Vegetarian chalupas
These homemade vegetarian chalupas are fresh, zesty, and delicious! They are filled with beans, onions, salsa verde, Mexican crema, and crumbled queso fresco. In addition to being vegetarian, these chalupas are gluten free, nut free, and egg free.
Servings: 5 chalupas
Ingredients
Chalupa shells
- 1 heaping cup masa harina
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp vegetable oil (for masa dough)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
- salt
Salsa verde (roasted tomatillo salsa)
- 6 tomatillos
- 1 jalapeno
- 1/4 white onion
- 1/2 lime
- 2 stalks green onion
- 1/8 tsp salt
Other toppings
- 8 oz black beans (about half a standard 15 oz can)
- 1/4 white onion
- 2 stalks green onion
- 3 tbsp Mexican crema
- 3 tbsp crumbled queso fresco
Instructions
Chalupa shells
- Combine the water, masa harina, and 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a large bowl then separate the dough into 5 equally sized balls of masa dough.
- Set up a station to press your balls into tortillas. If you have a tortilla press, it's time to bring that out. If you do not have a tortilla press, you can use a large flat object such as a cutting board or a cookbook to press your tortillas.You should grab a gallon bag and cut one of the sides of the bag that is adjacent to the opening open. Then place a ball of dough in the middle of the bag and press it into a large flat tortilla using a large flat object. You want the tortilla to be around half a centimeter thick.
- Next up, you need to cook your chalupas and shape them. Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat then lay one of your tortillas flat on the pan. Cook the tortilla flat for 30 seconds. The tortilla should start to puff up.
- After the tortilla has cooked flat for 30 seconds, it is time to shape it into a chalupa shape. If you want to make a relatively flat, tostada-like chalupa then you should use a spoon or tongs to elevate one side of the tortilla 1-2 inches off of the bottom of the pan. This should form a gentle crease in the middle of the chalupa. If you want to make a taco-shaped chalupa you should use a spoon to fold one side of the tortilla over the other side to make a taco shape. However you decide to shape your chalupa, you should hold it there for about 30 seconds. After 30 seconds the chapula should be solid enough to hold its shape.
- Cook the chalupa for another 60-90 seconds. If you are making taco shaped chalupas, you should flip the chalupa half way through. In total the chalupa should cook for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes.
Salsa verde
- Remove the husks from the tomatillos and wash them. Halve the white onion piece, tomatillos, and jalapeno.
- Lay the tomatillos, onion, and jalapeno out on a baking tray then broil them on high for 3-5 minutes. The skin should begin to char.
- Add all of the salsa verde ingredients to a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes.
Assembling the chalupas
- Fill the chalupas with all of your toppings and you are done!