Mexican Pizza is a copycat of the Taco Bell classic. Baked tortillas, refried beans, seasoned ground beef, enchilada sauce, and gooey, melted cheese!
TACO BELL MEXICAN PIZZA
DO THEY EAT MEXICAN PIZZA IN MEXICO?
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
ground beef
taco seasoning
refried beans
enchilada sauce
flour tortillas
shredded Mexican cheese blend
sliced green onion
sliced olives
HOW TO MAKE MEXICAN PIZZA:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees (for your tortillas.) Start by browning and crumbling your ground beef.
Drain excess grease. Add taco seasoning packet and add water (per directions on package) and stir. Meanwhile, heat up the refried beans in a microwave-safe bowl. This will make it easier to spread onto the tortilla.
On a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Place the tortillas on sheet in a single layer. Bake at 350f degrees for a few minutes on one side. Flip them over and bake for a few minutes on the other side. You want them golden brown. Oven times vary but it took about 4-5 minutes per side for mine. Don’t turn your oven off yet.
On one baked tortilla, slather a generous layer of refried beans. Then top with seasoned ground beef. Place another baked tortilla on top. Slather a bit of the enchilada sauce on top. Then place some shredded cheese on top of the sauce. Place the whole Mexican pizza back onto the baking sheet. Put back in the oven for a few minutes (just until the cheese melts.) Take it out and throw a few diced tomatoes, sliced olives, sour cream and/or sliced green onions on top. Slice and serve!
Cook’s Notes: When I first started making these, I would fry the tortilla shells. I bake them now but if you enjoy the taste of a fried tortilla shell, by all means, feel free to fry them. Also, I have tested this recipe with just regular soft, flour tortilla shells (instead of the Azteca shells) and it still comes out good.
Enjoy!
TACO BELL MEXICAN PIZZA
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 14 oz can refried beans
- 1 12 oz can enchilada sauce
- 1 package flour tortilla shells (like Aztec brand shells)
- 1 package shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- sliced green onion, for topping
- sliced olives, for topping
- sliced green onions, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees (for your tortillas.) Start by browning and crumbling the ground beef.
- Drain excess grease. Add taco seasoning packet and add water (per directions on package) and stir.
- Meanwhile, heat up the refried beans in a microwaveable-safe bowl. This will make it easier to spread the beans onto the tortilla shells.
- On a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Place the tortillas on sheet in a single layer. Bake at 350f degrees for a few minutes on one side. Flip them over and bake for a few minutes on the other side. You want them golden brown. Oven times vary but it took about 4-5 minutes per side for mine. Don't turn your oven off yet.
- On one baked tortilla, slather a generous layer of refried beans. Then top with seasoned ground beef.
- Place another baked tortilla on top. Slather a bit of the enchilada sauce on top. Then place some shredded cheese on top of the sauce.
- Place the whole Mexican pizza back onto the baking sheet. Put back in the oven for a few minutes (just until the cheese melts.) Take it out and throw a few diced tomatoes, sliced olives, sour cream and/or sliced green onions on top. Slice and serve!
Drew says
July 25, 2013 at 9:20 pmUp until a year ago, I was a manager for Taco Bell for 12 years. This recipe is pretty close to the real thing. The Old El Paso taco seasoning is actually an improvement over the Taco Bell meat (you're right, it does taste funky; I never liked it and would substitute the chicken or steak on everything I ate while working there). They deep-fry their shells, but they also have a special fry tool they use to keep them flat while they do so. Baking works just as well, AND it's healthier. The pizza sauce…Taco Bell has a dry mix for that. All they do is add water and chunky salsa. The enchilada sauce this recipe uses is very close, but I added some Pace picante sauce to it to make it even closer to Taco Bell's version (and it tastes better, too). The cheese is a typical blend of cheddar, mozzarella, and Monterrey Jack cheeses. To melt it, Taco Bell has a steamer that blasts the pizza with steam and melts the cheese in about 10 seconds. We the little people will have to settle for using our ovens and microwaves… and, like Taco Bell, I put the tomatoes on top before I melt the cheese. Old habits die hard. 🙂 A long time ago, the Mexican Pizza used to come with green onions, which I missed, so I added those, too. Topped it off with some sour cream and it was perfect. Thanks!
Anonymous says
November 27, 2013 at 8:43 pmThey had a big e-coli scare some years back with the green onions. That as when they stopped using them, and they never came back. For some reason, to me the green onion added an element that made the pizza. Whole different flavor with those on. (maybe it over cut the "funky" meat flavor). This is a great and easy recipe and very kid friendly. And now I can put as much green onion on as I like. Even did one with veggie crumbles for my niece.
Tori Baker says
August 17, 2013 at 2:53 pmAre tortilla shells different from regular tortillas? I don't think I have seen them, can't wait to try this at home.
Anonymous says
October 17, 2013 at 7:12 amthis looks realy good ill have to try it thanks
Jen says
February 4, 2015 at 2:44 amI just made this with morning star veggie ground beef and it was great! i'm not a vegetarian, but i have a hard time cooking meat and looking at it raw, so i did this instead. YUM!
JoAnn says
April 24, 2017 at 12:13 pmI am anxious to try this recipe but am confused about the taco shells. The pictures show a shell but the cooking instructions show flat tortillas that are baked in the oven. I am not sure what to use as I have never seen the actual shells that you picture.
Thank you for a great recipe otherwise
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
April 25, 2017 at 8:58 amHi JoAnn, you can use any kind of shell. I just bake them in the oven to crisp them up a bit. A regular soft tortilla shell will work just fine!