BBQ Chicken Tostadas

10/20/16

BBQ Chicken Tostadas are a simple meal the family will love, especially on busy nights. Pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store, use up leftovers, or even make a new batch in your slow cooker to make one of the best quick and easy dinner recipes.

How to this Make Barbecue Chicken Tostadas Recipe

Guys, you know I always keep it real with you, and today is no exception. So the group of us collectively known as “food bloggers”, well, we are kind of hypocrites.

You see, we love when you make our recipes, and we love even more when you tell us you made them. We love the most when you tell us how much you loved them. We even love when you tell us what you didn’t like because that helps us fix that recipe and make even better recipes in the future. We don’t even mind when you tell us everything you changed about the recipe and it was amazing, because even though what you thought was amazing was actually nothing even close to the recipe we created, hey, you used it as a starting point and made something you loved. We’re cool with that.

The only thing we don’t love is when you tell us that you used less of this and more of that, swapped this ingredient for that one, left this out, added something else, anddddddd… our recipe was terrible.

Hello, you didn’t make our recipe!! I’m sorry you thought your creation was terrible, but mine is pretty awesome and if you didn’t like yours, well, I bear no responsibility for that.

However, as food bloggers, it’s pretty much impossible for us to look at a recipe from a cookbook or another website or blog and just make it as-is. The creative juices are always flowing, and it’s just somehow beyond us to leave well-enough alone.

Hypocrites. But if we screw up someone else’s recipe, we keep it to ourselves. And if we change it and make a new, awesome recipe, we share it with all of our readers, as well as tell them about our awesome blogger friend who has another awesome recipe that inspired this awesome recipe, and you really need to make both.

So anyway, my food blogger tendencies make me a pretty crappy cookbook reviewer. But I have to tell you about the recipes I made (both as-is and with a few tweaks) from The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook written by my friend Mary of Barefeet in the Kitchen…

This cookbook is perfect for those crazy weeknights when you want to make a delicious and nutritious dinner for the family, but you have to work with the time you’ve got before heading out the door or tackling homework. And sometimes when you have no time, you also have to work with what you’ve got in the kitchen because you can’t get to the store. I love that the recipes in The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook are incredible as written, but also can provide a jumping off point for wherever your inspiration takes you.

The chapters are broken down into how long it takes to prepare each recipe, and there’s even a chapter for recipes that only require a few minutes of hands-on time, and then are left alone to bake, simmer, or slow cook. Plus it’s got sides, staples, and simples sweets. One extra bonus with all of the recipes in the book as well as on Mary’s site is that she gives gluten free options for everything, including flour substitutions in the baked goods!

For my little fish lovers, I made the Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Broccoli, which had so much flavor with just a few simple ingredients, though I did steam the broccoli a bit before putting it in the oven because my family likes it a little softer. For taco night, I swapped chicken in for the Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork Recipe (Hubby can’t eat much pork), and it was amazing. Plus, since I was only making a couple pounds of chicken and the recipe is for four pounds of pork, I kept half of the seasoning mixture aside which I actually used on some ground beef for another round of tacos just the other day. And the Chocolate Chip Pound Cake is to-die-for! I messed up and didn’t grease my bundt pan properly (when they say grease and flour a bundt pan, they mean it. Cooking spray doesn’t cut it), so I turned it into a trifle, but you better believe I was sneaking pieces as I was layering it with pudding and whipped cream. Mary’s gluten free substitutions are so spot-on that I actually used the ratios in this pound cake recipe to convert another recipe I found into this Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Cake.

Guys, I have so many stickers and post-its for other recipes I will be trying soon. Everything from Sweet Chipotle Chicken Bites and Korean Beef with Quick Asian Pickles to Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf and Never-Fail Blondies (I’m thinking of adding white chocolate chips and toffee bits). And I sent my mom the recipe for Cheesy Southwest Beef and Potato Skillet because she loves Tex Mex, and it’s basically a kicked-up version of the Beef Potato Skillet Supper we have loved for years. There’s a photo of every recipe, and they all look mouthwatering!

One recipe I did make as-is (well, almost), were her BBQ Chicken Tostadas…

Anything that combines barbecue sauce, chicken, and cheese is going to be a winner in my house, and these BBQ Chicken Tostadas were no exception. I had baked up some extra chicken breasts a couple days prior, knowing that I was going to make these, but you could easily grab a rotisserie chicken from the store, or, as Mary suggests, cook a big bunch of boneless, skinless chicken in your slow cooker to use all week.

So I shredded that chicken, tossed it in some sauce, piled it on the tostadas, covered with cheese, baked, and drizzled some more barbecue sauce. It’s as simple as that. And let me tell you, I think they were eaten just as quickly as they were made! A simple salad or some frozen veggies on the side, and you have a meal the family will love in no time at all.

Now as I said, I almost made the recipe as-is. The only difference was that I had corn tortillas, and, I’ll be honest, did not know you could buy tostada shells in the store already crisped up. So I brushed the tortillas lightly with little oil and baked them for three or four minutes on each side. Worked perfectly! And in these photos I made them with mozzarella, as per Mary’s recipe, but I have also made them with sharp cheddar, and they are equally delicious. Also,  I’ll be honest, I totally skipped the green onions on top because my boys don’t like them.

So make sure you head to the bookstore or Amazon to pick up your copy of The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook so you can read through it while you are munching on these BBQ Chicken Tostadas.

Here are some other awesome recipes I’ve made from my friends’ cookbooks…

• Mediterranean Chicken Pinwheels
• Home-Style Shrimp Bowls
• No-Bake Nut-Free Granola Bars

And some more recipes from The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook…

• Fish Tacos with Jalapeno Lime Sauce from Your Home Based Mom
• Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner from The Little Kitchen
• Sweet Chipotle Chicken Bites from Noble Pig

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Get the cookbook!!

And then make this BBQ Chicken Tostadas recipe…

4 from 1 vote

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BBQ Chicken Tostadas

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

8 mins

Total Time

18 mins

 

Pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store, use up leftovers, or even make a new batch in your slow cooker to make this easy dinner recipe the family will love.

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Calories: 693 kcal

Author: Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 8 tostada shells or 8 corn tortillas, brushed lightly with olive oil and baked for 3-5 minutes per side, until crispy
• 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• 1 1/2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce, divided
• 2 cups shredded cheese (Mary uses mozzarella in the cookbook, but I have also used cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a blend)
• 3 green onions, very thinly sliced (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lay out the tostada shells (or baked tortillas) on two rimmed baking sheets.
2. Combine the chicken and 1 cup of the barbecue sauce in a small bowl, and stir to coat.

3. Divide the chicken between the tostada shells and top with the cheese (about ¼ cup on each).

4. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
5. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the remaining ½ cup barbecue sauce. Sprinkle with green onions, if desired.

Nutrition Facts

BBQ Chicken Tostadas

Amount Per Serving (2 tostadas)

Calories 693 Calories from Fat 297

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 33g 51%

Saturated Fat 13g 65%

Cholesterol 107mg 36%

Sodium 1730mg 72%

Potassium 554mg 16%

Total Carbohydrates 66g 22%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 36g

Protein 31g 62%

Vitamin A 16.5%

Vitamin C 4.5%

Calcium 35.9%

Iron 13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy!