, there is no better way to enjoy these BBQ Chicken Tostadas than by diving in and grabbing it with both hands, savoring those contrasting textures of crispiness, sauce, and layered toppings.

Enjoy your tostadas as is or with a side serving of Cilantro Rice or Mexican rice, Cornbread, or any other of my Mexican Recipes for a Tex-Mex meal that will rock your world in just 15 minutes from making!

Table of Contents

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Why This Recipe Works
How To Make BBQ Chicken Tostadas
Ingredient Notes
Easy Instructions With Photos
Pro Recipe Tips
Recipe Variations
What To Serve With BBQ Chicken Tostadas
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Reviews

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easy. It's one of the easiest and quickest meals to assemble and cook for those busy weeks or when you need to whip up a filling meal that the family's sure to love!
Versatile. BBQ chicken tostadas are extremely versatile – you can add your favorite toppings based on your family's preferences, using this recipe as a guideline.
Kid-Friendly. Tostadas are loved by kids and adults alike, even the pickiest eaters! It's unlikely that you'll have any leftovers.
Texture. These tostadas provide delicious contrasting textures – the soft and saucy shredded chicken with melted cheese with crunchy red onion and tostada shell is absolutely mouth-watering!
Budget-Friendly. Tostadas are incredibly inexpensive meals – great if you’re looking for ways to reduce the grocery bills while not compromising on taste, texture, or raving reviews from the family!
Make Ahead. You can make the various elements of this meal ahead of time. The toppings can be prepared in advance and stored in separate containers and you can easily shred your rotisserie chicken a day or two before assembling the tostadas or even use leftover shredded chicken from other previous meals.

Why This Recipe Works

Simple Instructions. You can easily follow along with my simple step-by-step recipe instructions with photos to ensure that you end up making the best tasting BBQ chicken tostadas ever!
Few Ingredients. There are minimal ingredients needed to make these BBQ Chicken Tostadas, most of which are likely to already be in your pantry!
Recipe Tips. Recipe tips and questions have been added for your convenience, particularly helpful if you've never made tostadas before.
Variations. I've included recipe variations and suggestions on how you can serve up different types of tostadas using this recipe as a helpful guide and inspiration for your own tostada creations!
Serving Suggestions. Serving suggestions are listed below should you want to bulk up your meal, either by way of various toppings or the addition of a side dish that would pair well with these tostadas.

How To Make BBQ Chicken Tostadas

Ingredient Notes

Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.

Rotisserie chicken – you can also use leftover shredded chicken that you made for a previous dish, such as my Oven Roasted Chicken, instead of shredded rotisserie chicken.
BBQ sauce – apart from coating the chicken for cooking, make sure you have enough additional sauce for serving.
Red onion
Colby Jack cheese – Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Mozzarella are other cheeses that also work well with this dish. Cheese shredded from a block melts better than store-bought pre-shredded cheese.
Tostada shells – these are easily located in most stores but you could use corn tortillas that have been brushed with olive oil and baked for 3 minutes each side if you're in a pinch.
Toppings of your choice – this could include diced avocado, diced tomato, sour cream, chopped cilantro, or whatever you love the most!

Easy Instructions With Photos

In a medium-sized bowl, add the shredded rotisserie chicken and pour the barbecue sauce on top.

Mix the chicken with the bbq sauce until coated.

Add the red onion and ½ cup of the cheese.

Stir all the ingredients to combine.

Lay the tostadas onto the prepared sheet tray. Evenly divide the chicken mixture onto the tostadas.

Top with the remaining cheese.

and bake for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is warmed through and the cheese is melted.

Add a drizzle of the bbq sauce and then add your favorite toppings on top. Enjoy!

