Avocado Shrimp Tostadas

5 from 4 votes

These Avocado Shrimp Tostadas are loaded with creamy avocado, spicy shrimp, refried beans, charred corn, and pico de gallo for an easy 20-minute Mexican-inspired dinner.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: people

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Ingredients

4 small corn tortillas
½ cup vegetable oil
3 ripe avocados
3 tablespoons chopped chives
1 lime juiced
1 cup refried beans
2 ears of corn grilled and kernels removed
½ pound medium sized shrimp peeled and de-veined
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ cup pico de gallo
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat until almost smoking. Add the tortillas into the oil, one at a time, and fry on each side for about 2 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Remove with tongs and set aside to dry on a paper towel. Repeat process with other corn tortillas.
In a small bowl, place the avocado and chives and lime juice. Mash with a fork, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Toss the shrimp with the cayenne and garlic powder as well as salt and pepper. Sauté in a medium skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until pink and cooked.
Spread the ¼ cup of refried beans on top of each tortilla.
Sprinkle on the charred corn
Spread a layer of the mashed avocado chive mixture on top.
Top the mashed avocado with the pico
Finish with a few shrimp.
Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

Fry your tortillas in oil that is almost smoking, not just warm. Corn tortillas need high heat to blister and crisp quickly. If the oil is too cool, the tortilla absorbs it and turns greasy and soft instead of shattering crispy.
Drain your fried tostada shells on a paper towel in a single layer. Stacking them while hot traps steam between the shells, which softens the bottoms and defeats the whole point of frying them yourself.
Mash the avocado with a fork, not a blender or food processor. You want a chunky, textured spread here, not a smooth puree. The irregular pieces hold up better on the tostada and give every bite more substance.
Add the lime juice to the avocado mash immediately after cutting. Lime juice slows oxidation by lowering the pH at the surface of the avocado flesh. This keeps your mash green and fresh-looking even if you are prepping ahead.
Pat your shrimp completely dry before tossing them with the spices. Surface moisture on shrimp creates steam in the pan, which prevents the cayenne and garlic powder from forming a proper crust and leads to rubbery, gray shrimp instead of nicely seared ones.
Cook the shrimp in a single layer and do not crowd the pan. Crowding drops the pan temperature and causes the shrimp to steam rather than sear. Work in two batches if needed. Two minutes per side is all it takes.
Warm your refried beans before spreading them. Cold beans are stiff and tear the tostada shell when you try to spread them. Warm beans spread in an even, smooth layer and act as the glue that holds all your toppings in place.
Grill the corn before removing the kernels. Char on the corn adds a smoky sweetness that balances the heat from the cayenne shrimp. Plain boiled or canned corn does not bring that same depth of flavor to the final tostada.
Build your tostadas in the correct order: beans, corn, avocado, pico, shrimp. Starting with refried beans as the base layer anchors everything above it. The avocado going on after the corn keeps the shrimp from sliding off the top.
Serve tostadas within five minutes of assembling them. The moisture from the beans, avocado, and pico de gallo will soften and eventually crack the fried shell if it sits too long. Assembly is the last step, always.
Set up a tostada bar with all toppings in separate bowls when entertaining. This keeps every component at its best texture until guests are ready to eat, and it means you are not assembling 10 tostadas at once while trying to be a host.

Nutrition (estimated)