Tostada Shells From Scratch
Add some serious from scratch flair to your favorite tostadas by making your own Tostada Shells From Scratch with just 3 simple ingredients and a little bit of time! Baked or fried, these crispy shells are fun to make and delicious to eat!
Use them to make our Loaded Beef Tostadas!
Crispy, delicious, and so fun to make! Our Tostada Shells From Scratch are so easy and can be baked or fried for the classic crunchy base of a variety of different Mexican-Inspired meals and tostadas! With only three ingredients and just a little bit of time, you can skip the store-bought and make your own for all of your favorite tostadas – just wait until you see our favorite way to use them!
Ingredients Needed
- Masa Harina – You can use white harina as well (sometimes labeled “instant”); we prefer the color of the yellow because it provides that more classic look, but white masa harina will taste the same.
- Water – Cool water is best.
- Salt – Just a touch of fine ground salt.
Now, of course, if you already have a batch of our Homemade Corn Tortillas, then you can skip straight to the baking or frying instructions!
Helpful Tools
(Amazon affiliate links)- You can find all of my kitchen essentials here!
Kitchen Scale – Not required, but definitely helpful! By using a kitchen scale, you can weigh out each of the dough balls so that they’re all the same size. Again, not necessary, but this is one of my most used kitchen tools that’s totally worth the cost and really crucial for baking!
Tortilla Press – Also not required, but it will make your life so much easier! If you don’t have one, you can of course use a rolling pin or a big round pan to press down on the dough so that they’re pressed into thin, large rounds. But this press will make it so much easier and totally worth the investment if you think you’re going to be making them more in your future!
Large Non-stick skillet or Griddle Pan – The most important thing is that you have a nice flat surface to give the tortillas a quick cook, whether that’s on your favroite non stick skillet or griddle pan. You’ll also want a large skillet to fry the tostadas in.
Cooling Racks – This is key to ensuring that your freshly fried tostadas cool well and don’t get soggy.
Instant Read Thermometer – Optional, but it will help make sure that your oil is nice and hot. You can also use the wooden spoon test – see recipe notes!
Mixing Bowls – We love these glass mixing bowls and use them for everything!
Baking Sheet – If baking for a healthier tostada shell.
So Simple to Make
Make Corn Tortillas
The first step in making Tostada Shells From Scratch is to make the tortilla dough, and it couldn’t get any easier. Just mix the masa and salt, add water, and mix into a dough.
Separate Dough and Press
This recipe makes about 16 tostadas, and the tortilla press makes the pressing of the rounds so easy! Plus, it’s really fun for kids to use!
Tortilla Pressing Tips
Round Dough Balls – Be sure to first roll your dough into a nice, smooth ball. This will ensure that your tortillas press into nice, even rounds.
Place in Upper Center – While it may seem like you should add the dough ball to the very center of the press, you actually want to place it more toward the center top of the press. This will ensure that when you press the tortilla, you’ll fill the whole press. Otherwise, at the handle (where you’re applying the pressure), you may have some of the tortilla round spill out.
Plastic Wrap – I know, I don’t like the idea of using plastic wrap when it doesn’t seem necessary, but in my opinion, it’s necessary here. It prevents sticking and will make this process go so much faster.
No Press, No Problem – A rolling pin or the bottom of a large, heavy skillet or saucepan will do the trick, too! Plastic wrap either on the dough if rolling or on the skillet if pressing into a flat round will help to reduce sticking and make your life much easier.
All pressed and ready to be cooked!
Cook Tortillas
In order for the best tostadas, you definitely need to cook the corn tortillas first. We recipe tested skipping this step, but nope, you need cooked tortillas first. Which is no problem, they cook very, very quickly. Just add them to or on a big flat skillet or on a griddle, and 30-45 seconds on each side is all you need! Just be sure they’re cooked on a flat surface.
Fry or Bake!
Once all of the tortillas are cooked, you can either bake them in the oven or shallow fry them. While baked are much healthier (and still tasty), we definitely prefer fried for the more traditional Toasta Shell texture, color, and taste!
Toasta Shells From Scratch! Baked or Fried, both are delicious!
Our preferred way to make Toasta Shells From Scratch is definitely fried!
Although baked is also delicious and crispy, the flavor is just a little bit different, as the masa harina is much more present in taste. I still find them very tasty, and I love that they are healthier, but my family for sure prefers them fried as a vehicle for our favorite Mexican-Inspired recipes!
You Also Might Like
- Corn Tortillas and Chips From Scratch
- Flour Tortillas From Scratch
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Refried Beans From Scratch
- Easy Homemade Mexican Rice
- Baked Flautas de Pollo
- Loaded Beef Tostadas
Yes, a little more effort than just buying them from the store, but these Tostadas Shells From Scratch are fun to make and even better to eat when you know exactly what is in them!
Our favorite way to use our Tostada Shells From Scratch is our Loaded Beef Tostadas!
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Tostada Shells From Scratch
Equipment
- griddle pan or large skillet
- skillet for frying
- instant read thermometer optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina yellow or white, 264 g
- 1 1/3 cups water 10.6 fluid oz
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- vegetable oil or another neutral oil for frying
Instructions
- Create Dough: Add the masa harina and salt to a large bowl and mix. Add the water and mix until a dough forms.
- Separate: Separate the dough into 16 evenly sized pieces. The total weight of the dough will be about 20 oz, so each dough ball should be about 1.25 oz. Roll each into a ball.
- Press: Wrap a piece of plastic wrap to the top and the bottom of a tortilla press. Add one dough ball to the bottom of the press, about 1/3 of the way down from the top in the center (See recipe notes if you do not have a tortilla press). Press flat, and thin. Remove from the press and set aside and repeat for all dough balls.
- Cook Tortillas: Heat a flat griddle or large non stick skillet on medium high. Add pressed tortillas, as many as you can fit at a time without overlap and while keeping them flat. Repeat for all tortillas.
- Fry: Add paper towels to a flat surface and place the cooling rack over them. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat until it reaches 375℉. Add tortillas and fry for 90 seconds on one side before flipping and frying for another 90 seconds to 2 minutes on the other until they are nicely browned and crispy. Keep an eye on the oil so that it does not get too hot, turn down the heat as needed. Also, use tongs to keep the center of the tortillas under the oil if they float up a bit, this will ensure the middle of the shells are well fried and crispy, too.
- Cool: Add freshly fried tostada shells to cooling rack in a single layer to cool.
- Serve and Enjoy: Top with your favorites for your own truly from scratch tostadas!
Homemade tostada shells just hit different. Nothing beats that fresh crunch 😍🌮
SO true!! So glad you enjoyed them, Giangi!