Crispy Spicy Salmon & Crab Tostadas
Makes: 8 Servings
Per Serving: 13g Protein | 154 Cal
If you love spicy salmon rolls, crab rolls, crispy rice sushi, or basically anything involving spicy mayo and seaweed, you need to try these Crispy Spicy Salmon & Crab Tostadas. They have all of those sushi-inspired flavors, but instead of rolling anything or making crispy rice, we’re turning rice paper and nori into an incredibly crispy tostada shell—in the microwave.
Yes, the microwave.
The crispy shells are made by sandwiching hydrated rice paper between sheets of nori and microwaving them until they shrink and crisp up. The result is a thin, crunchy base that can be loaded with a creamy salmon and crab mixture packed with cucumber, green onion, sunflower seeds, furikake, and sriracha.
They’re crunchy, creamy, spicy, savory, fresh, and ridiculously fun to eat.
Even better, these salmon and crab tostadas require very little actual cooking. There’s no frying, no pot of oil, and no need to cook and crisp a batch of rice. They’re an easy lunch, snack, appetizer, or light dinner when you want something that feels a little more exciting without spending forever in the kitchen.
Why You’ll Love These Crispy Salmon and Crab Tostadas
There is so much texture happening in this recipe.
The nori rice paper tostada gives you that satisfying crunch, while the salmon and crab topping is creamy and loaded with crisp cucumber and green onion. Sunflower seeds add another layer of crunch, and furikake brings in even more savory, sesame-forward flavor.
Here are a few more reasons I love them:
They’re packed with salmon and crab.
The tostada shells crisp up in the microwave.
There’s no deep frying required.
They’re loaded with different textures.
They have all the flavors of a spicy sushi roll in a much easier format.
You can adjust the sriracha depending on how spicy you like your food.
They make a great lunch, snack, appetizer, or light dinner.
They’re just genuinely fun to make and eat.
And if making homemade sushi rolls feels like way too much work, this is a much more approachable way to get similar flavors.
What Are Salmon and Crab Tostadas?
Think of these as a cross between a tostada and a spicy sushi roll.
Instead of a traditional fried corn tortilla, the crispy base is made with rice paper and nori seaweed. The rice paper helps create that crunchy tostada-like texture, while the nori gives you the salty, savory flavor you expect from sushi.
Then we pile on a creamy mixture of salmon, imitation crab, cucumber, green onion, sriracha, light mayo, coconut aminos, sunflower seeds, and furikake.
Every bite has a little bit of everything: creamy seafood, crunchy vegetables, spice, umami, and a super-crispy shell.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Salmon
Canned salmon makes this recipe incredibly convenient. There’s no need to cook a fresh salmon filet before assembling your tostadas. Drain it well before adding it to your mixture so the filling doesn't become too wet.
Imitation Crab
Imitation crab gives the filling that slightly sweet crab flavor you find in a lot of sushi rolls. Chop it into small pieces so you get salmon and crab in every bite.
Sriracha
Sriracha gives the mixture its spicy kick. You can easily adjust the amount depending on your preferred spice level.
Light Mayo or Miracle Whip
This creates the creamy base that holds the salmon and crab mixture together. Using a lighter option keeps the mixture creamy without making it overly heavy.
Coconut Aminos
Coconut aminos add a salty-sweet, umami flavor to the seafood mixture. You could also experiment with low-sodium soy sauce if that's what you keep at home.
Persian Cucumbers
Persian cucumbers are perfect here because they're crisp, fresh, and easy to chop into small pieces. That freshness is especially good against the creamy seafood mixture.
Green Onion
Green onion adds freshness and a mild onion flavor without overpowering the salmon and crab.
Sunflower Seeds
This might not be the first ingredient you'd expect in a sushi-inspired tostada, but trust me on the texture. Sunflower seeds add little pops of crunch throughout the creamy filling.
Furikake
Furikake is a Japanese seasoning blend typically made with ingredients like sesame seeds, seaweed, and other savory seasonings. It ties all of the sushi-inspired flavors together.
Nori Seaweed Sheets
Nori forms the outside of our crispy tostada shell and gives these tostadas their unmistakable sushi-inspired flavor.
Spring Roll Rice Paper Wrappers
This is the secret to the crispy tostada.
Once the rice paper is briefly hydrated, it's sandwiched between the nori sheets and microwaved. As it cooks, it crisps up and creates the structure for your tostada.
I recommend having some extra rice paper on hand the first time you make these. Rice paper can be delicate, and having a few backups makes the process much less stressful.
