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Mexican Pizza – a homemade version of the famous Taco Bell Mexican Pizza, only better! Super easy and a fun dinner the whole family will love.
I used to love Taco Bell. I am pretty sure it was because you could get so much food for so little money, but their crunchy tacos were my favorite! Then one day I discovered the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza and I was hooked! But their Crunchwrap Supreme ranks pretty high too.
We all know I love Mexican food in any form. I mean, I could have Sour Cream Enchiladas every day and be one happy girl. But sometimes you have to mix it up a bit. And making restaurant favorites at home, is always a good idea!
This Taco Bell Mexican Pizza recipe is really simple to make, you just need few ingredients and a few minutes and you are done.
Mexican Pizza Ingredients
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Tortillas (see below for notes on flour vs corn)
- Refried Beans
- Ground Beef
- Taco Seasoning
- Enchilada Sauce
- Colby Jack Cheese
- Diced Tomatoes
- Oil
The nice thing about this is you can customize it however you want. If you don’t like beans, don’t add them. If you really like black olives, add them. It is up to you! Back when this first came out at Taco Bell it included black olives.
I stuck with the basic version you can find at Taco Bell that has refried beans, taco meat, and a few diced tomatoes on top. I did add a couple of green onions for color, but you could use cilantro instead or just leave it plain. And if you have any Homemade Refried Beans, use those!
How to Make Mexican Pizza
- The first step is to make the taco meat. You can use ground beef or ground turkey and whatever taco seasoning you like. Just make it like you would for taco night.
- Next you want to get the tortillas nice and crispy. If you have a griddle or large skillet that fits more than one, break it out for this. Add a little bit of oil to your pan and heat the tortillas over a medium high heat. You want to flip them frequently so they don’t burn. But cook for 4-5 minutes until they are crispy.
- Now you start assembling. Spread a layer of refried beans along the bottom of the tortilla. Top with a layer of taco meat.
- Once you have your filling, add the second tortilla and top with enchilada sauce. You don’t want too much, or it will get soggy.
- Add a few diced tomatoes and an even layer of cheese over the sauce.
- Now you bake until the cheese is melted, the tortillas are crispy and everything is hot!
- I like to let them sit for a minute before I slice them so it doesn’t make a huge mess. Serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or just as is!
Flour Or Corn Tortillas
I call for flour in this recipe, because that is what I like. But you can definitely use corn. I believe that Taco Bell uses flour and then fries them to get them super crispy. So if you want it a little more “authentic” and more like Taco Bell, then use flour.
If you read the comment section below there are a few former employees who commented. It sounds like what they used may have changed over the years or maybe region of the country. So whatever tortilla you like, you can get it crispy and it works great.
I have been making this Mexican pizza for years, and it is such a fun way to mix up taco night. It is easy to make and have everything on hand, plus the whole family will love it! Plus like a lot of copycat recipes, this is so much better than the original! You know what the ingredients are and get to use your favorites!
Recipe Tips
- What tortillas you use is entirely up to you, just get them crispy before you start. I have heard from people who say they worked at Taco Bell and they used flour. I have heard from people who swear they use corn. The website, which has the current information, says they use flour. But the actual pizza is definitely a little different since they have brought them back, so it could have been a blend previously.
- Lots of people like adding cheese to the middle to help keep it together. I am pretty sure Taco Bell did not do this, but theirs also wasn’t as full. But if you like cheese and want to make it easier to deal with, add it!
- You can easily make this vegetarian by just leaving out the ground beef. Obviously make sure you use vegetarian beans if you are buying them at the store.
- If you like things spicy you can use hot enchilada sauce, or add jalapenos to your ground beef.
- This Homemade Enchilada Sauce is great if you don’t want to use the store bought stuff.
Want More Copycat Recipes
- Canes Sauce
- Pasta Milano
- Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Cafe Rio Dressing
- Red Lobster Tartar Sauce
- Fiesta Lime Chicken
Mexican Pizza
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 3/4 cup water
- 15 oz refried beans
- 10 oz enchilada sauce
- 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
- 8 flour tortillas, taco size
- 1 Tablesoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- In a large skillet brown ground beef, breaking up into small pieces. Once cooked, add taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed.1 pound ground beef, 1 packet taco seasoning, 3/4 cup water
- In a large skillet or griddle pour half of the oil into the pan. Heat over medium high heat. Add tortillas and cook for 4-5 minutes, flipping frequently, until crisp. Repeat with remaining tortillas and oil.1 Tablesoon vegetable oil, 8 flour tortillas
- Spread about 1/4 cup of beans evenly over the bottom of each tortilla. Top with taco meat.15 oz refried beans
- Place another tortilla over the top of the meat. Spread about 2 Tablespoons of enchilada sauce evenly over the tortilla. Divide tomatoes evenly over the top of the tortillas.10 oz enchilada sauce, 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
- Sprinkle the cheese in an even layer over the top.1 1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
- Place each pizza on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is hot.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Easy and family loved it!
Tried the Taco Bell pizza recipe last night. I will say that I was pleasantly happy with the results.
I’m not a huge fan of cooking with oil too crisp the shells. They usually end up tasting like oil. I must report, success in having no oily after taste .
I missed putting my beef on the beans so ended up using 3 shells. Still tasted great!
My son came back for 3rds. Right there tells you how good the dish turned out.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I highly recommend it.
I made this for lunch. It was delicious, just like Taco Bell used to be years ago. I never go to Taco Bell anymore due to the expense and zero food quality. I’m glad to find this recipe and others that help me miss the old days less.
Great recipe.
The tortillas didn’t get crispy enough in a pan, so I tried putting those in the oven instead to get crispy first.. unrealized the only way to get them like Taco Bell is to fry them in oil. Otherwise the recipe is great!
I’m making these for dinner tonight. We can’t wait to try. The only difference is I didn’t have quite a pound of burger so I’m adding black beans to what burger I do have. My family said the house already smells great! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for breaking this down in such an easy-to-understand way. Looking forward to similiar posts.
Flavor was fair, but the toughness of the shells where unbearable. When I served these I didn’t realize a steak knife was not even adequate to to cut the shells. You could have cut a tire easier, now knife could make it easy.
If the tortillas were too hard to cut through, that seems like you over cooked them. All you need is a couple minutes to crisp them up, just like you would a quesadilla, which doesn’t need a steak knife. So either you cooked them for too long, or they were not fresh when you started.