Mexican Pizza
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Recreate Taco Bell’s famous Mexican Pizza at home with this easy copycat recipe! In just 20 minutes make the famous fast food dish loaded with taco-seasoned ground beef, refried beans, red enchilada sauce, and plenty of cheese. It’s a delicious combination of flavors in a simple family-friendly meal!
Table of contents
Mexican Pizza is a fun Tex-Mex dish that combines tostada shells, or as Taco Bell calls them “Mexican pizza shells” layered with seasoned ground beef, and refried beans. It’s topped with Mexican pizza sauce, cheese and diced tomatoes.
When making this recipe at home, I use red enchilada sauce as the Mexican pizza sauce and combine Monterey jack and cheddar cheese to make the cheesy topping. I also like to load it up with extra toppings, like shredded lettuce, guacamole, and creamy jalapeno sauce, aka Taco Bell Quesadilla Sauce.
These homemade Mexican pizzas are an easy weeknight meal that even the kids can help make. You can add all your favorite toppings and everyone can customize their pizza to taste! It’s a delicious, fun and easy meal that the entire family will enjoy.
Ingredients
- Ground beef – you could also use ground turkey or ground chicken. Or to make a vegetarian version of this dish, use soy chorizo.
- Taco seasoning – I always recommend my homemade spice blend. It’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes with pantry staples like chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. You can make it in advance and store it in the pantry for up to 6 months. You can also use store-bought taco seasoning found on the spice aisle at the grocery store.
- Tostada shells – these will usually be found in the grocery store next to the tortillas. Or check out the recipe notes section below to learn how to make them at home with corn or flour tortillas.
- Refried beans
- Red enchilada sauce – clink the link for my homemade recipe, or purchase a jar of your favorite enchilada sauce at the grocery store.
- Shredded cheese – Taco Bell uses a three cheese blend of cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese and mozzarella cheese. You’ll need one cup of cheese for this recipe, feel free to use a combination of cheeses, like I did with half cheddar cheese and half Monterey jack cheese, or pick your favorite cheese and use that. I do recommend grating the cheese at home so that it melts perfectly on the pizzas. Pre-shredded bags of cheese contain additives that cause them not to melt as well as freshly grated cheese.
- Tomato – any tomato will work for this recipe. Either pick a large tomato and dice it up, or use cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters, to top the pizzas.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook and season the ground beef. Add a pound of ground beef to a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook and crumble the ground beef until it’s no longer pink. Drain any grease from the skillet, then add taco seasoning and water to the skillet. Toss to combine everything. Let the beef simmer in the seasoning for 5 minutes, then remove the skillet from the heat.
- Assemble the Mexican pizzas. Spread a layer of refried beans on four tostada shells, then top the beans with the seasoned, cooked ground beef. Place another tostada shell on top of each bean and beef topped shell. Spread 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce on top of each tostada shell, then top with ¼ cup shredded cheese.
- Bake the Mexican pizzas. Preheat the broiler on the oven to high. Arrange one rack in the middle of the oven. Transfer the Mexican pizzas onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Cook for 30-60 seconds, keeping an eye on the pizzas so they don’t burn. You simply want to melt the cheese. If you’d rather bake the pizzas instead of broiling them, preheat the oven to 350°F and bake the pizzas for 4-5 minutes. Remove the pizzas from the oven, add the diced tomatoes and any other optional toppings of your choice.
Serve the pizza whole, or slice it into quarters. If slicing it into quarters, I recommend adding the toppings after you’ve sliced it, or they’re likely to fall off of the pizza when it’s cut.
Optional toppings
Taco Bell suggests about a dozen “add-ons” or upgrades for the pizza. I also added a couple of my own. Pick 2 or 3 and level-up your homemade Mexican pizza!
- Guacamole – a personal favorite topping for these pizzas, and just about everything else! Click the link for my easy homemade recipe, or buy your favorite pre-made guac at the grocery store.
- Shredded lettuce – shred up some iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce to add a fresh crunch on top of the pizzas.
- Taco Bell Quesadilla Sauce (creamy jalapeno sauce) – this sauce is referenced as a “popular upgrade” to this pizza on the Taco Bell website, and I can see why! I just so happened to have my copycat version of this sauce in my fridge and drizzled it over these pizzas. It added a wonderful creaminess and flavor to the pizzas! (Pictured below.)
- Fresh cilantro – a few leaves of fresh chopped cilantro adds a fresh pop of flavor and color on top of these pizzas. If you don’t like cilantro, try dicing up some green onions instead.
- Sour cream – a great, simple creamy addition to the pizzas!
- Nacho cheese sauce – click the link for my easy 10 minute recipe, or use a store-bought jar of nacho cheese to drizzle on top of the pizza. I’ve tried this before with my homemade cheese sauce, and it made my cheese-loving heart so happy!
