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The fans and testers have spoken, and these vegan tostadas rival any restaurant’s and they friggin' cost about ⅙th the price to make. This no-fuss, fail-proof recipe guarantees crispy, flavorful tostadas that explode with flavor without harming a single adorable creature.
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Here’s what you are signing up for with this recipe: a crisp tostada shell, generously layered with savory vegan refried beans and chewy spiced tofu chorizo, all topped with a lime juice and jalapeño scented cabbage, New Mexican chili sauce, radishes and herbs. It’s ok if your usual taco night stuff just ran to hide behind the couch. This is like a two dimensional version of a taco that absolutely slaps.
And the best part? This dish can be ready in under twenty minutes as long as you have refried beans and plant-based chorizo on hand, and it’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or a hassle-free potluck offering that will disappear crazy-fast.
Let's get cooking and transform your kitchen into the ultimate vegan taqueria!
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🥰Why you'll adore these tofu tostadas
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan Mexican recipes, this one blows non-veg versions outta the damned water without using a single animal product. It's also one of the gluten-free vegan recipes on my blog that non GF eaters are blown away by every time.
🌱 Perfect Slaw Every Time: Vegan tostadas can be a carb fest. That’s why mine have fresh raw, marinated veggies to balance things nutritionally. By massaging the cabbage and carrot with lime juice and salt, the flavors are intensified, and this process breaks down the tough fibers, ensuring a tender bite that melds beautifully with the crisp tostada base.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of the vegan recipes I share, after tweaking and perfecting them, I share these vegetarian tostadas with a massive team of recipe testers who replicated it successfully all around the world, making it a tried-and-true favorite across the globe.
💣 Learn the bomb vegan Mexican recipes
This guide to my most popular vegan Mexican recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🌶️ Ingredients for vegan tostadas
Refried Beans
Of course, you can use store-bought canned refried pinto beans. Even though I sorta can’t stand the company itself, the traditional or ranchero style refried beans from Goya are probably my fave ready-made ones. I’d be remiss if I didn’t turn you on to the dark art of making your own, though. My vegan refried beans recipe has way more flavor than ordinary canned beans, and are customizable with canned hatch chilies and chipotle chilies, if you want even more heat.
Vegan Chorizo
My vegan chorizo is made from tofu, with Mexican chili powder and other common seasonings. But you would never ever guess that, considering the seriously dope texture and flavor it takes on. You can also use store-bought sausage, or use my smoked vegan breakfast sausage, crumbled vegan Italian sausage, or use pan fried shreds of my vegan chicken instead.
Tostadas
Tostadas are crispy corn tortillas that serve as the crunchy base for mind-blowing gluten-free vegan recipes. They are a staple in Mexican households for creating quick, delicious meals. You can easily substitute them with small flour tortillas brushed with oil and roasted or air-fried until crisp if that's what's available to you.
Red Chili Sauce and Habanero Salsa
These condiments add a bit more heat and depth of flavor to the tostadas, with my New Mexico red chili sauce adding more of a juicy base flavor, and my habanero salsa recipe offering a more intense spice level. Both step up the dish’s complexity. Pico de gallo, smokey salsa macha, tomatillo sauce, classic salsa roja, or a milder store-bought salsa or even a dollop of vegan sour cream tones down the heat for those who prefer it less spicy.
Vegan Cotija
Vegan Cotija cheese crumbles add a salty, tangy finish mimicking the dry, aged aspect of traditional Cotija cheese used in Mexican cooking. Another great option is my vegan nacho cheese or some shaved vegan parmesan.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Oaxacan-Style Black Bean Tostadas:
Use a base of vegan black bean spread. You can make your own with canned black beans mixed with traditional herbs like hoja santa and epazote. Top the black bean mixture with a mix of sautéed mushrooms (like I do for my vegan fajitas) and nopales (cactus pads), which are common in southern Mexican cuisine.
Yucatan Jackfruit Tostadas:
This is sorta a veg. version of cochinita pibil—just use the jackfruit filling from my vegan tamales recipe. Add pickled red onions, fajita veggies, shredded lettuce, thinly sliced green onions, avocado.
Vegan Super Bowl Tofu Tostadas:
Take these super over-the-top by loading them with chopped pieces of vegan buffalo wings, or just some hand-torn bits of vegan chicken roasted with vegan buffalo sauce. Add some vegan sour cream, and sit back and snack while the boring ol’ Super Bowl does it’s thing.
📖 How to make Vegan Tostadas
Nail this on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Heat Things Up
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lay out the tostadas on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 5-6 minutes to crisp them.
Step Two
Slaw Prep:
Mix the minced red onion, shredded purple and green cabbage, julienne carrots, and sliced jalapeño in a medium bowl. Drizzle with lime juice and olive oil, then sprinkle with salt. Get your hands in there and give everything a good massage to mix the flavors and soften the veggies.
Step Three
Chorizo Warm-Up:
Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the vegan chorizo until it's nicely warmed through and a little crispy in some spots, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Step Four
Bean Scene:
Place vegetarian refried beans in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir them around and add a little water if they seem too thick, adjusting to your preferred consistency.
Step Five
Assembly Line
Remove the tostadas from the oven. Spread a hearty layer of warm beans and a drizzle of red chili sauce over each crispy tortilla base.
