Are you ready for another almost-no-cook summer dinner? Yeah, me too. I love these Spiced Chickpea Tostadas not only because they are they light, cool, and refreshing, but they are the perfect “sweep the kitchen” recipe. You can add whatever you want to your tostadas, based on what you have on hand, so get creative and use up those leftovers! I’ve got some great ideas for substitutions and add-ons below. And don’t worry, if trying to eat a tostada without having the whole thing crumble into a pile of toppings onto your plate sounds too obnoxious, you can totally just make these into tacos instead. ;)
And a quick special note about the prices listed below. I bought almost all of the ingredients for these tostadas (everything except sour cream and radishes) at Aldi, and if you know Aldi, you know their prices are extremely low. If you can’t get prices like this, don’t fret. You can still make some super cheap tostadas by swapping out some of the more expensive ingredients that I used for some of the substitution ideas I have listed below.
Clean Out the Fridge Tostadas
As I mentioned above, tostadas are a great way to use up leftovers in your fridge. Here are some other toppings that will go really well with these spiced chickpeas: refried beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomato or pico de gallo, cheese, jalapeños (pickled or fresh), pickled carrots, pickled red onions, roasted corn, grilled zucchini, or shredded cabbage.
Radish Options
Radishes aren’t my favorite, but when they’re sliced paper thin they provide the PERFECT fresh crisp crunch on these tostadas. But I only used three radishes for the whole batch of tostadas, which presents the problem of the remaining 2/3 of the bunch.
I plan to slice up more to add to salads throughout the week and then I plan to pickle the rest using the same method that I used for my pickled carrots.
If you don’t want to use radish on your tostadas, I highly suggest using some other fresh crunchy vegetable in its place to lighten things up. I would either slice some carrots paper thin or add a layer of shredded lettuce or cabbage. Just as with the radish, you want whatever vegetable you use to be sliced or shredded very finely.
Don’t Skip the Crema
I don’t suggest skipping the lime crema, though. That stuff is magic and the tangy and creamy flavor is the PERFECT contrast to the spiced chickpeas. If you can’t have dairy, all I can suggest is trying to find a non-dairy sour cream substitute, although I can’t guarantee how that will taste.
Spiced Chickpea Tostadas
Servings 6 tostadasIngredients
Lime Crema
- 8 oz. sour cream ($1.69)
- 1 lime ($0.19)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Spiced Chickpeas*
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.55)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
- freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
For Serving
- 6 tostadas ($0.45)
- 8 oz. guacamole ($1.65)
- 3 radishes ($0.33)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro ($0.20)
Instructions
- Prepare the lime crema first, so the flavors have a few minutes to blend. Zest the lime, then squeeze the juice into a small bowl. Add about 1 tsp zest, 1 Tbsp juice, the minced garlic, and 1/4 tsp salt to an 8oz. container of sour cream and stir to combine. Set the lime crema aside until ready to use.
- Rinse and drain the can of chickpeas. Heat 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the chickpeas and the spices (chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper). Stir and cook the chickpeas in the oil and spices for about five minutes, or until you begin to see and hear them gently pop. Remove them from the heat.
- Wash and slice the radishes VERY THINLY. Pull the cilantro leaves from their stems.
- To assemble the tostadas, smear a thin layer of guacamole over each tostada shell, then top with a scoop of chickpeas, a few slices of radish, a drizzle or dollop of the lime crema, and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Chickpea Tostadas – Step by Step Photos
Make the lime crema first, so the flavors have a little time to blend. Zest one lime and squeeze the juice into a small bowl. Add about 1 tsp of the zest and 1 Tbsp of the juice to an 8 oz. container of sour cream, along with one small clove of minced garlic and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
To make the spiced chickpeas, rinse and drain one 15oz. can of chickpeas. Add 1 Tbsp oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add the chickpeas and 1/2 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and a little freshly cracked pepper. Stir and cook the chickpeas in the oil and spices for about five minutes, or until you begin to see and hear them gently pop.
Wash and VERY THINLY slice three radishes. Pull a handful of cilantro leaves from their stems.
Now it’s just time to assemble! Smear a thin layer of guacamole on each tostada…
Add a scoop of the spiced chickpeas and a few slices of radish…
And finally, add a drizzle or dollop of lime crema and some of the fresh cilantro. Now EAT! :D
I made this with just guacamole (homemade), the excellent lime crema and the chickpea mixture, as tacos. My husband and I were both big fans! This will make it into the rotation. Very fresh and flavorful.
