Mini tostadas are a fun and easy appetizer for game day and parties. Keep them simple or dress them up with a variety of tasty meatless, plant-based toppings! Try these mini vegan tostadas using crunchy street taco tortillas for your next gathering.
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No need to cut tortillas with a cookie cutter for this recipe. We're using a shortcut with a product you can find at the grocery store to make these mini tostadas. Since they're smaller, these tostadas work well for kids, too!
Curious about what tostadas are and how Mexicans typically eat them? Check out my cultural tuturial on how to eat tostadas.
This recipe is inspired by my other vegan tostadas on my site, as well as my tutorial on how to make homemade baked tostada shells without oil. Serve these with Vegan Horchata!
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🧄 Ingredient notes
- Street taco corn tortillas - the secret ingredient for making miniature tostadas is using street taco corn tortillas as the base. Street taco corn tortillas are small, only about 3 inches wide, so they are naturally great for making mini tostadas! Well-stocked grocery stores, especially those in Texas, should stock these. If you can't find them, you can cut larger corn tortillas into small rounds using a circular cookie cutter. Then, bake them crunchy, following my instructions below.
How many mini tostadas should I serve per person?
Count on serving about 2 mini tostadas per person, as an appetizer. So, if you have 6 people coming, make 12 mini tostadas. If you have 12 people coming, make about 24 mini tostadas.
If serving as the main meal, it would be about 6 mini tostadas per person.
| People | # of Tostadas, served as an appetizer | # of Tostadas, served as a main |
| 2 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | 8 | 24 |
| 6 | 12 | 36 |
| 12 | 24 | 72 |
| 20 | 40 | 120 |
🔪 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions for how to make these yummy bite-size mini tostadas:
First, preheat your oven to 400°F. To bake your mini tostada shells in the oven, place them on a cookie sheet or metal baking pan in one single layer, careful not to overlap them. I can fit 12 mini street taco corn tortillas on my half sheet 18x13 inch baking pans.
Then, bake them for 7 minutes at 400°F. (If using an air fryer, air fry them at 375°F for 3-4 minutes).
Check them and if they are still soft or bendable, bake or air fry for another 1-2 minutes. Watch them closely toward the end of the baking time, as they may bake faster or take longer, depending on how hot your oven is, the type of pan you're using and the brand of tortillas you have.
They are done when they are hard and light golden brown.
To make Avocado Mini Tostadas:
Warm refried black beans in microwave or on stove. (If making street corn tostadas and black bean tostadas, warm all the refried black beans at once)
Divide refried black beans and sliced avocado onto 3 mini tostada shells. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and fresh lime juice.
To make Refried Pinto Bean Tostadas:
Warm refried pinto beans in microwave or on stove.
Divide refried pinto beans across 3 mini tostada shells. Top with shredded lettuce and cherry tomatoes.
To make Vegan Street Corn Mini Tostadas:
Heat refried black beans in microwave or on stove.
Heat a shallow skillet (does not need to be non-stick) over medium-high heat for 90 seconds. Then, add the frozen corn kernels to skillet and spread out across the bottom of the skillet. They will sizzle and maybe even jump or dance in the pan a little bit. This is good. Don't stir them for at least 2 minutes.
Stir the corn and then leave it to cook another 2 minutes. Do not add water or liquid to the pan. The high heat will char the corn and heat it up without having to grill it. Once your corn has browned with some little char marks and defrosted, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the corn to a bowl.
To the bowl with the corn, add the vegan sour cream, vegan grated parmesan, lime juice and chili lime seasoning. Stir everything together to coat.
Taste the corn and add Cholula hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste.
Divide refried black beans on 3 mini tostada shells. Spoon prepared corn on top of beans.
To make Vegan Ceviche Mini Tostadas:
Add tomato, onion, lime juice, cilantro, dulse flakes, hot sauce to a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
Gently fold in heart of palm and avocado. Stir gently with a metal spoon to combine, without breaking the heart or palm or crushing the avocado too much. Taste and add salt, pepper or more lime juice, as needed.