Step Six
Dress and Impress
Top the refried bean tostadas with a generous helping of the cabbage slaw and tofu chorizo. Add slices of radish and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro leaves. Finish with your favorite toppings such as sliced cherry tomatoes, sliced ripe avocados, grilled bell peppers, shredded romaine lettuce, a drizzle of your chosen chili sauce and/or habanero salsa and a generous scattering of vegan cotija cheese.
💡Serving Ideas
Pairing your tostadas with the right dishes can turn a simple meal into a memorable feast. Start with a warming bowl of Sopa de Lentejas, a classic vegetarian Mexican lentil soup.
Looking for some fun sides to serve with these? Vegan Elote anyone? Some crispy roasted vegan taquitos might be your jam if you want to put together a complete veggie taco Tuesday kinda scene.
Finish off with a light dessert like Buñuelos or vegan flan; why don’tcha?
👉Top tips
- Crisp Those Shells Right: If you are using store-bought tostadas shells, it’s easy to think they are made and ready to use. But bringing a little life back into the tostada shells is crucial. Either bake them or briefly air fry them for about 5 minutes until they are golden and crispy.
- Master the Beans: While my homemade refried beans are (in my opinion) pretty perfect, some store-bought ones need a little help. Heat a can of vegan refried beans by first mashing it with the back of a fork, warming it gently on the stove, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, and adjusting their consistency with a little water if needed. If they are a little plain, add cumin powder, taco seasoning, lime juice, and minced chipotles in adobo. Want them wayyyy spicier? Add a spoonful of shatta sauce.
- Balance Your Toppings: The same truth here applies as it does with vegan pizza making. While it's tempting to load up each tostada with heaps of toppings, keeping the balance right ensures every element shines and the shell stays intact. Layer your ingredients thoughtfully, starting with a spread of beans, followed by chorizo, and finish with fresh vegetables and a drizzle of sauce, so it doesn’t become soggy and sad.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
It's best to assemble vegan tostadas just before serving to keep them crispy. You can prepare the beans and other toppings ahead of time and refrigerate them, then assemble them just before eating to avoid sogginess.
If you plan to serve them at a potluck, keep each component separate, and let people make your own tostada thing. It’s fun and they will be way nicer that way.
To make tostadas, you can fry small rounds of corn tortillas in hot oil until crisp or bake them with a light brushing of oil at 400°F (205°C) for about 7-10 minutes, turning halfway through. Ensure they are golden and crispy before removing them from the oven. You can also slightly spray them with cooking spray and cook for 5-6 minutes in an air fryer.
If a bunch of them break, don't lose any sleep over that! You can use messed up ones to make chilaquiles verdes with!
✌️My faves to serve with these vegan tostadas:
Master the art of vegan Mexican cooking in a super-fun recorded cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Vegan Tostadas with Refried Beans and Tofu Chorizo
Ingredients
Cabbage slaw:
Protein:
- 1 ½ cups vegan refried beans
- 1 cup vegan chorizo
To Serve and garnish:
- 8 tostadas
- Red chili sauce to taste
- Habanero salsa to taste
- 1 red radish thinly sliced
- Cilantro leaves
- ½ cup vegan cotija cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). For the cabbage slaw, in a medium bowl, combine minced red onion, shredded cabbage, julienne-cut or shredded carrot, thinly sliced jalapeño, lime juice, olive oil, and salt. Toss well, and massage and squeeze the slaw by hand to tenderize the cabbage and carrots. Set aside.
- Warm the vegan chorizo in a skillet over medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.
- Simultaneously, warm the refried beans in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring and adding a small amount of water if their consistency is too stiff for your preference.
- While the beans and chorizo warm, arrange the tostadas on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until crisp.
- Once the tostadas are crisp, remove them from the oven and spread a generous amount of the bean and chorizo mixture on each tostada.
- Serve the tostadas topped with the prepared cabbage slaw, sliced radish, and cilantro leaves. Drizzle with red chili sauce or habanero salsa according to taste, and sprinkle with vegan cotija crumbles.
Notes
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ana says
We made this yesterday and it was so good, I am still thinking about it !
Erika says
We eat a lot of Mexican food here in the southwest & these tostados are incredible. Chef Adam absolutely nailed the chorizo spice & flavoring. Refried beans- simple to make & so yummy. You won't settle for blah pre-made canned again. The jalapeno, lime slaw is a perfect refreshing compliment & major upgrade from the typical boring chopped iceberg lettuce & tomatoes. Roasted habanero salsa- so good! I eat this s*** by the bowl. Lol! We really enjoyed this meal.
Adam Sobel says
So glad you folks loved it! Have you messed with the similar (but more filling) burrito bowl recipe yet on the blog? It's indeed super yum.
hg says
What's great about this recipe , is not only how great it tastes, but you get to make all the elements of the dish from scratch, so it's like multiple recipes all in one. It's very satisfying, as a home cook, when you start with a bunch of basic ingredients and create a masterpiece.
Marna says
These are excellent! Family loved them! I made vegan refried beans, vegan chorizo, Red chile, Habanero salsa, vegan cotija cheese...all very quick and delicious...the cabbage slaw is soooo good I will make it to eat it on its own! Major 5 stars guys.