These were amazing. So good, and easy to whip up on a weeknight. Everyone went back for seconds. Great recipe!
I first made your homemade taco seasoning mix, subbing chipotle for the cayenne which makes it a little hotter. (This mix is so much better then store-bought!) I cooked up the chickpeas, but then matchsticks up some zucchini, yellow squash and cabbage, stir fried these quickly in hot oil and threw them in with the chickpeas. I did this because I am trying to find creative ways to get rid of the the excess squash in the garden. Thanks for this recipe
I know this is quite a change for this recipe, but do you have any ideas for how to replace the avocado? In this recipe and in general? My family doesn’t like and I actually can’t eat it (allergy), which is frustrating since it’s so ‘on trend’ right now.
I often replace it with dairy, like sour cream or cheese, but I’m not sure that would work in this case.
I have a bunch of add-ons and substitutions in the paragraph above the recipe, but I think the one that would work best in place of avocado is refried beans. :)
Sorry, I should have read that! That’s a great idea, thanks. :)
After seeing you used store bought tostadas and reading a commenter say she couldn’t find tostadas shells in the store, I’m dying to share—YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN!!! 😅
Ive eaten my body weight in tostadas over the years and have never bought tostadas shells. Just heat a little vegetable shortening (or lard if you’re not a vegetarian 😁) in an iron skillet and put a corn tortillas in the hot oil. Flip it over and do the other side until both sides are light brown and crispy. Drain on a paper towel and you now has tostada shell.
Shortening and lard work better than liquid oils (like canola) but I’ve used regular liquid oils plenty of times and it’s been fine. It just crisps up better and isn’t greasy when you use the shortening/lard.
Now go forth and make fresh tostadas.
(And I totally plan on making these chickpea tostadas for lunch this week 😉)
And I’m sure you already knew this, but I still wanted to share it for cooking newbies. Because ten years ago I’d have been losing my mind in the grocery store trying to find tostada shells 😂
I do this too. I just use plain ol’ butter and it works well enough. :)
Love it! Thanks for sharing!
I saw this new recipe and knew I’d have to make it right away! I love so many of your quick and meatless recipes. The spiced chickpeas were delicious, and we added some refried black beans to the tostadas in addition to the other ingredients to bulk them up a bit more. (We also couldn’t find tostada shells at our store, so we just bought hard taco shells and snapped them in half for mini tostadas which worked great.)
Others have mentioned roasting the extra radishes, which I agree really changes their flavor. I like mine roasted with olive oil and honey for extra sweetness!
Wonderful dish! Made some homemade guac to go along and loved it!
Hi! I am not a fan of sour cream at all! Are there any substitutes I could use? Maybe Greek yogurt?
A lot of people like using Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, so you might like that. Personally, I don’t enjoy that substitution, but it’s quite popular, so maybe you’d be fine with it. :)
Try broccoli guacamole. There are many recipes on the net. Saves calories and is really tasty!
I make creme fraiche using a cup of heavy cream and 2 Tbs of buttermilk. Let it sit out for 12 hours or so, the stick in frig.
Yum! Anything that is good on a tostada makes a good taco, too. I happen to love radishes, and in order to slice radishes, carrots, and other firm veggies super thin, purchased a little mandolin a few years ago. Mine is a real cheapy and not adjustable, but is perfect for super thin salad slices–I’ve used it for cucumber and zucchini, as well as carrots, parsnips, radishes, onion, and potato slices for home made potato chips. I picked up mine for under $15, and there are plenty online in the $10-20 price range. I probably use it 2-3 times a month which is enough to earn its keep in my tool drawer.
Try stir-frying the radishes. They lose their bite but keep their crunch. My mom stir-fries thinly sliced radishes with slices of onions and pieces of pork marinated in soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. Quite tasty on rice.
Sounds amazing!! Thanks for that tip!
Try roasting the radishes like other root vegetables (lots of recipes online if you search, but I usually slice them in half, oio and spice, and cook with onions, carrots, and potatoes). It cuts the bite a lot.
Oh I love that idea! Thank you!!
I had to save this recipe it looks absolutely delicious. This will give me an opportunity to expand my meatless menus, so thank you in advance 🤗
If you slice in half, oil/spice, and roast the radishes like you would any other root vegetable, it greatly reduced their bite. There are several recipes out there if you search roasted radishes, but I normally just wing it. I usually mix them with potatoes (white and sweet), onions, and carrots.
I love it, thanks!
This recipe looks so good! I agree with you about the radishes. They’re hit or miss for me – I like the mild ones, but not the spicy ones.