Food of the Eighties, Beefy Tostada from Taco Bell
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Description
Not sure when this came out, but it was a flat tortilla with refried beans, beef, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and black olives. It disappeared around 88-89.
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User Stories and Comments

The following are comments left about Beefy Tostada from Taco Bell from site visitors such as yourself. They are not spell checked or reviewed for accuracy.

John - October 02, 2007 - Report this comment
They also had a beefy tostada supreme...what a facefull that was. Many napkins...but oh so good.
jodylync - March 28, 2008 - Report this comment
When this was out, it was the only thing I ordered from the Bell. I had forgotten about it.
Angie - April 25, 2008 - Report this comment
You can add beef to the regular bean tostada now.
Claudette - September 05, 2008 - Report this comment
They are not the same--I specifically worked at Taco Bell in that era, and we would have a fryer at a frying work station preparing the shells for tacos, tostadas fresh! Now I think that they pre-cooked and because they sure taste nasty. Also, there were TACO LIghts which were so delicious with a fried Flour tortilla shell--it came with delicious tasting ground beef topped with sour cream lettuce, tomato and cheese. Oh, and we can't forget the enchirito which was similar to an enchilada --oh it was delicious. They were the bomb--TACO BELL where have your special tastes gone.
steve - May 04, 2009 - Report this comment
I used to work at taco bell back in the late 80's. They used to shread their own cheese and it was AWESOME! Now it sucks! They buy it pre shreaded....yuck!
Laura - July 16, 2009 - Report this comment
The Beefy Tostada was the best menu item ever! And I've been going to Taco Bell for over 40 years. Please Taco Bell - bring back the Beefy Tostada! And I agree with Claudette, the Enchirito was also great!
carrie - August 16, 2009 - Report this comment
yes yes claudette what happen to that taco light? not for diet or health either ummm they were the best taco they ever had!!!!!!
Tim - September 06, 2009 - Report this comment
Yea, and their lettuce must be bagged like so many other places. I don't know about you, but I can taste that nasty plastic-bag weird lettuce taste. Companies cheapen so much and sacrifice flavor in the process. RIP good fast food.
B-Rad - October 07, 2009 - Report this comment
I also worked at Taco Bell in the early 80's and everything was prepared on premisis from grating the cheese and shredding the lettuce to pressure cooking pinto beans to make the refried beans and frying the taco/tostada shells. The Beefy Tostada was definitely one of my faves. Oh, and who else remembers the Green Sauce that was available?
Andy - December 13, 2009 - Report this comment
What happened was they increased the minimum wage. Paying $3.35 an hour for some pimply faced high school kid to shred cheese and lettuce made business sense, and gave the kid valuable work experience. With Minimum wage now over $7.00 an hour it's now more cost effective for the business owner to eliminate the position and buy their cheese and lettuce pre-shredded. If they didn't do that you'd be paying $2.00 or more for a regular taco bell taco.
Jason - December 29, 2009 - Report this comment
Up here in Seattle/Everett area, they now have also removed the normal tostadas from the menu. Yea, i know, its very sad. One girl i asked who was new and young asked me what a tostada was when i asked her about it. They also removed their larger nachos as well and only have the small one now. Maybe its my imagination but their burrito supremes seem to be smaller or use a smaller tortilla.. anyways.. now i just go visit the mexican ran drive thrus or restaurants and get my tostadas.
H. marie - May 05, 2011 - Report this comment
Taco bell...please bring back the tostada!
cayla - September 14, 2012 - Report this comment
I would be willing to pay twice the current price to have the original taco bell menu back with the original quality and recipes.
ME - May 19, 2014 - Report this comment
I ate my own version of a beefy tostada today by ordering a regular tostada, a taco supreme and combining the two myself. A little messy to remove contents of taco onto the tostada, but I still LOVE beefy tostadas enough for the trouble.
Jay - August 17, 2014 - Report this comment
I can make an exact replica of the beefy tostada and enchirito in my own kitchen. I make one or both at least once a month. The enchirito is made with a fajita size flour tortilla. It has refried beans, taco meat and onion on the inside. Roll it into a burrito and put it on a plate. Cover it with la Victoria enchilada sauce. (La Victoria enchilada sauce) is the exact same taste Taco Bell uses on their food now and when they put it on the enchirito and tostada. Anyway, pour the sauce over the enchirito, add your shredded mild cheddar cheese. If you want it to look identicle, put three sliced black olives on top, microwave it. The beefy tostado goes like this: flat corn tortilla, either fry it yourself in your deep fryer, easy to do. Get some corn tortillas, drop one into the fryer and push your fryer basket on top of it and push it to the bottom of the fryer to keep its shape and cook it for about 30 seconds. Or if you don't make your own, buy already made tostada shells. Refried beans go on first. I used to make beans from scratch but it takes time. So just get a can of refried beans, dump out the can into a mixing bowl. Add about a teaspoon of cumin, tsp chili powder, tsp garlic powder, tsp garlic salt. Use less of those spices if using a small can of beans. Use an electric hand mixer and mix this all up to get it creamy. It makes a big difference. If you don't use the spices in the beans from the can you'll have disgusting tasteless bland refried beans. Trust me. Once you made the beans, spread them on the tostada shell, add some la Victoria enchilada sauce over the beans, then put a layer of the taco meat that you made using Taco Bell seasoning ingredients. ( email me if you don't have the Taco Bell taco meat copycat recipe) and microwave the tostada with the beans, sauce and meat only for about 15-20 seconds. Then add shredded lettuce,sour cream, shredded mild cheddar cheese and chopped tomatoes. Taco Bell topped it off with one piece of sliced black olive right in the center. Delicious! I found Taco Bell taco meat recipe easily when I searched it. There's two different versions going around on the net. Once calls for adding the seasoning to the raw meat before cooking, the other has you fry the meat in a pan and add the seasoning at that point. Trust me, it's the first version, mix it first. Email me if you want it Jc1015@cfl.rr.com
Julie - February 10, 2015 - Report this comment
Beefy Tostada -- Order a Spicy Tostada; add beef; cut chipotle sauce; add sour cream & black olives. Done!
Taco Bell #232 MGR - August 03, 2022 - Report this comment
Okay, it's been over 40 years and I'm old now so the memory may be a wee bit faulty. Corn Tortilla Beans Seasoned Beef Red Sauce Sour Cream Shredded Lettuce Shredded Cheddar Cheese Dice Tomatos Olive Slice Yes, the corn tortillas were fried in the restaurant about every other day or so depending on store volume and usage. Beans were sorted (to remove rocks) and pressure cooked with water, salt and lard only. No additional spices or seasonings. When they were cooked, they were whipped up with a power drill and paint mixer to smooth creaminess and then poured into bus tubs used only for beans. When needed, they were re-heated in an aluminum roasting pan on top of the stove. Most ingredients are now shipped in as many have said. Some is cost of labor. Some is what under-18-year old's can do because of OSHA. Tomatoes, Onions were diced by hand. Olives also sliced by hand. Blocks of cheese cut with a piano wire and then shredded in a shredder. Corn tortillas fried in a deep fryer. 5lb chubs of beef sauced and cooked on a stove top using a large potato masher to break up the beef. See any risks in any of those techniques?
Mike - August 11, 2022 - Report this comment
I was surprised to see these comments about the Tostada because most posts about former menu items seem to be about the Enchirito and I myself preferred the Enchirito to the Tostada(s) beef and bean. I'm not sure if I ever even had one when I worked there but now I might make one to see for myself.

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