Smashed Bean and Avocado Tostadas with Crispy Corn – Plant Based RD

Creamy smashed bean and avocado tostadas all topped with a little crispy sautéed corn. My fiber-rich avocado toast alternative that you can prep for breakfast.

I’ve been eating oatmeal a lot these days. And I must tap out briefly because food burnout is real. I crave variety, textures, and sometimes a savory breakfast. With that, my mind instantly thought of avocado toast. Very easy, you just mash avocado on toast and call it a day. But I feel like I can do better than that, so for a little more fiber and protein, why not mash that avocado with some beans? Even better, let’s throw it on a tostada for some extra crunch.

Why Make Mashed Bean and Avocado Tostadas?

• An easy way to get a good amount of fiber first thing in the morning! This bean, avocado, and corn combo pack in 17g of fiber that can help keep your blood sugars balanced post meal. A good way to keep that energy nice and steady as you start your day.
• A fun savory breakfast idea if you get tired of the same bowl of oatmeal. Think of it like avocado toast except we’re switching the toast for a tostada.
• Can be meal prepped to make your mornings easier. I have quite a number of tips below to make this recipe super easy and prep-able.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

• Cannellini Beans: Chickpeas work as well.
• Corn: I love fresh corn this time of year, but feel free to use frozen corn. If you choose not to do the corn topping, I also love adding some thinly sliced veggies on top like radishes or some microgreens and pepitas.
• Jalapeños: Cut down the heat of these peppers by removing the seeds and membranes before dicing. Half a small bell pepper can also work in its place.
• Brine: By this I mean the brine of your favorite pickled vegetable. This can include pickles, pickled jalapeño, pickled onions, capers, olives, etc. Alternatively, replace with red or white wine vinegar.
• Lime: Lemons can work, or feel free to add more brine or vinegar to replace.
• Cilantro: If you don’t tolerate cilantro, use parsley, chives, or dill.
• Shallot: Red or white onion work, just use about 1/4 cup diced (about half a small onion) to match the size of a shallot.
• Tortillas: I tend to like white corn tortillas the best for tostadas. Alternatively, a nice slice of your favorite whole grain bread is great too.

How to Make Smashed Bean and Avocado Tostadas

Make the Tostadas: Preheat the oven to 400F. On a baking tray, spray or brush both sides of your tortillas with oil. Bake for 8 minutes, flipping the tortillas halfway. Transfer to a cooling rack then lightly sprinkle the tops with salt. Allow to fully cool.

Make the bean avocado mixture: Add the beans to a mixing bowl. Use a fork or potato masher to mash the beans. Add the cilantro, jalapeño, avocado, brine, and the zest and juice of one lime. Mash and mix all the ingredients together like you would for guacamole.

If making the corn: Heat the avocado oil in a pan. Add the corn kernels and spread them out evenly over the bottom of the pan. Allow to cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt then sauté for 2 minutes or until the corn shows signs of light charring around the edges. Add the shallots and continue stirring for about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sautéing until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, then stir in the oregano plus a few cracks of black pepper to taste.

To assemble, spread a generous portion of the avocado bean mash over 1-2 tostadas. Top with some corn and cilantro, then serve with extra lime wedges.

Expert Tips

• Use aluminum sheet pans. I like using the Nordic Ware half sheet pans to bake my tortillas. This leads to more even baking of your tostadas compared to using darker pans.
• Simplify the recipe with these suggestions. Use bagged frozen charred corn, which will cut the cook time down significantly. You can also buy pre-made tostadas at your local grocery store, so you don’t even have to cook them in your oven. Do note, that the pre-made tostadas are normally fried. For another quick alternative, swap the tostadas out for the toasted bread of your choice.
• Keep the avocado green. The best way to do this is to minimize air where you can, so using a vacuum seal container system will work the best for longer term storage. Alternatively, if you know you will finish eating the mash within 3 days, store it in a container that doesn’t leave a lot of room for air then cover the top of the mash with some plastic wrap pressed into it. Between this and the citrus, it should help slow down oxidation.

How long does the avocado bean mash last?

Store it in an airtight container and lay plastic wrap over the top of the mash to help reduce contact with air. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you want to get 5 days of use, I recommend using a vacuum container system like Zwilling to keep everything fresh longer in the fridge.

Meal Prepping Tips

• Mashed avocado and beans. Can be made 3 days ahead as instructed, or just mash the beans along with everything except the avocado (that bean mixture minus the avocado can last up to 5 days in the fridge). When ready to eat, portion out some of the bean mix into a bowl and mash 1/2 a small avocado into it and enjoy.
• Prep the corn topping in advance. After cooking the corn, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days for easy assembling in the morning.
• Making tostadas ahead. After baking the tostadas, allow them to fully cool. Wrap them in a paper towel and place in a food storage bag in the fridge for up to 5 days. If they are feeling stale, just pop them on a baking tray and place in an oven (or toaster oven) at 350F for about 3 minutes to warm through and crisp back up.

Make It Balanced

Served as instructed, you will get:

• protein from the beans
• fiber from the avocado, corn, and beans, and
• healthy fats from the avocado

You can always add additional nutrition in other ways:

• To get in your cruciferous veggies, top your tostadas with this pink slaw
• For extra protein, swap the corn topping with this tempeh hash
• Want to get in some extra greens, consider topping with some microgreens
• Swap the tostadas for some whole grain toast for more fiber and easier prep in the morning

Watch Me Make This Recipe

Recipe videos provide a general idea for recipe preparation. Please read the full recipe instructions and notes for the most accurate recipe results.

More Plant-Based Breakfast Ideas

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The nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and may vary depending on substitutions and product types used.

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