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Switching things up with these fun Cool Ranch Chicken “Tostadadillas” with Honey Lime Crema. Homemade cool ranch tostada shells sandwiched with cheese, then oven-baked to create a “tostadadilla” – kind of a cross between crunchy tostadas and cheesy quesadillas. Top each tostadadilla with ground chicken seasoned with Mexican spices, shredded lettuce, and creamy honey lime crema. Just the right amount of melty cheese and CRUNCH with every bite. They’re easy to make and are so DELICIOUS.

overhead photo of Cool Ranch Chicken Tostadadillas pulled apart to see the cheese

Well, aren’t these are fun…I just felt like our Monday could use a little fun, you know?

I’ve been planning on sharing these for a while. And when I say a while, I really mean just a couple of weeks, but for me, that is a while. I don’t plan out recipes very far in advance because I love to share things with you guys RIGHT AWAY. If I hold onto a recipe concept too long, there’s a good chance that by the time I go to make it, I’ll have convinced myself it’s a bad idea. So in general, if I’m excited about something, I make it while I’m still excited and share it almost immediately after photographing it.

I would have made them sooner, but the timing just worked out this way.

So here we are. Let me introduce you guys to a tostada-dilla. A cross between a crispy tostada and an extra cheesy quesadilla.

photo of seasoned ground chicken in skillet

The idea.

Honestly, I don’t know when, how, or why I thought this up. It’s not some genius idea by any means, but man these sure are a delicious twist on tostadas.

I guess to me, a regular old tostada just seems a little boring, I would very much rather eat a crunchy, cheesy taco. I love when foods have lots of flavor, layers of texture, multiple sauces, and yeah…cheese too.

When my brother Creighton suggested I make beef tostadas, I quickly said no, those sound boring. But then I thought about how I might improve upon the classic tostada, and somewhere along the way, these tosatadillas were born. They’re all things, crunchy, crispy, cheesy, creamy, and spicy. And the added bonus? Even though the ingredients list looks long (it’s all just dry spices), these are easy to throw together.

overhead prep photo of cool ranch seasoning

The details.

Start with the meat, I used ground chicken, but beef would be equally great. I seasoned it up pretty simply by adding in lots of smoky poblano peppers and a touch of tomato paste for a nice twist on the usual.

I like to start with cooking the meat, and while that’s simmering away, I make the “cool ranch” tostada shells.

overhead pre photo so cool ranch Tostadas

The “cool ranch” tostada shells.

These tostada shells are truly something special. I’m really into making homemade seasonings right now, so I created a homemade mix for the cool ranch Doritos seasoning and put it on my tostadas. It’s so simple. It’s really just a mix of those dry ranch spices and herbs, along with paprika, chili powder, and a little grated cheese.

Bake the tostada shells until crispy, then sprinkle over the seasoning mix. The tostadas alone are reason enough to make these. They’re crispy, crunchy, and so perfectly seasoned.

I read a little about what’s in cool ranch Doritos. And while this isn’t the exact same mix, it is very similar. And the tomato paste used with the chicken brings in that tomato powder that’s used on the classic cool ranch Dorito.

PS. I don’t know what’s up with my weird desire to want to remake store-bought favorites, but I’m having fun with it.

overhead photo of Cool Ranch Chicken Tostadadillas with Honey Lime Crema

Ok, now we assemble.

Layer the cheese between the tostadas and then bake them in the oven until the cheese is nice and melty. Now you have a tostada-dilla. Yes, I made the word up, but it does kind of work…right?

Anyway, while the tostadadillas are baking, gather all your toppings. I like to do a little smashed avocado and honey-lime crema as my sauce.

As soon as the tostadadillas come out of the oven, layer them up while they’re still nice and melty. Avocado, saucy seasoned-up chicken, then a little shredded cabbage or lettuce, jalapeños, and a sprinkling of cilantro. Then drizzle over that crema sauce and finish with a squeeze of lime…

And now they’re stacked and ready for enjoying.

side angled close up photo of Cool Ranch Chicken Tostadadillas with Honey Lime Crema

I really do think you’ll enjoy every last crispy-crunchy bite. The chicken is a little spicy, but the crema cools things down a bit. And that cool ranch seasoning blend just seals the deal.

When everything is combined all together you have the perfect stack of fun Mexican-style food. These are really pretty hard to beat. And my family? Well, they’ve all agreed that these might just be a new favorite…the cheesy tostadadilla that got everyone! They really are extra special.

