Kitchen Basics: Making Baked Tostadas

If you have time, making tostadas at home is way more economical than buying them at the store. All it takes is two sheet trays, corn tortillas, and time. You can also make tostadas by frying the tortillas in oil (and they are crazy good), but that's not super healthy eating, is it? Baking the tostadas removes fat from the equation and yields a very good result.

Raw Tortillas on a Sheet Tray

For every two half sheet trays, you can make 8 tostadas, plenty for two people. Lay out the tortillas as you see in the photo above, with three tortillas down each side of the pan and the other two tortillas in the middle, overlapping those on the edges.

Keep the Tortillas Flat

Keep the tortillas flat during cooking by covering them with another sheet tray.

First Turn at 15 Minutes

Place in moderate oven (350F) for fifteen minutes. Remove and flip all the tortillas. This will give the water vapor a chance to evaporate and help dry the tostadas. Notice that the tortillas have shrunk to the point where there is almost no overlap.

Second Turn at 30 Minutes

Return the covered tortillas to the oven for another fifteen minutes. Then remove them and flip them once again. You'll be able to judge how dry they are at this point and make an estimate of how much longer they need to cook. I notice timing differences if I am using the bottom shelf (near the flame) or the top shelf (away from the flame). How fresh the tortillas are (how much water they contain) also influences cook time as well as how full the oven is. It takes longer if I am also cooking another tray of tostadas or something else simultaneously.

Finished and Cooling at 37-40 Minutes

Once the tortillas are done to the point where they are crisp without being burnt, pull them out and uncover them to let them finish evaporating any remaining water while they cool. Once they have cooled to room temperature, you can store them for very long periods in a tightly sealed container. Humidity is the bane of tostadas, so keep them well-sealed if you are not going to eat them in short order.