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Taco Bell Mexican Pizza (+Video)

This Mexican Pizza recipe is a copycat of the Taco Bell classic (but better!) Fried tortillas, refried beans, seasoned ground beef, enchilada sauce, and gooey, melted cheese!

A DELICIOUS TACO BELL COPYCAT RECIPE

Mexican Pizza brings you all the flavors of crispy tortillas, seasoned beef, saucy goodness, and of course: cheese! Forget the drive-thru hassle – we’re bringing the fiesta to our own kitchens. It’s like making a pizza, but with a south-of-the-border twist. Also, you can add whatever you want on them. Do you remember when they used to have olives and green onions? Well now you can have all that back! Once you make this at home, you will never look back!

hand holding a slice of Mexican Pizza over wood cutting board.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)

Is Mexican Pizza actually Mexican?

No. It is totally an American invention for American consumers. Not that anything Taco Bell makes is truly Mexican, but ya know, we like it.

Can I use other size tortillas?

Yes. You can make this is big or small as you’d like. You can use street taco sized tortillas or burrito size tortillas. You can also purchase the Azteca shells that you would use for taco bowls and bake those. They are pretty large and are great to serve more people.

Doesn’t Taco Bell use a Mexican pizza sauce?

Yes. The Taco Bell version uses a sauce that is similar to enchilada sauce with lots of diced tomatoes in it. We don’t have a similar sauce like that you can buy at the grocery store so the closest I have found is enchilada sauce. You could certainly mix the enchilada sauce with half a can of drained diced tomatoes to get it close to the Taco Bell version.

Do I have to fry the tortillas?

No. I love how crispy it makes the shells but you could bake them or put them in the air fryer until crispy.

How do I store leftover Mexican Pizza?

The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can reheat in an air fryer, toaster oven or in the microwave. This can also be frozen. Wrap with plastic wrap then in aluminum foil. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let it defrost in the refrigerator then re-heat.

Fully baked Mexican Pizza shown on a wooden cutting board and topped with diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

  • ground beef – the great thing about making this at home is you can use any ground meat you prefer. So if you don’t enjoy ground beef or are cutting back on red meat, try Ising ground turkey or chicken or even a meat substitute.
  • taco seasoning – use your favorite store bought taco seasoning or Homemade Taco Seasoning.
  • water – you can use the amount called for on the back of the packet or if you like it just a bit more sauce, use 3/4 cups of water.
  • refried beans – if you really want to go all out, try my Crock Pot Refried Beans recipe!
  • enchilada sauce – if you want to make it a bit more like the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Sauce, you can add a little bit of petite diced tomatoes to the sauce.
  • shredded Mexican cheese blend – or your favorite blend of cheese.
  • flour tortillas – if you want to make these smaller, just use a smaller size tortilla. Or, you can even try your hand at Homemade Flour Tortillas.
ground beef, taco seasoning, water, refried beans, enchilada sauce, shredded Mexican cheese blend, flour tortillas, vegetable oil.

HOW TO MAKE TACO BELL MEXICAN PIZZA

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. In a large skillet, brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease. Place beef back into skillet. Add taco seasoning packet, water and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until thickened. 

collage of two photos: brown and crumbled ground beef in a skillet; taco seasoning and water added to cooked ground beef in skillet.

In a large skillet, heat up oil over medium heat. Make sure the oil is nice and hot. Add tortillas (one at a time) and cook for 2-4 minutes (flipping frequently) until crisp. Continue with the rest of the tortillas. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat up the refried beans in a microwave-safe bowl. This will make it easier to spread onto the tortilla. On each tortilla, slather a generous layer of refried beans. Then top with seasoned ground beef.

collage of two photos: a flour tortilla being fried in oil in a pan; fried flour tortilla on a cutting board with refried beans being spread on top.

Place another tortilla on top. Slather about two tablespoons of the enchilada sauce on top. Then place some shredded cheese on top of the sauce. Continue assembling the rest of the Mexican pizzas.

collage of two photos: ground beef added on top of refried beans on fried tortilla; enchilada sauce and shredded cheese on top of pizza.

Place the pizzas on a large nonstick baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite toppings!  

overhead view of finished mexican pizza on a cutting board.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Originally published: November 2011
Updated photos & republished: February 2024

Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Recipe from The Country Cook.

Taco Bell Mexican Pizza (+Video)

This Taco Bell Mexican Pizza recipe is made with fried tortillas, refried beans, seasoned ground beef, enchilada sauce, and melted cheese!
5 from 112 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the pizzas:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 8 flour tortillas (taco size)
  • 15 ounce can refried beans
  • 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Toppings:

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400F. In a large skillet, brown and and crumble 1 pound ground beef.
    cooked and crumbled ground beef in a sauce pan
  • Drain excess grease. Place cooked beef back in skillet and add 1 packet taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water and stir. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until thickened.
    taco seasoning and water added to cooked round beef
  • In a separate large skillet, heat up 1 cup vegetable oil medium heat. Add one of the 8 flour tortillas (taco size) and cook for about 3-4 minutes (flipping frequently) until crisp. Continue with the rest of the tortillas. Set aside.
    frying flour tortillas in hot oil in a large skillet
  • Meanwhile, heat up 15 ounce can refried beans in a microwaveable-safe bowl. This will make it easier to spread the beans onto the tortilla shells.
  • On each fried tortilla, slather a generous layer of refried beans. Then top with seasoned ground beef.
  • Place another tortilla on top. Slather about two Tablespoons from the 10 ounce can enchilada sauce on top. Then place some of the 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend on top of the sauce. Continue assembling the rest of the pizzas.
    enchilada sauce and shredded cheese placed on top later of fried tortillas
  • Place the pizzas on a large nonstick baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite toppings like diced tomatoes, sliced green onion, sliced olives and sour cream.
    Taco Bell Mexican Pizza ropped with tomatoes and sliced olives and sour cream

Video

YouTube video
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 483kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 24g | Sodium: 1751mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Recipe Rating




75 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Huge huge hit with the family. OMG fried tortillas are the absolute best – WAY better than Taco Bell could ever do! LOL

  2. 5 stars
    This is such a wonderful version of the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza. I followed the recipe, except I used low carb tortillas, and I cooked them in the oven prior to assembly so they were crisp.
    This recipe will certainly be repeated in our house!

  3. 5 stars
    My husband just made this for dinner. It was delicious. I bought low carb tortillas, fat free beans and reduced fat cheese to use in the recipe. Worked great!

  4. 4 stars
    In the late 80s, while stationed in Germany, we too missed being able to zip through a Taco bell drive through. One year I was back in the States for TDY (temporary duty) and thanks to a kind TB employee, I was able to pick up some extra wrappers. Back in Germany we were the envy of everyone when we walked around outside the base exchange eating burritos wrapped in TB wrappers. You can paint your own picture of the questions and comments we received.
    I look forward to trying your take on the Mexican pizza!

  5. 5 stars
    One thing I do different is how I prepare my tortilla’s. I don’t like to fry in oil, so I just butter both sides of each tortilla, put them in a pan and let them get golden and crispy on both sides. Then I proceed with the recipe as written. It really gives a great flavor to the tortillas, much better than oil fried in my opinion. But either way you crisp them up,, this recipe is delicious!