How to Make Crispy Spicy Salmon & Crab Tostadas
Start by preparing all of your filling ingredients. Chop the imitation crab, Persian cucumbers, and green onions into small pieces. Keeping everything relatively small makes the finished tostadas much easier to eat and helps you get a little bit of everything in each bite.
Add the salmon, chopped imitation crab, cucumber, green onion, sunflower seeds, furikake, sriracha, mayo, and coconut aminos to a bowl. Mix everything together until the seafood and vegetables are evenly coated.
Set the salmon and crab mixture aside while you make the tostada shells.
Use one of your small rice paper wrappers as a guide to cut the nori into circles approximately the same size as the rice paper. Kitchen scissors make this much easier.
Pour water into a shallow bowl or dish. Dip one rice paper wrapper into the water for just a few seconds to hydrate it. You don't want to leave it submerged for too long.
Place the hydrated rice paper between two pieces of nori, creating a sandwich with nori on the top and bottom.
Place it onto a microwave-safe plate and microwave until the rice paper and nori have shrunk slightly and become crispy. Start with a short cooking time and watch it carefully because microwave strength varies.
Repeat until you've made all of your crispy nori tostada shells.
Once the shells are ready, spoon the spicy salmon and crab mixture generously over each one and enjoy immediately.
The Secret to Crispy Rice Paper Tostadas
The biggest thing to remember is that every microwave is different.
For me, these tostada shells crisp up quickly, but yours may need slightly more or less time depending on the wattage of your microwave.
Watch them closely the first time you make them. You'll notice the shell shrink slightly as it cooks. That's normal. You're looking for a shell that feels dry and crisp rather than soft or chewy. Also, don't soak your rice paper until it's completely floppy. It only needs a quick dip in the water. The goal is to give it enough moisture to work with, not saturate it.
Can I Make Rice Paper Tostadas Without Frying Them?
Yes—and that's one of my favorite things about this recipe.
Traditional tostadas are typically fried or baked until crisp, and crispy rice sushi recipes often involve cooking rice and then pan-frying or air-frying it. These rice paper tostadas get crispy directly in the microwave, making them an incredibly quick base for the salmon and crab topping.
It's also a great little cooking trick to keep in your back pocket for other sushi-inspired recipes.
What Does a Nori Rice Paper Tostada Taste Like?
The shell is thin, crispy, salty, and slightly savory from the nori. Because it's so thin, it doesn't compete with the filling. Instead, you get a big crunch when you bite into it followed by the creamy salmon and crab mixture. If you love eating seaweed snacks, you'll probably love this tostada shell.
How Spicy Are These Salmon and Crab Tostadas?
That's completely up to you. Start with less sriracha if you prefer mild heat. If you love spicy salmon or spicy crab rolls, add more until the mixture tastes right to you. You could also drizzle additional sriracha over the finished tostadas if you're serving people with different spice preferences.
Easy Topping Ideas
These crispy salmon and crab tostadas are already loaded with flavor, so you don't need to add anything else. But if you want to make them your own, there are plenty of options.
Try topping them with sliced avocado, jalapeño, sesame seeds, additional furikake, extra green onion, sriracha, spicy mayo, or even a little drizzle of coconut aminos.
You could also add fresh cilantro or a squeeze of lime if you want to take the flavors in a slightly different direction.
Nutrition Information (Per Serving - makes 8 tostadas)
Calories: 154
Protein: 13g
Carbs: 14g
Fat: 5g
FAQs
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Yes, but day-old rice works best because it has had time to lose some of its moisture. If you're using freshly cooked rice, spread it out and allow it to cool before seasoning and air frying or baking.Can I Make These Ahead of Time?
The salmon and crab mixture is the best part of this recipe to prep ahead.
Make the filling, transfer it to an airtight container, and refrigerate it until you're ready to eat.
I recommend making the crispy tostada shells closer to serving time. Once you add the seafood mixture, the moisture in the filling will eventually soften the shell.
For maximum crunch, keep the filling and tostada shells separate and assemble them right before eating.
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Store leftover salmon and crab mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Because this recipe contains seafood and mayo, make sure you keep it properly chilled and don't leave it sitting at room temperature for an extended period.
When you're ready to eat your leftovers, make a fresh crispy rice paper and nori shell and spoon the chilled filling on top.
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Yes, with one important adjustment: don't assemble them ahead of time.
Prep the spicy salmon and crab filling and keep it refrigerated. Then make your crispy shells when you're ready to eat.
This gives you the convenience of meal prep without sacrificing the best part of the recipe—the crunch.
