Smoky Chipotle Chicken Tostadas with Charred Corn, Avocado & Pickled Red Onion

Crisp tostadas piled with smoky chipotle chicken, fire-charred corn, creamy avocado and bright pickled red onion make an easy late-summer dinner with just enough heat to carry us toward fall.

There comes a point in late summer when I start wanting a little more from dinner.

The tomatoes and corn are still wonderful, avocados belong on just about everything, and dinner can absolutely still happen outside. But as the evenings begin arriving a little earlier, I find myself reaching for deeper flavors—something smoky, a little spicy and touched by the char of a hot skillet or grill.

These Smoky Chipotle Chicken Tostadas land right in that sweet spot between the seasons. And then there is the salsa.

Cholula Smoky Chipotle Salsa is one of my favorites, and I couldn’t resist adding it to this recipe. It brings tomato, chile and smoke together in a way that works especially well with grilled or skillet-charred chicken. Rather than treating the salsa only as a topping, we’re using it to help build the flavor of the chicken and then adding a little more at the table.

The result is crisp, creamy, smoky, bright and messy in exactly the way a good tostada should be.

Why charring makes this recipe work

The charred corn isn’t simply here for appearance.

When fresh corn hits a very hot dry skillet, griddle or grill, its natural sugars begin to caramelize. Some kernels blister and darken while others remain sweet and juicy. That contrast gives the tostadas considerably more flavor than corn warmed gently in a pan.

The same principle applies to the chicken. We want a hot cooking surface so the exterior develops deeply browned edges without drying out the center.

Don’t mistake charred for burned, though. We’re looking for scattered dark blistering and caramelization—not uniformly blackened food.

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Smoky Chipotle Chicken Tostadas

Serves: 4
Makes: 8 tostadas
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the smoky chipotle chicken

• 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
• ½ cup Cholula Smoky Chipotle Salsa, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the charred corn

• 2 ears fresh corn, husks and silk removed
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Pinch of kosher salt
• ½ lime

For the guacamole

• 3 ripe avocados
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red or white onion
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely minced, optional
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

For the quick-pickled red onion

• ½ medium red onion, very thinly sliced
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

For assembly

• 8 corn tostada shells
• Cholula Smoky Chipotle Salsa
• Fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges
• Crumbled cotija or queso fresco, optional

Make the pickled onions

Combine the sliced red onion, lime juice, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Toss well, pressing the onions gently into the liquid.

Set aside for at least 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the recipe. They will soften slightly and take on a wonderful bright acidity that cuts through the avocado and smoky chicken.

Prepare the chicken

Pat the chicken dry.

Combine ¼ cup Cholula Smoky Chipotle Salsa, olive oil, lime juice, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and several grinds of black pepper.

Coat the chicken with the mixture and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes. You can marinate it a little longer, but because lime juice is acidic, I wouldn’t leave the chicken in this marinade all day.

Heat a cast-iron skillet, grill pan or outdoor grill over medium-high to high heat.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, allowing the excess to drip away. Cook until deeply browned in spots and completely cooked through, turning as necessary. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

Transfer to a cutting board and rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

While still warm, toss or brush the sliced chicken with another spoonful or two of the Smoky Chipotle Salsa.

Char the corn

Lightly brush the corn with olive oil.

Place it directly onto a hot grill or dry cast-iron skillet and cook, rotating periodically, until the kernels are tender and irregularly blistered with dark charred spots.

Allow the ears to cool just enough to handle, then stand each cob upright and carefully slice away the kernels.

Season with salt and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Don’t stir the corn constantly. Contact with the hot cooking surface is what creates those caramelized spots. Give it time to sit and blister before turning it.

Make the guacamole

Halve the avocados, remove the pits and scoop the flesh into a bowl.

Add the onion, jalapeño if using, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Mash with a fork, leaving plenty of small pieces of avocado intact.

Taste and adjust the lime and salt.

For these tostadas, I prefer the guacamole slightly chunky rather than completely smooth. It gives the chicken and corn something substantial to sit on and helps keep the crisp shell from becoming soggy quite as quickly.

Assemble the tostadas

Spread each tostada shell with a generous layer of guacamole.

Top with sliced smoky chipotle chicken, followed by charred corn and drained pickled red onion.

Spoon a little Cholula Smoky Chipotle Salsa over the top and finish with fresh cilantro. Add cotija or queso fresco if you’d like.

Serve immediately with lime wedges and additional salsa at the table.

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Make-Ahead Guacamole: How to Keep It Green

Guacamole is at its best freshly made, but you can absolutely get it ready ahead of dinner.

The enemy is air. Once the flesh of an avocado is exposed to oxygen, enzymatic browning begins. Lime juice helps slow that process, but the best protection is limiting the guacamole’s exposure to air.

Make the guacamole, transfer it to a container and smooth the surface. Press plastic wrap directly against the entire surface of the guacamole, eliminating as many air pockets as possible, then cover the container and refrigerate.

For the best color and texture, I would make it no more than one day ahead.

If the very top develops a little discoloration, don’t assume the entire batch is ruined. Remove the darkened surface and check what’s underneath.

For food safety, keep guacamole refrigerated at 40°F or below and don’t leave it sitting outside through a long late-summer gathering.

Chef’s Tips

Let the skillet get hot. A lukewarm pan steams chicken and corn rather than charring them. Preheat your cooking surface before adding either ingredient.

Chicken thighs are particularly forgiving. Boneless thighs stay juicy under high heat and work beautifully with smoky chipotle flavors. Chicken breast works too; watch the cooking time carefully.

Rest the chicken before cutting it. Five to ten minutes makes a noticeable difference in how much moisture stays inside the meat.

Drain the onions. A little pickling liquid is delicious. A puddle of it on a tostada is not. Let the onions drain briefly before adding them.

Build just before serving. Once guacamole and salsa meet a crisp tostada shell, the clock starts ticking. Prepare all the components first and assemble at the last minute.

Don’t bury the char. Those browned edges on the chicken and corn are part of the flavor. Resist the temptation to cover everything with salsa.

Variations

For Smoky Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas, replace the chicken with large peeled shrimp. They cook quickly, so marinate them briefly and sear just until opaque.

For a vegetarian tostada, skip the chicken and double the charred corn. Add seasoned black beans, roasted poblano peppers or both.

For steak tostadas, thinly sliced grilled flank or skirt steak is excellent with the smoky chipotle salsa, avocado and pickled onion.

You can also turn the entire recipe into a Smoky Chipotle Chicken Bowl. Skip the tostada shells and layer everything over cilantro-lime rice, quinoa or shredded lettuce.

And if you’re feeding a crowd, put everything on the table separately and make it a tostada bar. It’s one of those rare dinners where doing less work as the host actually makes the meal more fun.

Late Summer on a Plate

There’s a reason this combination feels particularly right as summer begins leaning toward autumn. Corn still belongs to the heat of August and early September. Lime, avocado and cilantro keep everything fresh. But smoky chipotle, blistered vegetables and deeply browned chicken bring in those first darker, toastier flavors we start craving as the season changes.

It’s not quite time to abandon the grill. It’s simply time to give it a little more fire.

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