BBQ Chicken Tostadas are one of the all-time easiest and most flavorful meals for busy weeknights or for days when you just don’t feel like cooking! Made with only five ingredients, these tostadas can be whipped together in less than 30 minutes! The sweet, smoky chicken tastes amazing under the melty cheese, and the crunchy tostada brings it all together. {Gluten-free}
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5 Ingredient BBQ Chicken Tostadas
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.
Plus, they require just a handful of ingredients and have winning flavors the whole family will love, like sweet BBQ sauce, tender chicken, and crunchy tortillas. Even picky eaters will ask for seconds!
For more BBQ recipes, be sure to try these Grilled BBQ Chicken Thighs and Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches!
Why We Love This BBQ Chicken Tostadas Recipe
- Easy way to use up leftover chicken
- Choose flour tortillas or your favorite corn tortillas to keep it gluten-free
- Perfect quick weeknight dinner!
- Family-favorite flavor combination
- Packed with protein
- Prep the components ahead of time to assemble and serve
- Non-traditional option for taco night
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 below.
- BBQ sauce: Use homemade BBQ sauce, your favorite store-bought brand, 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.
- Diced green onion: For a little freshness. Cilantro would be great, too!
How to Make Crispy Tortilla Shells
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Evenly distribute the tortillas on a baking sheet.
2. 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
1. Once you’ve prepared the crispy shells and shredded chicken, it’s time to assemble the tostadas!
2. In a large bowl, mix together three cups of shredded chicken with one cup of the BBQ sauce.
3. Evenly distribute the crispy tortilla shells on a baking sheet (you may wish to use two if they don’t all fit).
4.Evenly divide the BBQ chicken among the crispy tortilla shells. Top with equal amounts of the shredded cheese.
5. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until cheese has melted.
6. Drizzle remaining BBQ sauce over each tostada and garnish with diced green onion, if desired. Serve warm.
Scroll to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
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! Try this Dutch oven shredded chicken or 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.
Expert 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
For the purpose of this recipe, you can use either homemade or store-bought BBQ sauce. The first time I made these, 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 flavor. The next time, I made them using a lower sugar store-bought BBQ sauce. Both times, they were equally good!
Rather than making the tostadas in advance, I 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!
I like to buy the pre-toasted shells at the grocery store, but they’re hard to find! So instead, I lay them all out on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 375 F. Brush each one with a bit of olive oil and bake for 5-10 minutes per side. Watch them to make sure they don’t burn!
Storage & Reheating 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.
How to Eat Tostadas
These barbecue chicken tostadas can either be eaten out of your hand (best for smaller tortillas) or on a plate. The crispy tortilla shell can break apart when you start to eat it, so it helps to have a plate to hold anything that falls.
I find it easiest to hold the outside of the shell and curl it slightly upwards to hold any toppings in place while I take a bite. It also helps to add fewer toppings than you’d think, otherwise you can weigh down the shell and cause it to break apart.
Serving Suggestions
Because this chicken tostada 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
- Cranberry Walnut Coleslaw
- Broccoli Apple Salad No Mayo
- Roasted Beet Kale Salad
- Asian Cucumber Salad with Rice Vinegar
- Broccoli Salad without Bacon
- Blueberry Walnut Salad
- Asparagus Tomato Salad
- Spiralized Cucumber Salad
Recipe Variations
- Make nachos: Tostadas are like handheld nachos, so it makes perfect sense to take them in this direction. Sprinkle the BBQ chicken over a sheet pan of tortilla chips, then sprinkle generously with shredded cheese. Either bake at 400F or boil for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown. So good!
- Make BBQ chicken pizza: The sauce and toppings can also be used over pizza dough. Grab a bag of pizza dough from the store, shape it like normal, and cover with a thin layer of BBQ sauce. Sprinkle BBQ chicken on top then add the sauce and bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and fully baked.
- Go wild with toppings: Consider this recipe to be the starting point and make them your own! We also like these with black beans (which makes them more filling), sliced red onion, pickled jalapenos, and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro on top.
- Change the sauce: You can use any type of BBQ sauce you like, including mustard-based sauces, vinegar ones, and more. You can also replace the BBQ sauce with buffalo sauce for a bright heat!
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Crockpot Chicken Philly Cheesesteak
- Black Bean Tostadas
- Mini Chicken Quesadillas
- Chicken Spinach Pizza
- Pulled Pork with Homemade BBQ Sauce
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Quick & Easy BBQ Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients
- 8 small corn tortillas (can also sub in small whole-wheat tortillas)
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 1 1/3 cup BBQ sauce (can use homemade or store-bought), divided
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional garnishes
- Diced green onion
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spread tortillas out on a baking sheet (you may require two) and brush with a bit of olive oil. Bake for 5-10 minutes per side, or until tortillas are crispy.
- Meanwhile, mix together the shredded chicken and one cup of the BBQ sauce until evenly distributed.
- Evenly divide the BBQ chicken among the crispy tortilla shells. Top with equal amounts of 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.
Notes
- *Make up a batch of the shredded chicken in advance for a super fast meal.
- If using store-bought BBQ sauce, try to find one that’s lower in sugar. We often go to the natural section of the grocery store and tend to find lower sugar options there.
- Use freshly grated cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese, as it tends to melt better.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in April 2020 and was updated in October 2024 to include more helpful tips.
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