By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 2, 2026
Serves 2
857 cal · 45 min
Roasted Bell Pepper Tostadas
Recipe GLPRadcd8feeecb464
Crispy tostada shells topped with a savory roasted bell pepper medley, creamy black bean purée, and bright garnishes. Bell peppers are roasted until tender and caramelized, then layered with a smooth spiced black bean spread, finished with cool sour cream, zesty salsa, and fresh scallions. A flavorful Mexican-inspired dish that comes together quickly and makes an excellent appetizer, lunch, or light dinner.
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Ingredients
2-3 bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 corn tostada shells
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh salsa
2 scallions, sliced
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the coarsely chopped bell peppers with olive oil, ground cumin, chili powder, and smoked sweet paprika until evenly coated. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 25–30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the peppers are tender and caramelized at the edges.
While the peppers roast, add the drained black beans and minced garlic to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. If desired, taste and season the purée with a pinch of additional cumin or chili powder for extra depth.
Gently warm the tostada shells in the oven for the last 2–3 minutes of the pepper cooking time, or place them on a wire rack as they finish roasting to keep them crispy.
To assemble, spread a generous layer of the black bean purée across each warm tostada shell. Top generously with the roasted peppers, dividing them evenly.
Drizzle each tostada with sour cream and fresh salsa, then scatter sliced scallions on top. Serve immediately while the shells are still crispy and the peppers are warm.
Comments
Every ingredient is a reliable stock item at any Charlotte-area grocer, with no special stops required—bell pepper and black beans especially fit the weeknight budget. At roughly $1.80 per serving, this is genuinely cheap, driven by the beans and bulk spices doing the work rather than expensive proteins. The stated 45 minutes is honest for roasting peppers and assembly, though a home cook new to tostadas might add 5–10 minutes, and the dish is best eaten same-night as the shell softens fast on leftovers. This is an easy, solo-friendly meal that doesn't demand fussy plating or constant attention, though it lacks the regional Southern weight that would push it higher—it reads more as generic Tex-Mex than something that speaks to Charlotte's own food character.
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