Quick and Easy Shrimp Tostadas
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Shrimp tostadas offer an incredible meal, ideal for summer days. They're light and fresh with bold flavor and easy to make. Knowing this dish's basics really lets you see how simple yet flavorful it is.
If you're looking for more Mexican food inspiration, you might also love this flavorful steak fajita recipe or this stuffed peppers recipe that's guaranteed to satisfy your cravings for bold and smoky Mexican food. This roasted corn salsa and this mango pico de gallo also work so well with the shrimp.
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⭐️ Why these shrimp tostadas need to be on your meal plan?
- Quick and easy: This tostada recipe is a lifesaver for those busy weeknights when you need a quick yet delicious meal. It takes just around 40 minutes from start to finish!
- Customizable: Tostadas are incredibly flexible. You can choose from a plethora of toppings and switch up the proteins according to your preference.
- Interactive Dining Experience: Making tostadas is a fun, hands-on activity. This makes it a fantastic recipe for family dinners or gatherings where everyone can assemble their own tostadas to their liking.
What is a Tostada?
A tostada, meaning ‘toasted’ in Spanish, is a Mexican dish featuring a flat, crispy tortilla. Often compared to tacos, tostadas are distinguished by their open-faced presentation, offering the perfect canvas for bold and fresh toppings.
🧾Essential ingredients for shrimp tostadas
- Tostada Shells: These crunchy tortilla bases are key to your dish. They can be store-bought or homemade by baking or frying tortillas. They offer the perfect crunch that contrasts beautifully with the soft toppings.
- Protein: Ground beef lends a meaty, hearty note to your tostada and is traditional. Alternatively, you can also try other proteins like shrimp or chicken for a twist.
- Toppings: You can choose from a wide array of toppings - Iceberg lettuce, avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese (cotija or queso fresco), guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and lime wedges. These ingredients offer freshness, color, and a burst of flavors that make your tostadas a party on a plate!
See recipe card for quantities.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make Tostadas: Step By step
- Ingredients and Preparation
- The key to a delicious shrimp tostada lies in its ingredients. Fresh shrimp, a mix of vegetables like lettuce, corn, tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado, paired with the right seasonings, create a perfect balance of taste and texture.
- Marinating the Shrimp
- Marinating is crucial! Combining shrimp with olive oil, chili powder, garlic, and salt infuses it with flavor. This step shouldn't be rushed to ensure the shrimp absorbs the essence of the spices. *But don't over do it, or the acid from the lime juice will make the shrimp meat rubbery.
- Assembling the Tostada
- The assembly is where creativity shines. Layering the crispy tostada with the salad mix, adding the marinated shrimp, and topping it off with cheese like cojita or feta brings the dish together.
Cooking Tips
Why not play around with how you cook the shrimp? Pan-frying or grilling both add their own unique twist to the flavor. And if you're feeling adventurous, making your own tostadas can add a really personal touch to the meal. When it comes to enjoying your creation, pairing it with a bubbly lime or watermelon margarita can really take the experience up a notch. It's all about having fun and savoring each bite!
Hint: Finely chop your toppings to avoid overloading your tostada. It ensures a balanced flavor in every bite and makes the tostadas less messy to eat.
🍯 Storage
- Fridge
- Assembled tostadas are best consumed immediately, but you can store leftover toppings separately in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freezer
- Assembled tostadas are not suitable for freezing as the texture of the ingredients can deteriorate upon thawing.
- Reheat
- If you have leftover ground beef, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat it in a microwave or on the stovetop.
❓FAQ
A tostada is a flat, crispy tortilla topped with various ingredients. A tortilla is a thin bread made from corn or wheat, while a taco is typically a tortilla wrapped or folded around a filling.
For the best texture, it's recommended to assemble tostadas right before eating. However, you can prep all your ingredients ahead of time – cook your meat, chop your veggies, and have your shells toasted and ready. Assemble when you're ready to serve and enjoy!
To prevent your tostadas from getting soggy, ensure your tortillas are thoroughly toasted or fried to get a good crunch. Also, be mindful of wet toppings – drain your salsas well and consider placing wetter ingredients, like tomatoes, further away from the shell.
Related
Looking for other light and easy recipes like this? Try these:
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Quick and Easy Shrimp Tostadas
Ingredients
- 14 oz (397 g) of fresh prawns, peeled and deveined
- 8 (8) tostada shells
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) of lime juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 7 oz (200 g) refried beans
- 1 (1) avocado, sliced
- 3.5 oz (100 g) iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 1 (1) medium tomato, diced
- 1.7 oz (50 g) of cotija cheese, or feta cheese if cotija is unavailable
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preparation of Prawns: In a medium bowl, toss the prawns with olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
Cooking the prawns
- Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the prawns and sauté until they are pink and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Warming the Tostada Shells
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Place the tostada shells on a baking tray and warm in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. Be mindful not to let them brown.
Assembly of Tostadas
- Spread a layer of refried beans on each warm tostada shell. Top with a layer of shredded lettuce, followed by the cooked prawns, diced tomato, and avocado slices.
Final Touches
- Crumble cotija cheese over each tostada, sprinkle with fresh cilantro, and serve with lime wedges on the side.
This looks so good! Thanks for sharing on our Taco Tuesday link up!