Microwave chicken tinga tostadas
Smoky chipotle chicken piled on tortillas crisped right in the microwave, with beans, lettuce and crumbly queso fresco, a Mexico City favorite for about two and a half dollars.
- 18 min total
- 12 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 1
- About $2.48 a serving
- 500 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 1 servings.
- 3 corn tortillas
- 1 chipotle peppers in adobo, 1 pepper plus a little of its sauce
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- ¾ cup canned chicken breast, drained
- ⅓ cup vegetarian refried beans
- ½ cup shredded lettuce
- ¼ cup queso fresco
- 1 tbsp sour cream (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- 1 pinch salt
Each serving has about 500 calories, 35 g protein, 54 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $2.48 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No shredded lettuce? Iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce works.
- No queso fresco? Cotija cheese or feta cheese works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Rub both sides of each tortilla with a little oil using your fingers and lay them on a microwave-safe plate lined with a paper towel.
Microwave 1½ minutes, flip them over, and microwave 1 to 1½ minutes more, until stiff and starting to .
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: They keep crisping as they cool. If one is still bendy after a minute, give it 20 seconds more on its own.Mash the chipotle pepper with the fork in a microwave-safe bowl, then stir in the tomato sauce, onion powder, oregano and salt.
Dolly’s tip: One pepper gives a warm, smoky kick. Freeze the rest of the can flat in a bag and break off a pepper when you need one.Add the chicken, pulling it into shreds with the fork, then cover and microwave 2 minutes, until bubbling.
Timer: 2 min
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Microwave the refried beans in a mug for 45 seconds and stir until smooth.
Timer: 45 sec
Spread the beans over the crisp tortillas and pile the chicken on top.
Top with the lettuce, the queso fresco over with your fingers, and add the sour cream.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Food safety: If you’re pregnant, buy queso fresco labeled “made with pasteurized milk,” and for extra care, warm it until it’s steaming hot.
Eat them right away, holding each one flat like a little plate.
Dolly’s tip: Tostadas crack when you bite. That’s the fun part, so eat over the plate.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
