Vegan Black Bean Tostadas

Vegan lunches can -- and should -- be a lot more interesting than bare salads or carrot sticks and hummus. New Veganism columnist Gena Hamshaw will be sharing inspiration for midday meals that stave off both hunger and boredom.

Today: Tortilla, tostada -- whatever you call it, Gena piles hers high with black beans, corn, and avocado. 

I’m calling this a tostada because it looks like a tostada, but since tostadas are traditionally deep fried, I guess this actually qualifies as an open-faced tortilla. Whatever you’d like to call them, they’re one of my favorite quick, easy lunches. They’re filling, I can top them with whatever I have in my fridge, and no matter how sloppily I throw them together, they end up looking really pretty.

For this particular lunch, I stuck to a tex-Mex theme, and filled my tostadas with a black beans, corn, and sautéed onions. The filling is very versatile and tasty on its own, as well as in tacos, tortillas, tostadas, and burritos. I made it the night before, and used my leftovers for lunch.

For me, no Mexican-inspired dish is complete without a thick slice of creamy avocado, so onto the tostada it went. To liven things up, I sprinkled them with some fresh arugula, but you could also use a handful of chopped herbs, like cilantro or basil. Pile your lunchtime tostadas high: the more, the merrier.

Looking for more vegan lunch ideas? Try these:
Quinoa Confetti Salad
Easy Spring Rolls
Millet Tabouli

Photo by Gena Hamshaw