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Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas

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The easiest ever shredded barbecue chicken spooned over a healthier sweet and tangy coleslaw and a crunchy oven baked tortilla: these Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas are the ultimate fusion of flavors!!

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I loooove barbecue. Especially barbecue chicken. I mean, you can’t beat the traditional 24 hour long smokehouse barbecue meats. They are just too freaking tender and flavorful. Still, it’s pretty rare for me to wake up on your average weekday and feel like prepping pork, chicken, or whatever it may be to get cooking at 7am. I simply never plan that far in advance…. I mean, what if I’m no longer in the mood for it come dinner time? It’s a whole thing — one that I’ll leave to the professional smokehouses, that is. If this is sounding familiar, or you simply want a good healthy and flavorful dinner tonight, I present to you these Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas. With a quick and easy pulled chicken, a delicious healthier style coleslaw, and a fun little twist on the classic with a crunchy tostada shell, everybody loves these!

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The breakdown…

These Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas are one of the quickest dinners to throw together. Really, you can break them down into just three components: the quick bbq pulled chicken, the tostada shells, and the coleslaw. To start things off, I like to get that chicken going. While it takes the longest of the components to cook, this really is more of a cheater’s bbq chicken. You see, I opt to get some natural flavors from a sweet onion and a bit of garlic, but then I go in with some pre-made barbecue sauce to really knock in that flavor. It’s just so much easier to go with a good, trusted brand sometimes. Stubb’s is my favorite. Plus, I still throw in a little bit of apple cider vinegar for a tang and some brown sugar to round things out… so not entirely lazy. Just practical, ya know?? 

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Anyways, give those cutlets just a bit of time to cook in those liquids and the result is magical. I use cutlets solely because they cook faster, and the name of the game here is easy. So, after just 20-30 minutes, you should be able to shred them up with two forks or a stand mixer to make the most perfect pulled chicken. Honestly, you can use this chicken for just about anything! So, pro tip: make a double batch and save it as meal prep. It’s delicious on salads, bowls, or even in taquitos! Just don’t forget to package it away in all those juices — those are essential to the flavor and tenderness.

the shells…

While your chicken is cooking, go ahead and prepare your corn tortilla tostada shells. Flour tortillas work well, too, but with a bit more cooking time. Personally, however, I love the corn flavor with the barbecue… It’s almost like cornbread?? Ok, maybe that’s a stretch, but it feels right to me. Either way, make sure you get the thinnest tortillas you can find. Usually these come in packs of about 25+ tortillas, as opposed to the 8-10 pack counts. With a thin tortilla, you are able to get the perfect crisp with just a bit of oil in the oven. You don’t want a soggy tortilla, but deep frying is also a pain. Thus, I’ve found thin corn tortillas to do the trick. Pop them in the oven for just about 6-8 minutes on each side and voila! Your shells are ready to go.

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the coleslaw…

The next step to this Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas recipe is to get that coleslaw ready. You could also do this step first and pop it in the fridge… it really doesn’t matter with this one. Cabbage holds up pretty nice for a few days covered in the fridge though, I must note. In any case, this coleslaw is pretty much your classic southern style slaw, but with the optional substitution of greek yogurt for mayonnaise. If you’re looking to keep it lighter but retain that traditional flavor, my suggestion to you is to go 50/50 on the mayo and yogurt. There’s just something about even a little bit of mayo that goes a long way. Oh, and if you’ve never tried avocado oil mayo before, you’ve got to. It’s life changing. 

With either option for some creaminess as a base, the next step is to go in with all the flavor! You’ve got to carry over that apple cider vinegar flavor for some tang, and then of course have to balance it out again with some brown sugar. Then, go in with your classic players of some mustard, a bit of celery seed, and a touch of salt and pepper. And just like that, your easy coleslaw is done! Told you it was easy, right??

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how to serve them up…

To assemble these Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas, you’ve got to start with a base of one of those crunchy corn tortilla shells. Then, layer on some of the coleslaw, followed by a scoop of the chicken. While your gut instinct may be to put the coleslaw on top of the chicken, I urge you to try it this way. I mean, the juices of the chicken seeping down into the creamy coleslaw (as opposed to making the tortilla soggy, I might add), is unbeatable. Plus, if you top everything off with some crumbled cheddar cheese, a bit of corn, and some chives, you still get all of your topping fix in… it’s a win-win:) Next up? It’s time to eat! I love to serve these up for a quick weeknight dinner (maybe with some baked beans?), but the ingredients also make for a good meal prep situation (as long as they are not assembled ahead of time). Oh, and if you’re looking for a fun recipe to switch up your classic barbecue recipes, this one’s for you. It’s truly a show stopping starter for this type of event, too. I swear everyone will love it!

I hope you love these Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas as much as I do! Let me know what you think in the comments below:))

Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas

Recipe by Annie PatrickCourse: Main Course, AppetizerCuisine: American, FusionDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

tostadas
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

50

minutes


The easiest ever shredded barbecue chicken spooned over a healthier sweet and tangy coleslaw and a crunchy oven baked tortilla: these Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Tostadas are the ultimate fusion of flavors!!

Ingredients

  • quick pulled chicken:
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • ½ a yellow onion, finely diced

  • 3 cloves garlic, finely diced

  • 2 lb chicken cutlets (thighs or breasts work)

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • 1 ½ cups barbecue sauce (store bought or homemade)

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

  • tostada shells:
  • 8-10 thin corn tortillas

  • Olive oil, as needed to spray or brush

  • A pinch of salt, to taste

  • coleslaw:
  • ½ cup mayonnaise or greek yogurt (or a combination of the two)

  • 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

  • 2 tsp coarse ground dijon mustard

  • 1 tsp celery seed

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • 4 cups coleslaw mix

  • toppings:
  • Fresh cheddar cheese, crumbled

  • Fresh chives, to garnish

  • optional: charred corn, sweet pickled red onions, and/or pickled jalapeños

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  • In a large dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, toss the onion into the oil and sauté for about 3 minutes, add the garlic and chicken cutlets. Season with salt and pepper. Nestle the chicken into the onions and sear for about 1 minute on each side (you may need to do this in two batches, deepening on the size of your dutch oven), then pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar. Bring the liquids to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid and allow the chicken to simmer for about 25 minutes, or until cooked through and tender. Then, shred your chicken with an electric mixer or two forks.
  • Meanwhile, coat the tortillas with olive oil or olive oil spray and a pinch of salt, and spread them out on a large baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes, flipping halfway through. The tortillas should be crisp and golden.
  • Lastly, in a large bowl, whisk together the mayo or greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, celery seed, salt, and pepper until smooth. Fold in the coleslaw mix. (Note: you could also do this up to 48 hours in advance and place it in an air tight container in the fridge).
  • Assemble each tostada with a scoop of the coleslaw on each tostada shell. Then, layer on some of the juicy pulled chicken and cheddar cheese (and any optional toppings, as desired). Garnish with fresh chives and enjoy!

Notes

  • Instead of the apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar also works.
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