This Caprese Tostada recipe takes the idea of a caprese salad and gives it a Mexican twist. With a crunchy tostada shell topped with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, salty cotija and a drizzle of crema, this snack is quick, easy and totally craveable.

Overhead view of Caprese Tostada snacks on small plates. — Let’s make this tasty Tostada Caprese recipe.

An easy snack recipe you’ll love

I had a Mexican Tostada, done in this Caprese style on a recent vacation to Loreto (in Baja) and I brought the idea home as a souvenir.

While a typical Caprese salad has tomatoes paired with mozzarella and basil, this recipe gives them a Mexican-inspired twist.

Fresh tomatoes are excellent when paired with salty cheese and some crunch from a hard corn tortilla shell.

Whether served on its own or with other snacks, it’s an easy recipe to put together that your whole family will enjoy.

It’s a great recipe to serve at a Chicks and Salsa girl’s night in or any other Mexican-inspired gathering.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients for a Mexican inspired caprese tostada recipe on a table. — What you need to make a Caprese Tostada

You could easily make your own tostada shells at home by frying your own tortillas. But I am clumsy and afraid of hot, angry oil so I bought them, ready-made, tostada shells from the store.

Mexican cheeses are pretty readily available in all of my markets so they shouldn’t be too hard to find. Cotija is nice and salty while the crema is smooth and creamy like you’d expect. Queso Fresco also works.

You can probably substitute with feta if you don’t have cotija but it won’t be exactly the same. Cotija has a unique flavor that I prefer over feta, but they are both salty.

If you can’t find the crema, you can use sour cream. Or even heavy cream.

Then it’s just fresh cilantro and Roma tomatoes. You can also add fresh basil if you want to keep it similar to the classic recipe.

How to Make a Mexican-Inspired Tostada Caprese

Mexican style caprese salad on a tostada on a plate.

Place a tostada shell on a plate.
Place several slices of fresh tomato on the shell.
Sprinkle with crumbled cotija cheese.
Drizzle with crema.
Finish with roughly chopped cilantro.

What’s great about this is that you can just as easily make more than one by setting up a mini assembly line.

This Mexican tostada makes a tasty snack for one person or you can make a bunch as an easy and inexpensive appetizer for a party.

What to Serve it With

A cucumber margarita with Tajin on a table with a Tostada Caprese on a plate in the background.

I eat this caprese tostada as a lunch or snack. It’s great with all kinds of drinks like Shaken Basil Iced Tea or Iced Tea Sangria.

And of course, it’s great with a classic margarita on the rocks or even a cucumber margarita.

These would also make a tasty party food idea. Pair them with Margarita Sangria which is perfect to serve a crowd.

Or you can make it as a side dish for Chiptole Lime Chicken.

Close up of a caprese tostada recipe on a plate.

I just know you are going to love these. This Caprese Tostada is a great light snack or accompaniment to tacos, etc. I bet you could even add some scrambled eggs to it and make it a breakfast treat.

A tequila shot being poured with a tostada on a plate on the table next to it.

Variations

This is a shot I took while on vacation. You can see that my recipe is a little bit different. But both are delicious!

They added basil and red onion to theirs along with the ingredients I shared above. You could even use the cream from Burrata in place of the crema. Get creative!

red onion
basil
avocado
jalapeno
burrata
make it more hearty with shredded chicken or even shrimp!

Like with a lot of my recipes, I like to leave them open to interpretation so you can add or take away flavors that you don’t love.

More caprese recipes

More easy snack recipes

Close up of a tostada with sliced tomatoes and crema sauce.

Mexican-Inspired Caprese Tostada Recipe

If you love the flavors of a caprese salad, you'll love this crunchy Mexican twist! Make this Caprese Tostada recipe next time you want a snack with fresh, bold flavors.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate Save

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Total Time: 10

Servings: tostadas

Calories: 33kcal

Author: Sharon Garofalow

Ingredients

▢ Pre-made tostada shell or make your own with corn tortillas
▢ 1 Roma tomato sliced
▢ 1 Tbsp cilantro chopped
▢ 1 Tbsp cotija cheese crumbled
▢ 1 tsp Mexican crema

Instructions

Slice Roma tomatoes in to rounds.
On top of the tostada shell, place tomato slices, cotija cheese and cilantro.
Using a spoon, drizzle on some crema.
Amounts listed above would make between 1-2 tostadas. Increase amounts to make more!