Display prepared mini tostada appetizers on wooden board, sheet pan or platter. Garnish with pickled red onion, fresh cilantro, vegan sour cream, sea salt, black pepper and fresh lime juice.
🧯 Food safety
- Wash hands with soap and water before cooking
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods, which can sometimes happen at a party. Monitor the food regularly when you're hosting.
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
⭐️ Expert tips
- Have fun with these! Make your own combinations.
- Make a tostada bar! Prepare and set out toppings, so your guests can make their own mini tostadas.
🍳 Equipment
- Air fryer or oven - to bake the mini tostada shells. I use the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer.
- Baking sheet - for baking your mini tostada shells. I use half sheet baking pans like they use in commercial kitchens, since they are a standard size and I can buy pre-cut parchment paper to fit on them perfectly.
🥡 Make ahead and storage tips
You can make the following elements of this dish ahead of time: the baked mini tostada shells (store them in an airtight container at room temperature after they've cooled) and any homemade ingredients you want to make, like homemade vegan sour cream, homemade vegan parmesan, homemade refried black beans or pinto beans.
But, save the assembly of your mini tostadas to right before you serve them (they'll get soggy and gross if you make them ahead of time).
🚦 Calorie density score
🟡 This recipe gets a yellow light on the calorie density chart. Some of the ingredients (the corn tortillas, avocado, cashew sour cream and vegan parmesan) are higher than 600 calories per pound, so eating richer meals like this regularly may prevent you from losing body fat or may even cause you to gain weight. Learn more about calorie density from Jeff Novick, MS, RDN.
Get your own printable calorie density chart for your refrigerator and free ebook explaining calorie density in simple terms.
❓ FAQ
A tortilla is a flexible flatbread made of corn meal or wheat flour, typically. A tostada is a corn tortilla that has been fried crispy in oil or baked until crunchy and hard.
Tostadas are typically about 4-5 inches in diameter, which is the size of a typical corn tortilla. However, you can make mini tostadas, about 2-3 inches in diameter by using street taco corn tortillas, which are smaller. Or, you can cut the larger tortillas into smaller circles and use those for the tostada, as well.
🗺 Cultural influences
Tostadas are a dish of Mexican origin, with a base of fried corn tortilla, topped with shredded meat, cheese, beans, shredded lettuce and crema. They are eaten throughout Texas, as well.
This recipe is a vegan, meatless version of mini tostadas, using street taco corn tortillas, which are mini corn tortillas.
This recipe is inspired by my mixed ethnic background and heritage as a native of Houston, Texas and by the strong cultural influences of my friends from Mexico. See About for more information on my cultural influences and how I attribute recipes.
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you love this mini tostada with delicious meatless toppings recipe, check out these other plant-based appetizer recipes!
Love this recipe?
Please rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a comment below, so I know which recipes you like the best. This helps me know what to make more of!
