BBQ Chicken Tostadas

BBQ Chicken Tostadas make the ultimate easy and tasty meal for busy weeknights or for days where you just don’t feel like cooking! Made with only five ingredients, these tostadas can be whipped together in less than 30 minutes! Use store-bought or homemade BBQ sauce for a flavourful meal the whole family will love! {gluten-free}

Dinner doesn’t get much easier than these BBQ Chicken Tostadas! I mean, can you really go wrong with a 5-ingredient recipe?! This is the type of recipe that makes all tired and busy moms rejoice.

Not only are these tostadas incredibly quick to throw together, but they also require minimal ingredients and are a good option for both picky eaters and food lovers alike!

Pair these tostadas with a refreshing salad like this No-Mayo Creamy Cranberry & Walnut Coleslaw for a balanced and healthy meal!

For more BBQ recipes, be sure to try these Grilled BBQ Chicken Thighs and Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches!

Ingredient Notes

• Tortillas – You can use small flour or corn tortillas or store-bought crispy tortilla shells, depending on your preference.
• Shredded Chicken – Prepare using desired method. Read on below for suggestions.
• BBQ sauce – use home-made or store-bought or a combination of both! Look for one that’s lower in sugar with minimally processed ingredients.
• Cheese – Use grated mozzarella, Swiss cheese, Havarti, Monterey Jack or other desired cheese or skip altogether for a dairy-free option.

Step by Step Instructions

How to Make Shredded Chicken

There are a number of different ways to make the shredded chicken required for this recipe, all of which are super easy to prepare! Take your pick using any of the strategies below!

Slow cooker: Place chicken breasts in a slow cooker and cook on high for 2-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours. Shred using two forks.

Instant pot: Add the chicken breasts and chicken stock to the bowl of your pressure cooker. Arrange the chicken breasts so that they are spread out in an even layer. Cover and set the pressure cooker lid valve to “sealing.”  Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes, followed by a 5 minute natural release, followed by a quick release (carefully flip the valve to “venting”) to release whatever pressure remains. Remove the lid and use two forks to shred the chicken.

Boil chicken breasts: Place chicken breasts in a pot of boiling water and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes until cooked through. Shred chicken.

Use a rotisserie chicken: The easiest method is to purchase a pre-made rotisserie chicken or make one yourself and simply remove the chicken from the bone.

How to Make Crispy Tortilla Shells

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Evenly distribute the tortillas on a baking sheet.

Brush with a little bit of olive oil. Bake for 5-10 minutes per side. You’ll want to check them frequently to make sure they don’t burn.

Alternatively, you can buy crispy tostada shells at the store. I always have a hard time finding these in the store, so I tend to make my own.

How to Make Chicken Tostadas

Once you’ve prepared the crispy shells and shredded chicken, it’s time to assemble the tostadas!

In a large bowl, mix together three cups of shredded chicken with one cup of the BBQ sauce.

Evenly distribute the crispy tortilla shells on a baking sheet (you may wish to use two if they don’t all fit).

Evenly divide the BBQ chicken among the crispy tortilla shells. Top with equal amounts of the shredded cheese.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Drizzle remaining BBQ sauce over each tostada and garnish with diced green onion, if desired. Serve warm.

Recipe tips:

• Make up a batch of the shredded chicken in advance for a super fast meal.
• Use freshly grated cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains preservatives like potato starch and natamycin, which are added to help prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag. That also means they don’t melt together as well when cooking. Freshly grated cheese, on the other hand, lacks those additives so for ooey gooey melted cheese, opt for freshly grated.
• If using store-bought BBQ sauce, try to find one that contains minimally processed ingredients and is lower in sugar. We often go to the natural section of the grocery store and tend to find healthier options there.

Recipe FAQs

What type of BBQ sauce should I use?

For the purpose of this recipe, you can use either homemade or store-bought BBQ sauce.

The first time we made these tostadas, I used a combination of both. I mixed the chicken in with some of this leftover healthier homemade BBQ sauce that we had and then drizzled some store-bought BBQ sauce on top to give the tostadas a bit more of a smoky flavour.

The second time, I made them using a lower sugar store-bought BBQ sauce. Both times, they were equally good!

Storage guidelines

These tostadas are best consumed fresh out of the oven since the tortilla shell tends to soften when stored in the fridge. That being said, they still taste good even after being in the fridge, so if you’d like to store the leftovers, you can refrigerate them for up to four days.

To reheat: Place the tostadas in the oven at 350 degrees F and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until tortilla gets crispy.

Can I make these in advance?

Rather than making the tostadas in advance, I would recommend making up the BBQ chicken mixture ahead of time and preparing the tostadas when ready to serve, as they taste best fresh out of the oven. You can store the BBQ chicken mixture in the fridge for up to four days and in the freezer for up to a month.

When you’re ready to serve, simply place chicken on tortilla shell, top with cheese, bake and top with additional BBQ sauce and chopped green onion and you have supper on the table in record time!

Serving suggestions:

Because this recipe doesn’t contain any vegetables, I highly recommend serving along with a side of raw, roasted or steamed veggies or a cool and refreshing salad.

These tostadas pair well with any of the following vegetable side dishes:

• Kale Salad with Cranberries
• No-Mayo Broccoli Apple Salad
• Roasted Beet & Carrot Kale Salad
• Asian Cucumber Salad
• Blueberry Mandarin Broccoli Salad
• Blueberry Walnut Salad with Lemon Dressing
• Asparagus & Tomato Salad
• Spiralized Greek Cucumber Salad

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• Mini Chicken Avocado Quesadillas
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• Curried Pumpkin Chicken Soup
• Cashew Pesto Chicken
• Chicken Spinach Pita Pizza

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