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Ready in only 15 minutes, these Mexican Street Corn Tostadas make for an easy lunch or quick dinner that’s also gluten free and vegetarian.
Table of Contents
Something pretty amazing happened this past week.
- These Mexican Street Corn Tostadas happened. Duh.
- I got a new kitty cat!
- One of my best friends got engaged.
- It’s almost Halloween and I’m pretty sure I know what I want my costume to be. (That’s if I actually find somewhere to wear my costume, but that’s besides the point.)
- There is no number five. I’m just getting a little carried away. I love numbered lists!
Okay, let me bring it down a notch and start from the top.
These Mexican Street Corn Tostadas.
Have you ever heard of or made Mexican Street Corn (Elotes)? Like the name suggests, Mexican street corn is usually sold in little food stands along streets in Mexico where there’s lots of tourists and pedestrians walking around.
It’s often sold on the cob or in a cup (called Esquites) and is slathered in mayo, cotija cheese, chili powder and herbs and spices. It may sound a little weird if you’ve never had it before, but trust me, as soon as you try it, you’ll get over it. It’s dammmmnnnn good.
Mexican street corn + refried beans + one crunchy tostada = heaven in my mouth.
Don’t know what a tostada is? I’ve got you. It’s basically a giant, round, thick tortilla chip that you top with whatever your little heart desires and you pick it up and eat it like a pizza. I mean, what doesn’t sound good about that? I purchased the tostadas at my local grocery store in the Hispanic foods aisle, but if you can’t find them there, you might want to go to an ethnic/Hispanic grocery store near you. OR check out Amazon. Because they’ve got it all. Here’s the brand that I recommend: these or these.
Moving on in my list – I got a new kitten late last week! Her name is Lucy, she’s about 5 to 6 months old and she’s black with a little white spot on her chest. She has so much energy and is very outgoing. She seems to have handled the transition wayyy better than Charlie did, at least in the beginning. Now, about 6 days in, Charlie and Lucy are becoming better friends every day. Charlie loves to lick Lucy and seems to be taking on a big brother/dad role. Love it.
Here’s a little video of all the cuteness.
Next, one of my best friends got engaged over the weekend! I’m super excited and happy for her. So nice to see huge smiles on the faces of people you love. 🙂
Lastly, I think I know what I want to be for Halloween. Even if I don’t have anywhere to wear my costume. Ready? I want to dress up as Linda from Bob’s Burgers! Wait – is that lame? Was that a let down? If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll know how perfect it is for me. I’m basically Linda. Linda is a cartoon version of me. She sings ALL the time about everything, the way she talks to her kids is how I picture talking to my kids one day and her and Bob’s relationship is definitely what me and John are like. Linda and I are seriously twins.
If you make this recipe, let me know in the comments below or snap a photo and tag me @isabeleats on Instagram. I’d love to see what you cook!
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Mexican Street Corn Tostadas
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
- Juice of half a lime
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cotija cheese, plus more for topping
- 1 15-ounce can refried beans
- 8 tostada shells, store-bought or homemade
- chili powder to season for topping, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add corn, mayonnaise, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and 2 tablespoons of cotija cheese.
- Mix together with a spoon until the corn is evenly coated with all the ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat up the refried beans in a glass dish in the microwave for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until fully heated through.
- To assemble, spread about 3 to 4 tablespoons of refried beans onto each tostada and top with a scoop or two of the street corn mixture.
- Sprinkle with some cotija cheese and a dash of chili powder.
- Eat up!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is the corn supposed to be warm?
No, I personally don’t eat the corn warm, but you can if you’d like.
Made these tonight. OMG, absolutely delish!!! Thanks for sharing this wonderful, fast recipe!! I will be making this again and again. Perfect for summer, no cooking involved.
Like some others have said, I never feel the need to comment… but. Oh. My. GOODNess!! These were so beyond good—a lot of the ingredients I actually was able to get from the dollar store. Thanks for sharin a recipe that doesn’t make me resent being on a limited grocery budget!!!
Your cats are so sweet! Thanks for including them! They look very happy 🙂 I always appreciate people who love their kitties.. Also, I was just wondering.. if I was unable to find tostadas and still wanted to make this recipe (I’m actually looking for new things to whip up quickly for my husband to take with him to work for lunch) can I use multigrain bread instead? I realize that the dish will not be authentic but what is your opion? Will it be worth (or as tasty) it to make that way?
Absolutely! You can definitely use bread if you like. That sounds delicious to me!
What can I use instead of lime juice?
Hi Anne, lemon juice would work.
This sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it out this week. Just a head’s up though, the brand of refried beans you list are not vegetarian-friendly as they contain lard, a animal byproduct.
Omg amazing ! Just tried this. So flavorful and delicious.. thx for sharing 🙂
Just made this for lunch today. So easy, and so delicious! Used frozen corn, but heated in the microwave. Didn’t have cotija, used Parmesan, tasted great! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
My family will not eat mayo, what do you think of using sour cream in it’s place in this recipe? These sound delicious!!!!!
Hi Joanie! Hmm, I’ve never tried it with sour cream but I think it’s worth a shot. It won’t taste exactly the same because mayo can be a teeny bit sweet, but I would use the full fat sour cream and see if it works!
I never leave comments but couldn’t resist on this one. This is so easy to make and such a great flavor combo. I swapped out black refried beans for the normal kind just because I had them on hand but don’t feel like it made a difference. I also heated up the drained corn in a sauce pan just because it’s cold here right now and I wanted a hot meal 🙂 My family ate it all!
I did make a mexican shredded chicken to serve alongside just because I plan on using the leftovers for tacos tomorrow. Overall great dish and I plan on making this again!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it! Tostadas are one of my favorite quick meals – they’re super easy to make and ready in minutes. My family often makes them on Sundays when everyone gets together.