I've been getting so much mileage from these Chicken Chile Verde Tostadas recently!
You can make a big batch of the Chicken Chile Verde and then whip up these Tostadas for quick meals over the coming days.
It's a great way to have tasty meals on standby for rushed weeknights. Sound good?
How To Make Chicken Chile Verde Tostadas
Keep in mind that these Tostadas are flexible, so feel free to load them up with your preferred fixings!
But I always try to get people to start with a combo like this:
a thin layer of refried beans
a few tablespoons of Chicken Chile Verde
cheese
cilantro
a squeeze of lime
This simple combo is already delicious! Sure, you can load them up beyond that, but there's a good chance you won't want to 🙂
Okay, here's how to make the Chicken Chile Verde...
I'm still in the habit of brining when shredded chicken is called for, but feel free to cook the chicken as you see fit (or even use rotisserie chicken).
To brine the chicken, start by adding 1/2 cup Kosher or sea salt to a large mixing bowl along with 2 quarts of cold water. Stir to dissolve the salt and then add the chicken.
I used 3 boneless chicken breasts for this batch. That came out to about 2 lbs. worth.
Cover and let brine in the fridge for an hour or so. And yes, you can pull it out sooner if you're in a rush. I think even a half hour brine makes a difference, but there are people who get mad when I say that!
Once brined, the chicken will need about 20 minutes to cook in the oven (400F).
I usually put it on a baking sheet along with the tomatillos and Poblanos.
You'll need:
8-10 tomatillos (approx. 1 lb.)
2 smaller Poblanos (or 1 large one)
The Poblanos typically need a half hour or so to roast, so I usually pull the chicken out after about 20 minutes, and then give the Poblanos and tomatillos a few more minutes.
Once those are roasted you can de-seed the Poblanos and add them to a blender along with the tomatillos and:
1-3 Jalapenos
1/2 onion
4 peeled garlic cloves
15-20 sprigs cilantro
Give it a whirl and taste for heat.
For a milder batch, start with only a single Jalapeno. For more heat, simply add additional slivers of Jalapeno and re-blend. You can sub Serranos if that's what you have available.
Simmer the blender mixture over medium heat and add:
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano What is Mexican oregano?
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
freshly cracked black pepper
Add the shredded chicken to the Chile Verde sauce and combine well, taking a final taste for seasoning.
Note: if you brined the chicken you may not need to add additional salt at this stage.
Bring this up to temp and then it's ready to serve!
For this batch I started with home-baked tostada shells and added a thin layer of these refried beans:
I always have some of those refried beans in the fridge, but don't worry about making them specifically for this meal as the flavor of the beans isn't crucial for this recipe.
Then top with:
a few tablespoons of the Chicken Chile Verde
cheese (I used crumbled Queso Fresco)
freshly chopped cilantro
a final squeeze of lime
And they were dee-licious 🙂
Feel free to get creative with your Tostadas!
But don't sleep on this simple bean-n-cheese combo. The Chicken Chile Verde is exploding with flavor so you really don't need much beyond that.
Okay, I hope you try out these Chicken Chile Verde Tostadas. I think they max out the full potential of Tostadas, and I hope you'll agree!
Related posts:
How To Bake Your Own Tostada Shells
Jalapeno vs Serrano: What's the Difference?
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Chicken Chile Verde Tostadas
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken (approx. 3 boneless breasts)
- 8-10 tomatillos (approx. 1 lb.)
- 1 large Poblano (or 2 smaller Poblanos)
- 1-4 Jalapenos (or Serranos)
- 1/2 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 15-20 sprigs cilantro
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
- freshly cracked black pepper
For the Tostadas:
- 12-14 tostada shells
- 1-2 cups refried beans
- 1-2 cups cheese (I used crumbled Queso Fresco)
- freshly chopped cilantro
- lime
Instructions
- You are welcome to cook the chicken as you see fit (or even use rotisserie chicken!) but for this batch I brined and baked it. To brine the chicken, add 1/2 cup Kosher or sea salt to 2 quarts of cold water in a mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the salt and add the chicken breasts. I used 2 lbs. worth of chicken, or three boneless breasts. Cover and let brine in the fridge for an hour or so. Once brined, pat dry the chicken breasts and add them to a baking sheet.
- Pull off the husks of the tomatillos and give them a good rinse. I usually de-stem them as well. Add the tomatillos to the baking sheet along with the rinsed Poblanos (and the chicken) and roast everything in the oven at 400F. Cook the chicken until it registers 160F on the inside -- this usually takes 20 minutes but sometimes it will take a few extra minutes if there was an extensive brine. Remove the chicken once cooked and let the Poblanos and tomatillos roast for an additional 10 minutes or so. I usually cover the cooked chicken breasts with foil until I need them.
- Once roasted, you can remove the Poblanos and tomatillos from the oven. Let the Poblanos cool down for a couple minutes, then de-stem and de-seed them. Add the Poblanos and tomatillos to a blender along with: 1/2 onion, 4 peeled garlic cloves, 15-20 sprigs of rinsed cilantro, and 1-4 rinsed, de-stemmed Jalapenos. For a milder batch start with just a single Jalapeno. To increase the heat, simply add additional slivers of Jalapeno, re-blend, and taste test.
- Heat up a large skillet over medium heat. Add a glug of oil and then add the Chile Verde sauce from the blender along with: 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional), 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional), and some freshly cracked black pepper. Taste for seasoning. Note: if you brine the chicken you probably won't need to add any additional salt.
- Use two forks to shred the chicken breasts and then add it to the Chile Verde sauce. Take a final taste for seasoning. Bring everything up to a uniform temp and serve immediately.
- I usually bake my own tostada shells, but you are welcome to use store-bought tostadas. To bake your own, simply spread a thin layer of oil on both sides of corn tortillas and bake each side in the oven for 4-5 minutes (400F). I usually just drizzle a small amount of oil across the tortillas and then spread it around with my fingers. Keep in mind that this technique will always work best with thin corn tortillas. For more detailed instructions see How To Bake Your Own Tostada Shells.
- You can optionally warm up the refried beans in a skillet over medium heat. And if using store-bought tostada shells be sure to warm those up before serving.
- Each warm tostada shell gets a thin layer of refried beans, a few tablespoons of Chicken Chile Verde, cheese, freshly chopped cilantro, and a final squeeze of lime. Yum!!
Notes
Want to see the latest post? It's this Roasted Jalapeno Soup:
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Diane
Excellent recipe Patrick! I roasted a 4 lb chicken and used all of the meat in the recipe. Left out the jalapeno by mistake but didn't miss it. Made the baked tostados. Wow, we loved this meal. Thank you.
Patrick
Ahh good news, thanks much for your feedback Diane! Cheers.