Pro Recipe Tips

Store-bought tostada shells (what I've opted to use in this recipe) can be located in the aisle where you'd find tortillas or hard taco shells. If these are not accessible to you, make your tostada shells by crisping up corn tortillas in the oven instead. This can be done by lightly brushing each side of the tortillas with oil and then baking them for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Having all your toppings and shredded chicken prepared in advance will help you to assemble these BBQ chicken tostadas in no time at all! I recommend that toppings prepared the night or day before be refrigerated in separate containers.
For maximum crunchiness, only place the tostada toppings and chicken onto the shells just before you intend serving these to your family and/or friends.
Use your favorite BBQ sauce for these tostadas. Dr Pepper BBQ sauce or Sweet Baby Ray's are both great options!
Tostadas are intended to be eaten with your hands as you would with pizza. With that in mind and as tempted as you may be, avoid piling the toppings too high on your tostadas otherwise it's going to be rather tricky to eat without causing a food avalanche!

Recipe Variations

Instead of using shredded chicken for these tostadas, consider pulled pork or turkey or use ground beef. In fact, the sky's the limit when it comes to choosing what meat you add.
Make Tostadas de Tinga by swapping out the BBQ sauce for a smoky tomato-chipotle sauce that you can easily make from scratch at home.
Skip the meat entirely and make vegetarian tostadas with beans, veggies, and cheese.
Make your own tostadas by using corn tortillas. You could even make mini BBQ chicken tostadas for party snacks using smaller-sized tortillas. Simply brush the tortillas lightly with olive oil and then bake them in the oven for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Add your favorite cheese whether it be Queso fresco, Monterey cheese or sharp cheddar.

What To Serve With BBQ Chicken Tostadas

Looking to add to these BBQ chicken Tostadas? Here are some great Mexican-inspired add-ons to consider:

Rice – whether it's Cilantro Rice, Mexican rice or Mexican Cauliflower Rice (as a low-carb alternative);
Salad – this can either be a light and leafy salad or something like Mexican street corn salad or a corn pasta salad;
Fries – either traditional potatoes fries or sweet potato fries like Chipotle Sweet Potatoes With Queso Fresco;
Corn on the cob; or
Mexican cornbread.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

What Are Tostadas?

The term "tostada" is Spanish for "toasted" and refers to a crispy tortilla base that's traditionally been deep fried (although these days they are also baked or bought as hardened shells much like taco shells).

While tostadas can be eaten as is without any toppings, they are more than not topped with a meat of choice, sauce, veggies and cheese – similar to a flat taco!

Tostadas can be enjoyed as a snack, appetizer, side dish, or main meal depending on what you're in the mood for.

How Do I Store Leftover BBQ Chicken Tostadas

These tostadas should be eaten immediately after serving and I don't recommend storing them fully assembled and cooked since the shells will likely start to become soggy from the toppings and sauce after any short amount of time.

You can, however, store any leftover toppings separately from each other in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, using them up in other tostada meals or other recipes.

Can I Make Tostadas In The Air Fryer?

Yes, you can! If you'd prefer making your own homemade tostada bases in the air fryer then use corn tortillas and spray them with oil on both sides, placing them in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400℉.

You'll definitely need to air fry your bases in batches but a way to cut down on batch time is to place one tortilla at the bottom of the air fryer basket and then add a broil tray above that for the second tortilla to sit on. Around the 3-minute cooking mark, swap the bottom tortilla with the top tortilla and continue cooking – this will allow both tortillas to crisp up evenly.

Repeat this process as many times as needed.

Can I Make Tostadas In The Oven?

Yes, you can! You can make your own tostadas by following the instructions in my Homemade Tortilla Chips, but just skip the step where you cut the tortillas into triangles.

Can I Make These Chicken Tostadas Ahead of Time?

You can easily prepare the shredded chicken ahead of time, either using a rotisserie chicken or cooking chicken in an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker and then shredding the meat once cooled. A handy trick is to make additional shredded chicken when making another dish and storing that for use in this BBQ chicken tostadas recipe!

Depending on what toppings you choose to add to your tostadas, you can also prepare these and then store them in separate airtight containers a day in advance.

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