A tostada is a deep fried tortilla. Oil acts as an effective medium for heat transfer inside the tortilla, creating a tasty and crunchy tostada. However, there is another way to get a crisp and flavorful tostada without the deep frying.
Most of the time, a tostada is deep fried with low quality oils at a manufacturing plant. Although, most manufacturing plants follow some guidelines for oil quality, these standards are outdated. When the oil is used batch after batch, the oil starts deteriorating, creating harmful chemicals that are detrimental to your health.
So, not only does oven baked tostadas prevents you from ingesting such low quality oils but they have less calories.
Ever since I’ve found the right temperature for oven-baked tostadas, I haven’t gone back to buying the deep fried kind. They come out perfectly crisp, and the corn flavor intensifies.
Method
To make them, preheat your oven at 400 °F (205 °C). While the oven is heating up, place the tortillas on a baking sheet, making sure they don’t overlap.
If using a half a sheet pan, you can fit 6 tortillas. Only place 1 sheet pan at a time.
Place the tortillas in the oven and set your timer for 14 minutes.
This time and temperature is what works in my oven for one sheet pan at a time. Some ovens have cold or hot spots and the exact right temperature can vary. I suggest to aim at 14 minutes. If you decide they need a little bit more time in the oven, do one minute more only. At this point, the tortillas burn faster and can burn in less than 2 more minutes, so watch them carefully.
Take the tortillas out of the oven and enjoy with my instant pot chicken Tinga!
