My new recipes often start with leftovers and a challenge from The Grill-Meister. He requested that I make tostadas with some yummy leftover oven-roasted pork tenderloin, which gave me an opportunity to experiment. And as always, I used what I had on hand – they don’t call me The Duchess of Leftovers for nothing! 😁
A New Pork Tenderloin Tostadas Recipe
I’ve been making some version of a pork tostada for years, but didn’t have all the go-to’s for pico de gallo, my usual garnish. So I improvised with available ingredients and came up with the Basil Lime Relish, which gets a spark from hot honey. The final dish landed somewhere between a Southwestern tostada and a tomato-basil bruschetta. Tender pork, creamy beans, melted cheese, peppery greens, guacamole, and a bright basil-lime relish all come together with just enough hot honey to keep every bite interesting..
The result is layered, crunchy, savory, fresh, and just piquant enough to make you reach for another. It’s also protein-rich and relatively healthy.
Recipe: Pork Tenderloin Tostadas with Basil Lime Relish and Hot Honey
Makes 6 to 8 tostadas, serving 3 to 4 for dinner, 8 for lunch or as a first course.
Ingredients
Basil Lime Relish
- ½ cup chopped ripe tomato
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion
- 1 seeded and diced jalapeño
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for finishing
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon hot honey (can use regular if you prefer; add a pinch of cayenne)
- Salt to taste
Pork
- 1¼ to 1½ cups diced cooked pork tenderloin (about ½ lb.); click here for our recipe
- 1½ tablespoons (or more) spicy or tangy barbecue sauce (just use your fave)
Tostadas
- 6 to 8 pre-baked corn tortilla tostada shells
- 1 15-oz can refried beans
- 1 cup shredded cheddar and/or Colby Jack cheese
- 1 cup arugula
- Olive oil and salt for the greens
- One recipe of Megan’s Guacamole (click here) or your favorite guacamole (homemade or store-bought)
- Hot honey on the side for an additional drizzle (at the diner’s discretion)
Instructions
Combine ½ cup chopped tomato, ⅓ cup chopped red onion, 1 diced jalapeño, 2 minced garlic cloves, and ¼ cup chopped basil in a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon hot honey, and salt to taste. Let the relish sit for at least 15 minutes so the flavors meld and the garlic softens slightly.
Lightly dress a handful of arugula with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Empty the can of refried beans in a small bowl and heat them in the microwave, stirring after a minute or two to check and evenly distribute the heat. Cover and set aside. Combine the 1¼ to 1½ cups diced pork tenderloin with 1½ tablespoons barbecue sauce and warm in a skillet over medium heat or in the microwave until heated through and lightly glazed (add more barbecue sauce if desired).
Arrange tostado shells on a baking sheet (or two, if you’re doing 8). Spread about 2 to 3 tablespoons warmed refried beans onto each tostada shell, then top with the pork and some of the shredded cheese. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tostadas are crisp around the edges.
Top each tostada with a small mound of arugula, spoon over some of the basil lime relish using a slotted spoon, and finish with guacamole and a little fresh basil chiffonade. A light drizzle of hot honey over the top is excellent here.
Serve immediately while the tostadas are still crisp and warm.
Notes
- Protein: if you don’t have already-cooked pork tenderloin, no worries! Try pulled pork, cubed or shredded chicken, chopped beef fajita meat, grilled shrimp – any of those would rock.
- Vegetarian option: simply leave off the pork and voila, you’ve got a lovely tostada. You can also substitute cubed firm tofu for the pork, tossing it in the barbecue sauce and heating it before adding to the chalupa. You can also substitute a fried egg and make this a breakfast dish.
- Barbecue sauce: use your favorite! If we don’t have any of my Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce on hand or a version from a favorite farmers’ market vendor, Sweet Baby Ray’s is our fave grocery store barbecue sauce. If your pork tenderloin had an accompanying sauce, you could even use that instead of – or in addition to – your barbecue sauce.
- Guacamole: technically, you could do without it. But don’t! It adds a wonderful creaminess to the dish, rounding it out beautifully. If you have avocados but no time to make guac, just slice them and arrange on your tortillas. You won’t be sorry.
- Tostadas: we love the pre-baked corn tortilla tostada shells, because they are not only quick and easy, but also quite low-cal and loaded with fiber. If you can’t find or prefer not to use pre-baked tostada shells, you can make your own quite easily. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a large cookie sheet with non-stick spray and arrange tortillas on it in a single layer. Bake for about 5 minutes, checking often, then turn the tortillas over and bake until toasted and crunchy, about 3-5 more minutes.
- Making multiple nights’ dinners: you’ll note from our photos in the next section that we only made 4 tostadas when I was documenting this recipe. There were only the two of us empty-nesters at home. We happily repeated the process to assemble, heat and garnish the rest of the tostadas the next night. This is the way to do it if you want to spread this delicious dish over multiple meals; otherwise, they’ll get soggy.
- Side dishes: none are needed; this is a complete meal.
- Wine Pairing: we served this with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, but a light Pinot Noir would also be excellent.
Join Me in the Kitchen for Pork Tenderloin Tostadas Creation
This is an easy and quick dish to make, if you have pork tenderloin leftovers (or another protein option). It’s more assembly than cooking. Let’s walk through it.
Improvisation Yields Wonderfulness
Sometimes the best recipes happen because I’m missing an ingredient, using leftovers, or just trying to impress The Grill-Meister. These tostadas are proof that improvising with what you have can lead to something unexpectedly delicious. If you make them, I’d love to hear what twists you add in your own kitchen.
©️ 2026, Glover Gardens
