BBQ Chicken Tostadas

Crispy corn tortillas topped with a saucy BBQ chicken mixture, crunchy shredded cabbage, cheese and jalapeno Ranch dressing. These easy BBQ Chicken Tostadas are a super satisfying busy day meal!

I’ve been pretty focused on Thanksgiving recipes around here lately but today I’m taking a quick break from the bird to bring you this easy, delicious dinner idea. We’ll get back to more holiday meal ideas soon but first, let’s talk about these tostadas.

Mexican food is my absolute comfort food and for some reason, it’s what I desire most when I’m stressed and exhausted which is kind of a constant state at this time of year. I so need a day off, then I get a day off and what do I do? I fill it with about a thousand tasks. I really don’t know what is wrong with me.

I’m dreaming of one of those days where you never really pull yourself together. Keep the comfy clothes on, no makeup, and then some great movie comes on and you get completely involved in it. You never even step outside. It’s probably not in the cards at this time of year but a girl can dream.

At the very least, I try to squeeze some simple meals like this into my menu each week. This is a “give yourself a break” dinner. Very little prep, simple to prepare, and ready in 30 minutes. Considering how much time I spend in the kitchen over the holidays, I’m making an effort to give myself a break with meals like this as often as possible.

Let’s get cookin’.

Cut four boneless, skinless chicken breasts into small, bite-sized pieces.

You’ll need these three items close by. Your favorite hot or mild BBQ sauce, my all-time favorite all-purpose seasoning blend – Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, and fresh ground pepper.

Coat a large saute pan with vegetable oil and place it over medium high heat. Add the chicken. I can’t even express how much I LOVE this Gastrolux pan. My other pans are jealous of my feelings for this pan.

Season the chicken with the Lawry’s and fresh ground pepper. See the recipe below for the exact measurements.

When the chicken is cooked through, add the BBQ sauce, bring it to a good simmer and then turn the heat down a bit. We’re going to let this mixture cook down and thicken up a bit while we prepare the tortillas.

To fry the tortillas, add a generous amount of vegetable oil to a medium frying pan and place it over medium high heat. When the oil is nice and hot, but before it begins to smoke, carefully slide in a tortilla and let it sizzle for about a minute.

Flip the tortilla and let it cook on the other side for another minute or so. You want it nicely browned and crisp.

Transfer the cooked tortilla to a double layer of paper towels and let it drain. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas, adding additional vegetable oil as needed.

If you’d prefer a no-oil method to prepare your tortillas, check out my instructions.

For the toppings we’ll need some finely shredded green cabbage. I’m going with the bagged variety. I’m tired. I don’t have the energy to shred cabbage.

This Litehouse Jalapeno Ranch is fabulous and it is absolutely perfect on this tostada. I find it in the produce section of my grocery store with the other refrigerated salad dressings. If you can’t find it, it’s fine to sub another brand. There are all kinds of flavored ranch dressings that would be yummy on this. You’ll also need some shredded sharp cheddar and Monterey jack cheese.

Look how beautiful our saucy, BBQ chicken is. We’re ready to assemble our tostadas. It’s easiest to let everyone line up and build their own.

Grab a crispy tortilla and top it with a good spoonful of the BBQ chicken.

A little cheese.

Some of the shredded green cabbage.

Drizzle on some of the Jalapeno Ranch Dressing. Mmmm.

And, I think a little more cheese over the top is in order.

Dinner is ready in 30 minutes, and it is absolutely delicious.