Shrimp Tostadas

5 from 1 vote

Mini Shrimp Tostadas, made with crisp corn tortilla rounds, beans, salsa, and sauteed jumbo shrimp, are an easy appetizer perfect for parties or game day.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: tostadas

Author: Krissy Allori

Ingredients

To fry the tortillas:

15 corn tortillas
1/2 cup vegetable oil

To cook the shrimp:

2 tablespoons butter
10 ounces raw jumbo shrimp shells and tail removed, deveined
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup refried beans
1 cup salsa
1/2 large avocado
cilantro and fresh lime for garnish

Instructions

Fry the tortillas:

Using a round 3" cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut enough tortilla rounds from the 15 corn tortillas for the amount of shrimp you have. Save tortilla scraps for another meal like an enchilada casserole. (Note: You don't have to make appetizer sized rounds. You can fry the entire tortillas to serve these tostadas as a meal.)
In a heavy 9" skillet, heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil over medium high heat. Ideally you want to maintain an oil temperature of 350°F. Once the oil is hot enough where a small piece of one of your scraps boils when added (this is a good way to test), add a single layer of rounds and fry on both sides until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel. Repeat until all of your rounds have been fried.

Cook the shrimp:

Leaving a thin layer of oil in the pan to cook the shrimp, pour the excess remaining oil in the pan through a fine mesh strainer and refrigerate in an air tight container for future use.
Over medium high heat, melt the 2 tablespoons butter with the 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the 10 ounces raw jumbo shrimp in a single layer and cook until the tops start to look a very opaque pink, 4-5 minutes. Turn them over and continue cooking another 2-5 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat and place the shrimp in a bowl loosely tented with foil to keep them warm.

To assemble the tostadas:

Add a small amount of beans from the 1 cup refried beans to each tostada round. You can spoon them on, but I added them to a sandwich bag, snipped off the corner, and piped them on like I would frosting. (Note: if you're making full sized tostadas you will likely need the entire can of beans)
Spoon a layer of salsa from the 1 cup salsa on top of the beans.
Thinly slice the 1/2 large avocado and add some to each tostada.
Top each mini tostada with a shrimp. Again, if you're making full sized tostadas, you can put however many you want onto each one. Top with chopped cilantro and fresh lime, if desired.
These appetizers can be eaten cold or, if preferred, warm in 300 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through prior to serving.

Notes

Nutritional value based on using all of the corn tortillas (not just the rounds) and I reduced the amount of oil used to fry the tortillas since it will not all be consumed. As always, this is just an estimate.

If making full sized tostadas, you will either need to fry fewer tortillas or increase all of the other ingredients. The original intent of this recipe was to make bite sized shrimp tostada appetizers but the recipe can easily be adapted to make an entire meal.

Nutrition