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Cafe Rio Tostadas – a crunchy corn shell topped with rice, juicy chicken, and all the toppings you like. A homemade version of the classic restaurant favorite!
If you live in the Western United States, than chances are you know what Cafe Rio is. It is a quick service Mexican style chain, that has quite the following. It is similar to the Chipotle concept, they just have their own spin.
Cafe Rio has weekly specials, and on Wednesday they have the tostada special, which happens to be one of my favorites!
You may have seen my Chicken Tostada or my Shrimp & Avocado Tostada recipes here on the blog in the past. They both feature a thick layer or Guacamole on the tostada shell, and are great quick and easy recipes.
This Cafe Rio Tostada is a little different, in that they put a layer of Cilantro Lime Rice and your choice of beans on the bottom. And the guacamole is an optional topping. Which, let’s face it, when is it optional?!
What You’ll Need
- Tostada Shells
- Chicken
- Italian Dressing
- Ranch Dressing Mix
- Chili Powder
- Ground Cumin
- Garlic
- Rice
- Beans
- Lettuce
- Pico de Gallo
- Sour Cream
- Tortilla Strips
How To Make Cafe Rio Tostadas
- The first step is to make your chicken. This recipe includes a copycat Cafe Rio Chicken recipe, but you really can use any chicken you like. You could go as simple as tossing rotisserie chicken with some taco seasoning.
- Once you have your chicken cooked, you have some rice and beans warmed you can start assembling your tostadas.
- Place a tostada shell on a baking sheet, and top with a scoop of rice, and beans. Then top with a generous amount of chicken. Sprinkle on the cheese. Repeat with the rest of your shells and meat.
- Place the baking tray in the oven for 5-6 minutes until the cheese is melted and the shells are crispy.
- Remove from the oven and top each tostada with lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, tortilla strips and whatever other toppings you enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- You can make these as easy or as hard as you want. I have included recipes for homemade rice, chicken and pico de gallo in the recipe card. But you can easily use store bought salsa and rotisserie chicken to make this a quick and easy meal. It doesn’t have to be homemade for each stop, I am just giving you the options.
- Mix up your toppings! Cafe Rio gives you a choice of dressing as well with their tostadas. So you can make my Cafe Rio Dressing (a tomatillo ranch) to go along with this as well.
- Not a huge fan of chicken? Use pork! The sweet Cafe Rio Pork is definitely an option at the restaurant and one you can use at home as well.
- You can find tostada shells at almost every grocery store these days. All of my stores sell multiple brands. You can find them with the regular taco shells in a small box, or you can sometimes find them on the end caps in a large bag where they display other tortillas.
More Tasty Dinner Recipes
- Mexican Pizza
- Cajun Chicken Alfredo
- Kale & Sausage Pasta
- Pork Carnitas
- Avocado Grilled Cheese
- Fiesta Lime Chicken
- Air Fryer Tacos
- Arby’s Beef & Cheddar
Cafe Rio Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients
Cafe Rio Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup Italian dressing
- 3 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin
- 3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix
- 1/2 cup water
Cilantro Lime Rice
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice, basmati or jasmine rice, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, about 1 cup
- 3 Tablespoons lime juice
- zest 1 lime
Pico de Gallo
- 1 cup tomato, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
Tostadas
- Tostada shells
- Black or Pinto Beans
- Shredded Lettuce
- Cheddar Cheese
- Tortilla Strips
- Sour Cream
Instructions
To Make Cafe Rio Chicken
- Mix together the Italian dressing, garlic, chili powder, cumin, ranch dressing mix and water.
- Place chicken in the Instant pot and pour the sauce over.
- Cook under high pressure for 12 minutes if using fresh chicken, 17 if using frozen chicken.
- Quick release the pressure and use forks to shred the chicken,
- Add back to the pot and mix with the sauce.
To Make Cilantro Lime Rice
- Combine the rice with the water, oil, salt and bay leaf in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fluffy.
- Meanwhile finely chop the cilantro and mix with the lime zest.
- Once the rice is cooked fluff it with a fork and add in the cilantro, lime zest and lime juice. Mix until it is well combined.
To Make Pico de Gallo
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Store in fridge until ready to use.
To Make Tostadas
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Arrange tostada shells on baking sheet. Top each one with a scoop of rice, and beans. Sprinkle cheese over the top.
- Bake for 5-6 minutes until the cheese is melted and the shells are crispy.
- Remove from the oven and top with your desired toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Never heard of Cafe Rio, so I am happy you shared these with all of us. They look very tasty and perfect for Cinco de Mayo!
These sound amazing! Perfect weeknight meal!
Love this Mexican food streak that you’re on! Please send over a few of these tostadas, asap! 😀
(I’m not sure what happened to April, or March!)
Ooh, lots of Mexican food recipes over here! And again, I didn’t know what a tostada was until I read this. You’re an educator, Erin. 🙂