These little guys…wow. Amazing. Crispy and with less than half the amount of oil you would use when you are deep frying. That’s because these bad boys went in the OVEN!

With fresh guac, shredded chicken, yummy corn, cotija cheese, and a little lime crema with *greek yogurt*. Cotija cheese is a Mexican dry grating cheese made with cow’s milk and is similar to Parmesan. Go find Cotija, its worth it for this dish and lasts in the fridge for a good amount of time. If you don’t have Cotija, feel free to swap it out for Monterey Jack or a Mexican cheese blend.

Now for the crema. Fun fact, I absolutely hate sour cream. So none of that here, we’re going with greek yogurt! Because that, I definitely do not hate. And on the plus side, it is a little bit healthier for you. Obviously, you can use sour cream, if you reaaally wanted to.

For the chicken seasoning, recipe below, any combo of Mexican spices can work for this dish. You can add/remove anything based on whats in your pantry. Get creative with it. If you have a pre-made Mexican seasoning, use it!

I love this meal so much because it can be completely customizable to what you like/have. Don’t like chicken thighs? No problem, swap in a breast or two.

OVEN-BAKED TOSTADA WITH CHICKEN

Servings: 2 (4 tostadas)

For the Tostadas:

4 yellow corn tortillas
olive oil
guacamole or avocado
2 oz. Cotija cheese, crumbled
4 lime wedges, to serve

For the Shredded Chicken:

1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 boneless, skin-less, chicken thighs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 roma tomato, diced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1/4 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup chicken stock

For Crema:

1/4 cup low-fat greek yogurt
1 lime, juiced & zested
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 °F. Start by mixing the salt, cumin, chili powder, and paprika together in a small bowl. Rub the mix liberally on the chicken thighs. Add olive oil to a sauté pan then cook chicken thighs for about 5 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Add diced tomato, corn, and onion slices. Sauté for about 5 minutes until onions become translucent and tomatoes become soft. Add chicken stock and return the chicken thighs back to the pan to bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, lower heat to medium and cover for about 10 minutes until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165/170 °F.
2. While the chicken is cooking, spray or brush the tortillas with olive oil liberally. Add to the oven, cook for 7 minutes and then turn it over to the other side. Cook for another 5 minutes for a total of 12 minutes. Tostadas are finished when they turn golden-brown.
3. Once chicken is cooked through, remove from pan, shred, and return back to the pan. Lower the heat to low just to keep warm.
4. Make the crema by combining the greek yogurt, lime juice, lime zest and salt in a small bowl.
5. Assemble the tostadas by adding guacamole or avocado to the bottom, add the shredded chicken mixture, top with the grated Cotija cheese and drizzle with the crema.
6. Enjoy!