- Jalapeno peppers – nacho-sliced pickled jalapeno peppers are a great addition to these pizzas, and a favorite topping at our house. You can also add fresh sliced jalapenos for more crunch and spice.
- Diced onions
- Sliced black olives
- Hot sauce
- Pico de gallo
- Chipotle sauce
- Cilantro lime sauce
- Salsa macha
Recipe notes
- Prepared and cooked Mexican pizzas do not reheat well. I recommend only assembling and baking as many as you’d like to eat in that setting. Each of the elements of the pizza, including the cooked ground beef leftovers, can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can easily heat up the ground beef, assemble more pizzas, and broil them in the oven in less than 5 minutes. I highly recommend this option instead of reheating leftover pizzas.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, use soy chorizo instead of ground beef, or just double up on the refried beans in the middle. Be sure to use vegetarian refried beans.
- This recipe is gluten free using the ingredients shown above. Always check the label to make sure the refried beans and enchilada sauce are gluten-free.
- If you don’t like refried beans, you can replace the beans with nacho cheese. The nacho cheese will hold the ground beef in place inside the pizzas.
- If you want to make homemade tostada shells with corn tortillas or flour tortillas, simply line up 8 six-inch tortillas on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Brush the tops of the tortillas with vegetable oil, or spray them with cooking spray. Place an oven-safe wire rack upside down over the tortillas on the baking sheet. This will prevent them from bubbling up as they cook. Bake the tortillas for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the tostadas cool before assembling the pizzas.
- This recipe makes 4 Mexican pizzas. One pizza per person should be enough. You could also add chips, salsa and guac, or any of the side dishes listed below to pair with the pizzas. If you want to double the recipe to make 8 pizzas, simply click the 2X button in the recipe card below and the ingredient amounts will automatically double.
What to serve with it
Pair this copycat Taco Bell Mexican pizza with any of these delicious side dishes!
- Mexican Rice
- Mexican Black Beans
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
- Mexican Pickled Vegetables (pickled onions, carrots and jalapenos)
More Tex-Mex recipes
If you love easy, tasty Tex-Mex recipes, then you’ve come to the right place! Try all of these blog favorites.
Mexican Pizza
Recreate Taco Bell's famous Mexican Pizza at home with this easy copycat recipe! In just 20 minutes make the famous fast food dish loaded with taco-seasoned ground beef, refried beans, red enchilada sauce, and plenty of cheese. It's a delicious combination of flavors in a simple family-friendly meal!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, click link for homemade recipe
- 2 tablespoons water
- 8 tostada shells
- 1 cup refried beans
- ½ cup red enchilada sauce
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1 tomato, diced
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler in the oven to high. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven.
- In a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and cook and crumble, until no longer pink.
- Drain any grease from the skillet, then add the taco seasoning and water.
- Stir to combine, lower the heat on the stove to medium-low and simmer the ground beef for 5 minutes.
- Spread refried beans on 4 of the tostada shells, then top with the ground beef.
- Layer another tostada shell on top of the ground beef, then spread 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce on each tostada and top with ¼ cup shredded cheese on each one.
- Place all of the Mexican pizzas on a foil-lined baking sheet, then onto the middle rack of the oven for 30-60 seconds, or until the cheese is melted. Alternatively, you can bake the pizzas in the oven at 350°F for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the pizzas from the oven and top with the diced tomato and any additional toppings of your choice.
Notes
- Optional toppings could include guacamole, shredded lettuce, Taco Bell quesadilla sauce, fresh cilantro, or sour cream. See even more options in the blog post above.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, use soy chorizo instead of ground beef, or just double up on the refried beans in the middle. Be sure to use vegetarian refried beans.
- This recipe is gluten free using the ingredients shown above. Always check the label to make sure the refried beans and enchilada sauce are gluten-free.
- If you don’t like refried beans, you can replace the beans with nacho cheese. The nacho cheese will hold the ground beef in place inside the pizzas.
- Prepared and cooked Mexican pizzas do not reheat well. I recommend only assembling and baking as many as you’d like to eat in that setting. Each of the elements of the pizza, including the cooked ground beef leftovers, can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can easily heat up the ground beef, assemble more pizzas, and broil them in the oven in less than 5 minutes. I highly recommend this option instead of reheating leftover pizzas.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 615kcal (31%)Carbohydrates 33g (11%)Protein 32g (64%)Fat 40g (62%)Saturated Fat 16g (80%)Polyunsaturated Fat 4gMonounsaturated Fat 15gTrans Fat 1gCholesterol 107mg (36%)Sodium 1178mg (49%)Potassium 480mg (14%)Fiber 6g (24%)Sugar 5g (6%)Vitamin A 873mg (17%)Vitamin C 5mg (6%)Calcium 274mg (27%)Iron 4mg (22%)
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