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Air Fryer Tostadas are the perfect flat homemade taco shell with or without meat! These open-faced tacos are super crispy and ready in just 6 minutes each!

tostada topped with olives, tomatoes, black beans, and lettuce on a white plate

Tacos are always on my menu, and these Air Fryer Tostadas are a fun twist on the classic hard taco!

Most tortillas are naturally vegan, so this is an easy recipe to modify for almost any diet! Another favorite vegan meal is my Tofu Tacos.

I like to keep mine simple with black beans, shredded cheese, black olives, tomatoes, and lettuce, but let your creativity go wild.

Make it an Air Fryer Taco Tuesday with this Air Fryer Elote for a low-calorie version of the traditional Mexican corn on the cob side dish!

vegetarian tostada covered with black beans, tomatoes, olives, and lettuce

HOW TO MAKE TOSTADAS IN AN AIR FRYER

Contents show

How matter how you top these crispy tacos, your family will love them again and again!

First, put one tortilla into the air fryer. I like to top mine with a metal trivet to keep it from blowing around during the cooking. Air fry at 390 degrees F — or 198 degrees C! — for about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown.
Next, add about a quarter of your beans and cheese before returning tostada to the air fryer for another 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Then, take your tortilla out and top with lettuce, olives, tomatoes, or anything that strikes your fancy!
Repeat process with all tortillas and serve immediately. Enjoy!

steps to make vegetarian tostadas in the air fryer

How to Serve

The toppings are completely up to you with these Air Fryer Tostadas.

Let everyone make their own tostadas with a build-your-own taco bar complete with beans, veggies, salsa, and guacamole for the ultimate family dinner experience.

Have an untraditional taco night with different themes, like pizza tacos covered with tomato sauce and pepperoni, or Indian tacos with leftover tikka masala.

How to Store Tostadas

This recipe is great to make ahead for meal prep or a busy night because homemade tostadas are good up to one week in an airtight container at room temperature.

Leave these on your countertop instead of the fridge to keep them super crisp.

a vegetarian tostada surrounded by bowls of traditional toppings

Other Amazing Mexican-Inspired Recipes

Looking for more air fryer recipes or vegetarian recipes? We have a lot to choose from.

We suggest you take a look at our Air Fryer Enchiladas, Mexican Tater Tot Casserole, Air Fryer Jalapeño Poppers, Tofu Sofritas, Air Fryer Mushroom Tacos and Vegan Burritos

close-up overhead shot of a vegetarian tostada with black beans, tomatoes, and olives

Pro Tips

Use Any Air Fryer: This recipe can be made in an air fryer unit with a basket or an air fryer oven. If you're using an air fryer oven, place your food on the middle rack and select the "air fry" function.
Check your food as it cooks! Since each air fryer runs differently, sometimes air frying is a trial and error process. When cooking a new recipe, be sure to check on your food often. This will help you avoid over or undercooking, and help you learn your air fryer's specific ways!

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5 from 4 votes

Air Fryer Tostadas

These crispy flat tacos are perfect with meat or as a naturally vegetarian or vegan main dish!

Cook Time24

Total Time24

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: people

Calories: 219kcal

Cindy - Air Fryer Eats

Equipment

Air fryer
Trivet, optional
Spoon

Ingredients

4 tortillas flour or corn
1 cup black beans cooked
1 cup lettuce
½ cup black olives sliced
½ cup tomatoes diced
½ cup shredded cheese
Guacamole for garnish, optional
Sour cream for garnish, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Put one tortilla at a time into the air fryer. Weight it down with a trivet or other weight and air fry at 390 degrees F (198 degrees C) for 4 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Add ¼ of the beans and ¼ of the cheese. Air fry another 1 to 2 minutes.
Carefully remove tortilla and top with lettuce, olives, and tomatoes.
Repeat process for all tortillas. Serve warm and enjoy!

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Video

Notes

To make vegan: Use vegan cheese or skip cheese.

To use meat: Cook meat separately before making tostadas. Add to step with cheese in place of or in addition to beans and air fry 1 to 2 minutes.

Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven. If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the "Air Fry" function.

Nutrition

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Air Fryers can vary greatly. Please take the time to learn your specific air fryer. You may need to adjust times and temperatures based upon your air fryer. All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.

Air Fryer Tostadas

HOW TO MAKE TOSTADAS IN AN AIR FRYER

How to Serve