Pulled pork sandwich meets tostada in this tasty Pulled Pork Tostadas. This recipe is a detour from your average leftover pulled pork recipe, featuring tostadas stacked with smoked gouda cheese, tender leftover pulled pork, coleslaw, and a quick BBQ sauce.
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Hello fellow pork lover! Pulled pork is just one of the oh-so-many reasons my favorite cut of pork is the pork butt. Pulled pork is one of those versatile preparations that allows for creativity in serving, like in these shredded pork tostadas. I love the crunch of a tostada against tender pulled pork. And paired with smoked cheese and coleslaw, it’s a tasty detour from a traditional pulled pork sandwich.
The suggested coleslaw is the only component of this dish that requires advanced preparation before serving. Unless, of course, you need to make pulled pork, in which case you can do so quickly with my Pulled Pork in the Instant Pot recipe!
If you want something to pair these tostadas with, I highly recommend this refreshing Tajin Fruit Salad made with three kinds of melons and this Simple Cucumber Salsa, paired with tortilla chips.
Why You'll Love This Leftover Pork Tostadas Recipe
- Great Way to Repurpose a Meal. If you have leftover pulled pork on hand and are looking for a creative way to use it besides the predictable sandwich, this recipe is for you!
- Easy to Make! If you need a dish you can get on the table in just minutes, this is it! Since we're using leftovers you simply need to reheat and make a simple coleslaw to get it on the table.
- Great Combination of Flavors. This mash-up of American and Mexican is simply amazing and the answer to keeping mealtime exciting and delicious.
Ingredients
To put this masterpiece together, you will need the following ingredient and components.
- Tostadas: Tostadas make a perfectly crisp vessel for leftover pulled pork. I typically reach for store-bought tostadas but you could absolutely make your own.
- Pulled pork: For this "non-recipe" I'm going to recommend you use any leftover pulled pork you wish! But I have a quick and easy recipe for you to make pulled pork that's ready in under an hour!
- Coleslaw: Again, your choice here on what kind of coleslaw you'd like to use. I like buying pre-shredded coleslaw mix, then pulling it together with this tangy oil and vinegar coleslaw recipe. Or you could take it a creamy Tex-Mex direction with this easy creamy salsa dressing.
- Smoked gouda: I love a good smoked cheese with pulled pork. Smoked gouda is great, as is a smoked cheddar. Though I've also used pepper jack with great tasting results.
- BBQ sauce: I often reach for a store-purchased one, like Sweet Baby Ray's. Scroll down just a little and you'll see my BBQ hack to add a little more umami to a store-bought sauce.
Note: This recipe doesn't have quantities and it really works well to make as much as you need to serve your group. Before I make this recipe, I think about who will be enjoying this pulled pork with me. If it's for two, I prepare enough garnishes for two (coleslaw, shredded cheese, BBQ sauce) and plan another use for the leftover pulled pork.
Substitutions and Variations
- Chips Instead of Tostadas: I love the final presentation when using tostadas, but in a pinch I have just spread tortilla chips on a plate to use as a base. It's a tasty variation for sure!
- Pulled or Shredded Chicken: This is also great with shredded chicken! Try it with this Instant Pot salsa chicken. Or why not use shredded beef?
- Coleslaw: I feel like pulled pork and coleslaw are a perfect pair, but you could also pick up a shredded Brussels sprouts mix. Or top with crisp Iceberg lettuce and toss with a light vinaigrette.
- Smoked gouda: At the end of the day, use whatever cheese you like. You can't go wrong with a smoked cheese in my opinion, but there's a lot of flexibility here!
- BBQ sauce: Nothing wrong with reaching for a store-purchased sauce here! Or you might try this homemade chipotle sauce.
How to Make Leftover Pulled Pork Tostadas
Once you’ve gathered up and prepared all of the components, it’s assembly time!
I like to assemble my Shredded Pork Tostadas as follows:
- Prepare the quick BBQ sauce I mentioned above or grab your bottle from the fridge or cabinet.
- Place the tostada on a plate.
- Sprinkle on the shredded smoked gouda cheese.
- Add a generous amount of reheated pulled pork.
- Add the desired amount of coleslaw.
- Drizzle with the more quick BBQ sauce and dig in.
Quick BBQ Sauce for Leftover Pork Tostadas
Save the leftover pork drippings from cooking your pulled pork to add some OOOMPH to store-purchased BBQ sauces, like in the quick recipe below.
- Pulled pork “juice” - I'm not the only one who saves the drippings (which I call the juice) after cooking pulled pork right!? If you saved it, use it here!
- Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
Use a ratio of 6 tablespoons of BBQ sauce plus 3 tablespoons of pulled pork juice. Double or triple the recipe to make what you need.
Expert Tips
- Reuse the "juice!" You know, the cooking liquid that gets left behind after the pork butt has finished cooking. Use it to add some serious OOMPH and umami to store-bought BBQ sauces.
- Add flavor to your store-bought sauce. One of my favorite store-purchased barbecue sauces is Sweet Baby Ray’s, but it’s on the thicker side. I recommend adding 1 tablespoon of pork juice to every 2 tablespoons of Sweet Baby Ray’s to achieve a lovely, drizzle-worthy pulled pork BBQ sauce (which is what I did for these pork tostadas).
- Layer complementary flavors. I use a pretty basic pulled pork recipe that has a flexible flavor profile. This allows me to have some fun with the toppings, like preparing a sweet and tangy coleslaw that goes great with pickled jalapenos. Or you could opt for a creamy coleslaw and punch it up with a layer of pickle chips.
Serving Suggestions
Swap your garnishes and use whatever you like! Try it with hot sauce (like Tabasco), sliced jalapenos, serranos, or other fresh hot peppers, pickled jalapeno slices or banana pepper rings, fresh herbs, like parsley, and shredded lettuce!
These are my favorite dishes to serve with these pork tostadas! They go great with a simple side dish such as air fryer roasted sweet potatoes, basmati rice, or chicken nachos.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend reheating pulled pork on the stovetop. Put the desired amount in a pan and arrange it in a flat layer, cover, and reheat over medium-low. This will take around 10-15 minutes or so. Take a peek around halfway and give it a stir, then re-cover and let it continue cooking until heated through. Putting a lid on it will help keep things nice and moist.
I sometimes sneak in a splash of jalapeno juice or pickle juice if the pork looks like it could use some hydration.
More Easy Pork Recipes
If you tried this pork tostadas recipe (or any other recipe on Midwexican), please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the 📝 comments below!
Pulled Pork Tostadas
Ingredients
- 12 tostadas
- 3-4 pounds leftover pulled pork
- coleslaw your choice
- smoked gouda shredded
- quick BBQ sauce
Quick BBQ Sauce
- 3 tablespoons pork “juice”
- 6 tablespoons Sweet Baby Ray’s (or BBQ sauce of your choice)
Instructions
- Prepare Quick BBQ sauce, if using, by combining storebought BBQ sauce with leftover pulled pork drippings.
- Place tostada on a plate.
- Sprinkle on shredded smoked gouda cheese.
- Add a generous amount of reheated leftover pulled pork.
- Drizzle with the Quick BBQ Sauce and dig in.
Brianna
Very good! Will make again