My cheesy chicken tostadas with creamy poblano sauce is a fiesta in your mouth! This post brought to you by Sargento. The content and opinions expressed below are all mine.
This may be my new favorite dinner or appetizer: cheesy chicken tostadas with creamy poblano sauce. I created this recipe for the Chopped At Home Challenge, with Sargento® shredded cheese, plus 3 other “mystery” ingredients. The result is this delicious, crunchy, cheese, creamy tostada that makes a fantastic entree or a hearty appetizer for Mexican night.
It may not be Cinco de Mayo but any day is a great day for Mexican flavors. My challenge was to use chicken thighs, Sargento 4-cheese Mexican blend, poblano peppers, and corn tortillas, in an original recipe and the results were better than expected! I made the chicken filling in the slow cooker, and prepared the poblano sauce and tortillas a couple of hours ahead so that all you have to do when it’s time to serve is assemble and heat. It’s a great make-ahead, interactive dish.
Cheesy Chicken Tostadas w/ Creamy Poblano Sauce
Makes about 10 tostadas; Serving size: 2 tostadas for an entree, or 1 tostada as an appetizer
chicken filling
- 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 cups jarred salsa
sauce
- 2 poblano peppers
- 1/2 Tablespoon buttermilk ranch dressing mix
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno {or to taste}
tostadas
- corn tortillas
- vegetable oil
- Sergento 4-cheese Mexican blend
- avocado
- fresh cilantro
In a slow cooker, add chicken thighs, onion, and cover with salsa. If your salsa is very thick you may want to add 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours; turn down heat to low and continue for another 2 hours.
When cooked through, shred chicken using 2 forks. Using a slotted spoon or small strainer, remove chicken mixture from excess liquid and into a bowl until ready to use.
Meanwhile, roast poblano peppers in a 425 degree oven for 40 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl; cover and let them steam for 15 minutes. Remove cover and let cool to touch. Remove and discard skin.
In a blender or food processor, combine ranch seasoning, mayonnaise, buttermilk, roasted poblanos, and jalapeno, until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
For tortillas, pour a shallow layer of oil into a small skillet – just enough to cover the bottom. Heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, place a tortilla in pan and cook until crisp, turning halfway through. It should take a total of 1 minute to 20 seconds, depending how hot your oil is. Remove crisp tortilla and let drain on a paper towel.
BUILD YOUR TOSTADAS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place a layer of chicken mixture onto crisp tortilla, and cover with shredded cheese {about 1/2 ounce each}. Cook on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted.
Remove tostadas and top with sliced avocado, creamy poblano sauce, and finely chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
TIP: The poblano sauce is too thick to drizzle with a spoon, so place it into a small squeeze bottle to make it easier to apply….or you can just add small dabs of it with a spoon.
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You can also get in on the Chopped At Home Challenge for the chance to win $5,000 and a trip to New York City to compete in a televised Chopped cooking challenge for a $10,000 grand prize.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento. The opinions and text are all mine.
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