📖 Recipe
Mini Plant-Based Tostadas, 4 Ways
Equipment
- Air Fryer or oven, to bake mini tostada shells crispy
Ingredients
- 12 STREET TACO corn tortillas white or yellow mini corn tortillas
Avocado Tostadas
- ½ avocado sliced
- ½ cup refried black beans vegetarian, fat-free (or homemade)
Refried Pinto Bean Tostadas
- ½ cup refried pinto beans vegetarian, fat-free (or homemade)
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes quartered
Vegan Street Corn and Black Bean Tostadas
- ½ cup refried black beans vegetarian, fat-free (or homemade)
- 6 ounces corn kernels frozen or canned, drained
- ¼ cup vegan sour cream or vegan mayo
- ½ tablespoon vegan grated parmesan
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon chili lime seasoning Tajín or Trader Joe's
- dash Cholula hot sauce optional, but recommended
- pinch sea salt and black pepper to taste, if needed
Vegan Ceviche Tostadas
- 4 cherry tomatoes quartered
- 2 tablespoons red onion minced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (juice of one lime)
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro minced
- 1 pinch dulse flakes optional, for the taste of the sea
- dash hot sauce optional
- 3.5 ounces heart of palm chopped
- ½ avocado diced
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Garnishes
- ¼ cup vegan sour cream cashew cream
- ¼ cup quick pickled onions drained
- hot sauce
- lime wedges
- sea salt or kosher salt sprinkled on top, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper sprinkled on top, to taste
Instructions
Make the Mini Tostada Shells
- First, preheat your oven to 400°F. To bake your mini tostada shells in the oven, place them on a cookie sheet or metal baking pan in one single layer, careful not to overlap them. I can fit 12 mini street taco corn tortillas on my half sheet 18x13 inch baking pans.12 STREET TACO corn tortillas
- Then, bake them for 7 minutes at 400°F. (If using an air fryer, air fry them at 375°F for 3-4 minutes).
- Check them and if they are still soft or bendable, bake or air fry for another 1-2 minutes. Watch them closely toward the end of the baking time, as they may bake faster or take longer, depending on how hot your oven is, the type of pan you're using and the brand of tortillas you have.
- They are done when they are hard and light golden brown.
Avocado Tostadas
- Warm refried black beans in microwave or on stove. (If making street corn and black bean tostadas, warm all the refried black beans at once)½ cup refried black beans
- Divide refried black beans and sliced avocado onto 3 mini tostada shells. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and fresh lime juice.½ avocado
Refried Pinto Bean Tostadas
- Warm refried pinto beans in microwave or on stove.½ cup refried pinto beans
- Divide refried pinto beans across 3 mini tostada shells. Top with shredded lettuce and cherry tomatoes.1 cup shredded lettuce, ½ cup cherry tomatoes
Vegan Street Corn and Black Bean Tostadas
- Heat refried black beans in microwave or on stove.½ cup refried black beans
- Heat a shallow skillet (does not need to be non-stick) over medium-high heat for 90 seconds. Then, add the frozen corn kernels to skillet and spread out across the bottom of the skillet. They will sizzle and maybe even jump or dance in the pan a little bit. This is good. Don't stir them for at least 2 minutes.6 ounces corn kernels
- Stir the corn and then leave it to cook another 2 minutes. Do not add water or liquid to the pan. The high heat will char the corn and heat it up without having to grill it. Once your corn has browned with some little char marks and defrosted, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the corn to a bowl.
- To the bowl with the corn, add the vegan sour cream, vegan grated parmesan, lime juice and chili lime seasoning. Stir everything together to coat.¼ cup vegan sour cream, ½ tablespoon vegan grated parmesan, 1 teaspoon lime juice, ½ teaspoon chili lime seasoning
- Taste the corn and add Cholula hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste.dash Cholula hot sauce, pinch sea salt and black pepper
- Divide refried black beans on 3 mini tostada shells. Spoon prepared corn on top of beans.
Vegan Ceviche Tostadas
- Add tomato, onion, lime juice, cilantro, dulse flakes, hot sauce to a medium bowl. Stir to combine.4 cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons red onion, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, 1 pinch dulse flakes, dash hot sauce
- Gently fold in heart of palm and avocado. Stir gently with a metal spoon to combine, without breaking the heart or palm or crushing the avocado too much. Taste and add salt, pepper or more lime juice, as needed.3.5 ounces heart of palm, ½ avocado, sea salt and black pepper
Serve and Garnish
- Display prepared mini tostada appetizers on wooden board, sheet pan or platter. Garnish with pickled red onion, fresh cilantro, vegan sour cream, sea salt, black pepper and fresh lime juice.¼ cup vegan sour cream, ¼ cup quick pickled onions, hot sauce, lime wedges, sea salt or kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
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