Casa Mamita Tostada

EDITOR’S NOTE: We originally reviewed these in 2023. In 2025, we bought them again and updated this review. We discovered Aldi changed the recipe, adding some new ingredients and different allergens. These also have roughly double the sodium as of 2025. 

Taco Bell has always been one of my favorite spots to go for comfort food. Sure, it’s not that healthy, and it’s not authentic Mexican food. Yet a large platter of Nachos BellGrande, especially with a taco on the side, really hits the spot. Grab a fountain drink and an order of cinnamon twists and you have the ultimate fast food meal. This was one of my preferred lunch combos during my years as a young journalist when I wanted to get lunch on the go.

One popular item on the Taco Bell menu is Mexican Pizza. Again, we’re not talking even remotely about real Mexican food here. A Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is more like a quesadilla than a pizza. It features seasoned beef along with refried beans sandwiched between two tortillas. The whole thing is topped with special sauce, cheese, and tomatoes.

The restaurant chain introduced its Mexican Pizza in the 1980s, and they removed it from the menu in 2020 citing the environmental impact of its paperboard packaging. Taco Bell brought the Mexican Pizza back in the spring of 2022 after fans petitioned for its return. Initially, Taco Bell was swamped with orders for the pizza and experienced supply shortages. Eventually, though, the Mexican Pizza became a permanent menu item in September of 2022.

In April of 2025, a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza cost $5.39.

Or, Aldi is selling some limited-edition Mexican Pizzas for less than $4.

 

Casa Mamita Tostadas cost $3.89 for an 8-ounce package in 2025. That’s the same price they sold for when Aldi introduced them in 2023. That comes out to about 49 cents per ounce.

These are an Aldi Find, so they’re only in stores for a short time. Each store gets one shipment, and after that sells out, they’re gone unless Aldi decides to bring them back at some later time. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products not in stock at your local store.

Each package contains one tostada, or one serving. These are sold in either beef or chicken flavors. They feature either ground beef or ground chicken, along with pinto beans, red sauce, and olives layered between two crispy tortillas topped with Monterey jack cheese, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and green onions.

The boxes have directions for cooking these in a conventional oven (preferred), air fryer, or on the stovetop.

To bake in the oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove tostada from all packaging and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. (A few years ago in 2023, the instructions said to use parchment paper.) Place on the center rack in the oven and cook for 15-18 minutes or until cheese is melted and tostada is cooked thoroughly.

To air fry, preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees for 5 minutes. (The 2023 directions said 380 degrees for 5 minutes). Meanwhile, remove tostada from all packaging and defrost in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on medium power. Place tostada in the air fryer basket and heat for 5-6 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.

To cook on the stovetop, defrost tostada in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on medium power. Place on a lightly oiled pre-heated pan over medium heat. Cover and heat for 4-6 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.

I’ve cooked these both in my air fryer and in the oven. The updated instructions in 2025 left my air-fried tostada slightly cold in the center, so I recommend cooking for a few minutes longer, or upping the temperature to 380 degrees or so.

These smell very good when they’re cooking, and both turned out equally crispy. The air frying method is slightly faster, but you’ll have to make sure you have a large enough air fryer. (Mine is a 6-quart air fryer and one tostada fit fine.) One small downside to air frying is that you have to thaw the tostada first in the microwave on medium power, so it does require fiddling with microwave settings some. It’s still faster than baking in the oven, though.

The tostada sticks a little both in the air fryer and using the oven method (even though I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper before putting the tostada in the oven). You’ll want to have a good spatula on hand to gently pry up the tostada. The box doesn’t say to use cooking spray, but I might try a little next time.

If you’re looking out for allergens, both tostada varieties contain milk, wheat, and soy. (When we first wrote about these in 2023, the only allergens were milk and wheat, which is evidence Aldi has tweaked the recipe. More about that below.)

Keep reading for more information about each variety.

Casa Mamita Beef Tostada:

I liked this variety the best. It has good Taco Bell vibes. It’s not a complicated meal by any means, but the combination of ingredients works. I added some salsa and sour cream on top (not shown in the photo above) for extra flavor.

Aldi did add olives to both tostada varieties sometime after they introduced them in 2023. I don’t care for olives, but I didn’t realize when I bought these in 2025 that olives had been added. I actually didn’t notice the olives when I ate this beef tostada. It was only when I was reading the ingredients list more closely afterward that I spotted them.

This has fewer calories and less total fat, sodium, and total carbs than a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza. It does have one additional gram of saturated fat compared to the Taco Bell version, and it has less dietary fiber than the Taco Bell version.

As of 2025, one Aldi beef tostada has 440 calories, 20 grams of total fat (26% DV), 9 grams of saturated fat (45% DV), 1,260 mg of sodium (55% DV), 46 grams of total carbohydrates (17% DV), 5 grams of dietary fiber (18% DV), 3 grams of total sugars, no added sugars, and 18 grams of protein.

Aldi has tweaked the recipe for the beef tostada since we first reviewed it in 2023. In 2023, one Aldi beef tostada had 390 calories, 17 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 640 mg of sodium, 42 grams of total carbohydrates, 6 grams of total sugars, and 1 gram of added sugars (2% DV).

In other words, as of 2025, this has more calories, more total fat, more saturated fat, double the sodium, and more total carbs than the version Aldi sold in 2023.

Casa Mamita Chicken Tostada:

This was my least favorite flavor. The ground chicken just didn’t do it for me and gave the whole tostada an off flavor. It doesn’t remind me of Taco Bell and was simply okay. It’s also worth noting that Taco Bell does not sell a chicken Mexican Pizza. The original Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is a beef one, and at some point Taco Bell added a veggie one as well, but no chicken. So if you’re craving Taco Bell, the beef tostada from Aldi is going to be closer to the real thing.

As of 2025, one Aldi chicken tostada has 400 calories, 15 grams of total fat (19% DV), 7 grams of saturated fat (35% DV), 1,000 mg of sodium (43% DV), 36 grams of total carbohydrates (13% DV), 3 grams of dietary fiber (11% DV), 2 grams of total sugars, no added sugars, and 28 grams of protein.

Aldi has also changed the recipe for this chicken tostada since we wrote about it in 2023. As of 2025, it has more calories and saturated fat, and almost double the sodium, and less dietary fiber. It does have fewer total carbs and no added sugars. When we first wrote about it in 2023, it had 380 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat, 630 mg of sodium, 42 grams of total carbohydrates, and 1 gram of added sugars.

The Verdict:

Casa Mamita Tostadas come in beef or chicken flavors. These are basically the Aldi version of the popular Taco Bell Mexican Pizza. They feature your choice of ground beef or ground chicken with pinto beans, olives, and red sauce sandwiched between two crispy tortillas and topped with cheese, diced tomatoes, and green onions. The beef tostada is pretty good. We didn’t care as much for the chicken one. Do be aware that these both have 1,000 mg or more of sodium per serving.