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The salmon and crab mixture contains moisture, so the tostada will naturally begin to soften after it's assembled.
For maximum crunch, don't top the tostadas until you're ready to eat them. If you're meal prepping, store the salmon and crab filling separately and make or store your crispy shells on their own.
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Over-soaking the rice paper and assuming the microwave time has to be exact.
Rice paper behaves differently depending on the brand, thickness, and microwave you're using. Think of the first tostada as your tester: briefly hydrate it, microwave it while watching closely, and then adjust your timing for the rest of the batch.
Once you figure out the sweet spot for your microwave, the remaining tostadas are incredibly quick to make.
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Some shrinking is completely normal. As the moisture evaporates from the hydrated rice paper, the wrapper contracts and crisps. Your finished tostada will likely be slightly smaller than the rice paper wrapper you started with.
A Fun Alternative to Traditional Sushi
I love finding easier ways to recreate the foods I already love, and these Crispy Spicy Salmon & Crab Tostadas are exactly that.
You don't need a sushi mat. You don't need to perfectly roll anything. You don't even need to make sushi rice.
Instead, we're taking the flavors and textures that make a spicy sushi roll so good and turning them into a crispy, easy-to-assemble tostada.
You still get the seafood, cucumber, green onion, spicy creamy sauce, furikake, and nori—just in a completely different format.
And personally, I think the crunch makes them even more fun.sfying enough for a full meal. It’s easy to customize, great for meal prep, and one of those recipes you’ll actually look forward to eating all week.
Final Thoughts
If you're looking for an easy way to switch up your usual canned salmon recipe, these Crispy Spicy Salmon & Crab Tostadas are one to save.
The combination of creamy spicy salmon and crab with crisp cucumber, green onion, sunflower seeds, furikake, and a crunchy nori rice paper shell hits just about every texture and flavor note I want in a meal.
They're spicy, creamy, salty, fresh, and crunchy without requiring a complicated cooking process.
And the microwave tostada hack is the real star. Once you learn how to turn rice paper and nori into a crispy shell, you're probably going to start thinking about everything else you can put on top of it.
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Crispy Spicy Salmon & Crab Tostadas
These Crispy Spicy Salmon & Crab Tostadas are crunchy, creamy, spicy, and packed with flavor. A quick microwave hack transforms rice paper and nori into crispy tostada shells, then they’re loaded with a spicy salmon and crab mixture with cucumber, green onion, sunflower seeds, and furikake. Each tostada has 13 grams of protein and just 154 calories!
Ingredients
- 1 can salmon, drained
- 1 bag imitation crab, finely chopped
- 1–2 tablespoons sriracha
- ¼ cup light mayo or Miracle Whip
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 3 Persian cucumbers, finely chopped
- 4 stalks green onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons furikake seasoning
- 2 packages nori seaweed wraps (9 sheets each)
- 8 small spring roll rice paper wrappers (about 6 inches in diameter)
Instructions
- Finely chop the imitation crab, cucumbers, and green onions.
- Add the salmon, imitation crab, sriracha, mayo, coconut aminos, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, green onions, and furikake to a bowl.
- Mix until everything is evenly combined, then set aside.
- Using a rice paper wrapper as a guide, cut the nori sheets with kitchen scissors so they are approximately the same size and shape as the rice paper. You will need two pieces of nori for each tostada.
- Fill a shallow bowl or dish with water. Dip one rice paper wrapper into the water for just a few seconds to lightly hydrate it. Do not over-soak.
- Place the hydrated rice paper between two pieces of nori and gently press the layers together.
- Place the tostada on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for approximately 30 seconds, or until the shell shrinks slightly and becomes dry and crispy. Microwave times will vary, so watch closely and add additional time in short increments if needed.
- Repeat with the remaining rice paper and nori until you have 8 crispy tostada shells.
- Divide the salmon and crab mixture evenly among the tostada shells.
- Serve immediately while the shells are crispy.
Notes
For the crispiest tostadas, only dip the rice paper in water for a few seconds. If the finished shell is still flexible or chewy, microwave it a little longer until completely crisp.
Microwave wattages vary, so use your first tostada as a test to determine the ideal cooking time.
Wait to add the salmon and crab mixture until immediately before eating. The moisture from the filling will eventually soften the crispy shell.
I recommend buying an extra package of rice paper wrappers, especially if it’s your first time working with them, so you have a few extras in case any tear.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
154Fat
5 gCarbs
14 gProtein
13 gNutrition is an estimate and will vary based on the specific brands and products you use.
