Name: Bean and Vegetable Tostadas
Ingredients: Vegetable oil, for frying; 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas; 2 pinches coarse salt; 1 (14-ounce) can spicy vegetarian refried beans (vegetarian beans contain no lard); 1 cup shredded smoked Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or pepper Jack; 1 heart Romaine lettuce or 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded; 2 small plum tomatoes, diced; 1 small white skinned onion, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons (a palm full) chopped cilantro or parsley

Why it works: Beans and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Bean and Vegetable Tostadas

Time30 seconds on each side

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for frying
4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 pinches coarse salt
1 (14-ounce) can spicy vegetarian refried beans (vegetarian beans contain no lard)
1 cup shredded smoked Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or pepper Jack
1 heart Romaine lettuce or 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 small plum tomatoes, diced
1 small white skinned onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons (a palm full) chopped cilantro or parsley

Directions

Fry the tortillas

Heat oil to medium‑high heat.
Fry tortillas 30 seconds on each side until light golden, one tortilla at a time.
Drain tortillas on brown paper sack.
Season tortillas with a little coarse salt while hot.

Assemble and serve

Heat beans in microwave or small pan over moderate heat.
Spread hot beans on tortillas.
Top beans with a handful of shredded smoked Cheddar or Jack cheese.
Add shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and chopped onion on top of cheese.
Garnish tostadas with chopped fresh cilantro or parsley and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

601Calories

15 gProtein

40 gFat

50 gCarbs

Counts 13 of 14 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 13 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Corn Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Romaine Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5
Iceberg Lettuce	1 cup shredded (36g)	5
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Bean	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,713 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beans + lettucetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together500 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Corn + beanstop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,211 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Lettuce + parsleytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,483 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Corn tortillas: Provide the crisp, golden base that holds the toppings.
Refried beans: Add moisture and a creamy, savory layer under the toppings.
Cheese (in the method): Melts into the hot beans and adds richness and savory flavor.
Tomatoes: Add juiciness and fresh acidity that balances the rich beans and cheese.

The step that matters

Fry the tortillas until light golden. Frying in hot oil dries the tortilla and sets its structure so it stays crisp under the toppings. Frying too long or too hot browns and hardens it, while too cool a fry leaves it greasy and soft.

Swap the plum

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, beans, pepper, lettuce, tomato, onion, parsley):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Cherryfits better
Plumthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, beans, pepper, lettuce, tomato, onion, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Tomato Soup526 recipes

Corn Fritters203 recipes

Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes

Tomato Bisque61 recipes

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Bean and Vegetable Tostadas