Cool Ranch Chicken Tostadadillas with cheese pulled apart

Looking for other fun Mexican night recipes? Here are some favorites:

Breakfast Quesadilla with Soft Scrambled Eggs and Avocado Salsa

Crispy Chicken Tinga Taquitos with Salty Lime Avocado Crema

Cauliflower Al Pastor Quesadillas with Lime Smashed Avocado

Lastly, if you make this Cool Ranch Chicken Tostadadillas with Honey Lime Crema be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Cool Ranch Chicken Tostadadillas with Honey Lime Crema

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 522 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Tostada Shells

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
    2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ground meat, onion, and poblano pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Add 1 cup water. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly around the chicken, about 10 minutes. Keep warm over low heat.
    3. Meanwhile, make the tostadas. Line the corn tortillas up on 2 baking sheets and rub lightly with olive oil. Transfer to the oven and bake 7 minutes, until crisp. In a small bowl, combine the parsley, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, chives, dill, and 1 teaspoon salt. While warm, sprinkle the "cool ranch" seasoning blend over each tostada.
    4. To make the tostadillas. Evenly divide the Mexican cheese blend between half the tostadas, then place the remaining tostada shells directly on the cheese. Bake 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
    5. To assemble, plate each tostadilla and top evenly with mashed avocado and chicken. Top as desired with cabbage, jalapeños, and cilantro. Dollop over the crema. Break 'em up and enjoy!

Notes

Honey Lime Crema: In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, 1-2 teaspoons honey, the zest of 1 lime, and a pinch of sea salt. 
Lime Mashed Avocado: In a bowl, lightly smash 2 avocados. Add the zest and juice of 1 lime and a pinch of sea salt. 
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Cool Ranch Chicken Tostadadillas with Honey Lime Crema

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I have made this numerous times and it’s always a crowd pleaser!! I added a layer of pinto beans last time and it was really good.

    1. Hey Mary,
      Fantastic!!🍒🍉 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx

    1. Hey Meagan,
      Lovely!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well:) xx

  2. 4 stars
    The taste in this recipe is amazing, but they were hard for my kids to eat. For the time it took to make the tostadas, I think next time I’ll skip that step and use tortillas and make them into nachos, then just sprinkle the seasoning on top of the cheese before baking. Or….use cool ranch chips for a less healthy version, haha.

    1. Hi Lexi,
      Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry you found them difficult to eat! Let me know if you serve them another way that works better for you:) xx

  3. 5 stars
    Amazing! Family loved them and we loved the honey lime creme. That was a cherry on top recipe. All the flavors go so well together. Delicious and will be adding to my weekly menu. Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.

    1. Hi Tabitha,
      Happy Sunday!!🍀 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and sharing your comment! xT

  4. 5 stars
    My husband and brother in law love Taco Bell and anything taco related, so I made this for them the other night and we all loved it. As others commented, 7 minutes wasn’t quite long enough to get the tortillas crisp (I ended up doing 13 minutes but 10-12 would probably be better as mine were a little too crispy). Also make sure you put enough cheese between the two tortillas to better get that quesadilla feel. The flavors of this were great – I loved the seasoning on the tortillas and the meat (we used turkey). It definitely is messy to eat, but tacos usually are anyways. I will definitely be making this again!

  5. A DELICIOUS recipe but (personally) I think the execution needs some refinement. Sprinkling seasoning on a dry corn tortilla (after they’ve been baked as the recipe calls for) means that the seasoning doesn’t stick well to the the tortilla. They’re much better when you rub them with the olive oil, sprinkle on the seasoning and then bake them because the seasoning actually sticks. I also found that baking for 7 minutes followed by an additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese didn’t get them quite crispy enough, and they were halfway between being flimsy and crispy, making them a bit chewy and hard to eat. When I make the leftovers today, I plan to bake the tortillas for a little bit longer initially (10-12 minutes), followed by 5 minutes to melt the cheese. If that still doesn’t give the crispy texture, I’ll buy the premade tostadas next time (I think Mission makes some), skip the seasoning, and do everything else the same. And finally, figuring out how to eat them is a challenge. They’re messy to eat with your hands but we also struggled with a fork and knife because of the tough chewiness of the tortillas. All in all, I’ll make them again once I work out some of these logistics!

    1. Hi Abby,
      Happy Sunday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! I love to hear that it was enjoyed! I hope it works well for you next time around the way you want to do it:)☀️

    2. Hi Abby, thanks for sharing this, I was thinking the same about the seasoning after baking, but I want to try this recipe. Could you share what happened like results with your leftovers or if you made it again ?

    3. Abby’s review is spot on. I made this tonight. The flavors were excellent but I also had chewy, not crispy tortillas and they were really difficult to eat. I think next time I will just use a single tostada, and layer the seasoning, cheese, and meat mixture on top, bake until those are hot/melted, then top with the lettuce, honey lime crema, cilantro, and jalapeño slices.

  6. 5 stars
    Made these tonight for dinner and let me say, these were amazing! The honey Lime crema was the perfect addition (I used sour cream base). Next time I’m going to add pickled onions like in the picture. But definitely a new staple in my house!

    1. Hi Rachel,
      Happy Monday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xxT

  7. 5 stars
    These were incredible! We really haven’t made a recipe from your site that we haven’t enjoyed. Also, just got your book for Mother’s Day and cannot wait to dive in! I read that some people had trouble with crisping these up. We just left them in for 3 extra minutes for the each tortilla and it was crispy, cheesy and so so good! Definitely do not leave out the mash and sour cream additions that are listed! Chef’s kiss!!

    1. Hey Jessica,
      Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! Thanks so much for your kind message:) xT