What does tostada mean?
A tostada, plural tostadas, is a Mexican and Southwestern US dish built around a tortilla that has been fried until crisp. Unlike a soft tortilla, which bends and readily absorbs fillings, a tostada provides a firm, crunchy base for refried beans, seasoned meat, cheese, salsa, lettuce, or cream. In everyday food writing, the word may name the crisp tortilla alone or the tortilla together with its toppings, so a phrase such as “a tostada with avocado” can refer either to the assembled plate or to its central shell. The term comes from Mexican Spanish and is especially associated with Mexican cuisine and Mexican-American restaurants in the United States. Tostada specifies both an ingredient and a texture: a tortilla may be soft, grilled, or fried, whereas a tostada is prepared as a crisp fried base. This makes the word useful when precision matters, particularly when describing a crunchy foundation intended to carry layered toppings.
nounA tostada is a tortilla, usually made from corn, that is fried until crisp and served with toppings such as beans, meat, cheese, salsa, or vegetables. The term may refer to the fried tortilla itself or to the completed dish.
- A crisp fried tortilla, usually made from corn, served alone or as the base of a dish topped with beans, meat, cheese, salsa, vegetables, or other ingredients.
"She served the chicken tostada with sliced avocado and a spoonful of salsa."
"We shared a tostada topped with black beans, grilled chicken, and salsa."
"The menu listed a beef tostada with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream."
The regular plural is “tostadas”; the final syllable is pronounced with a schwa in English.
"Several tostadas were served around the table."
A tostada is the culinary equivalent of giving a soft tortilla a suit of armor: fry it until crisp, then pile on the toppings.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tostada come from?
The word comes from Mexican Spanish, where tostada is the feminine form of tostado, “toasted” or “roasted,” and also names a crisp fried tortilla. Tostar, the related Spanish verb meaning “to toast or roast,” and English toast belong to the same inherited Latin tradition of roasting or parching food. In culinary usage, the Mexican Spanish term developed from the description of the tortilla’s preparation into the name of both the fried tortilla and the finished dish.
Related word forms
How tostada is actually used
The word is most common in culinary contexts involving Mexican or Mexican-American food. In English, the unmodified singular can denote either the fried tortilla itself or the fully topped dish.
Easily confused with tostada
In Spanish, tostada is the feminine noun for the crisp fried tortilla, while tostado is the related masculine adjective or participle meaning “toasted” or “roasted.”