Chipotle Turkey Tostadas- Wondering what to do with that leftover Thanksgiving/Christmas turkey and cranberry? Spice it up with some chipotle and pile it high on a tostada with some refried beans and crisp lettuce, top it all off with a dollop of cranberry sauce and you’ve got a quick and easy Mexican meal. Perfect for that leftover holiday turkey, but you can make this any time of the year by subbing ground turkey or shredded chicken.
Can you guess who’s pretty happy it’s turkey time? Yep, me! I know that was SO hard to guess, given my last two posts have been dedicated to turkey 
Truth be told, I love the leftovers as much if not more than the actual meal. I also like to keep things super simple when it comes to making meals so this gets two big thumbs up…one for including Thanksgiving leftovers and the second for taking about a nano second to make (o.k. maybe more like 10 min. if you are using leftovers and about 15-20 if you are making from scratch with chicken or ground turkey (and fresh or frozen cranberries).
If you’re using leftovers it’s just a matter of heating up the turkey and adding a punch of southwest chipotle spices and piling your tostada as high as you like. The combo of bold chipotle flavor with the slightly tart cranberry just WORKS!
If you’re not using leftover turkey these tostadas are still really easy to make. You could sub shredded chicken (cook chicken in a saucepan with water on the stove until fully cooked, let cook slightly and shred with two forks) . You could also sub cooked ground turkey/chicken. Not a fan of cranberry? no problem, this mango salsa would be fab!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! and now…bring on the leftovers!
- 3 cups cooked turkey meat , shredded (or shredded chicken, or cooked ground turkey/chicken)
- 1 tsp southwest chipotle spices ( like Mrs. Dash) or ½ tsp chipotle chili powder ) (more or less to taste)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 cup refried beans
- 1½ cups shredded lettuce
- 6 tostada shells (or corn tortillas)
- ½ cup cranberry sauce ( recipe follows if you are not using leftovers)
- 2 green onions, sliced (optional)for garnish
- ½ cup cranberries
- ¼ cup water
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp orange zest
- Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Cook until cranberries have popped and sauce has thickened (about 10 min)
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, add turkey, chipotle and cumin. Heat until thoroughly warmed (about 3-5 min.) While turkey is heating, heat refried beans in a small sauce pan over medium (or in the microwave) until warm.
- Assemble the tostadas by layering refried beans, turkey, lettuce and cranberry sauce. Garnish with green onions.
*Recipe inspired by Betty Crocker
Brilliant … Going to make this