If you follow my blog regularly, then you know all too well about my husband and I being stationed over in England. While we were there, I often craved my favorite foods from the States. And if I couldn’t get them in England, I would try to recreate them at home. One of those things was Mexican Pizza. Now we all know Mexico has no such thing as a Mexican Pizza. It’s one of those foods that Taco Bell created for the American consumer. Not that anything Taco Bell makes is truly Mexican, but ya know, we like it. Although, I have to ask, have they changed something with the meat recently? It’s been tasting a bit funky. Not sure what’s going on there. Anyhoo, while in England, I set about creating my own version. And this is it! I still make it today and I gotta say, I love it because I can make it as big or as small as I want it. Personal serving sizes…or enough for a crowd.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 can (14 oz.) refried beans
1 can (12 oz.) enchilada sauce
1 package flour tortilla shells
1 package shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 medium tomato, diced
sliced green onion, for topping (optional)
sliced green onion, for topping (optional)
You do not have to use this particular brand of tortilla shells. Your favorite flour tortilla shells will work fine.
Directions:
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. On a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Place your tortillas on sheet in a single layer. Bake 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.
In a microwaveable-safe bowl, begin heating up your refried beans in the microwave. Now the fun begins! Begin stacking everything. On one baked tortilla, slather a layer of refried beans. Then place a layer of 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 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.Enjoy!
Mexican Pizza
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
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
- 1 package shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 1 medium tomato diced
- sliced green onion (optional)
Instructions
- 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.
- On a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Place your tortillas on sheet in a single layer.
- Bake for a few minutes on one side.
Flip them over and bake for a few minutes on the other side until golden brown. Oven times vary but it took about 4-5 minutes per side for mine. (Don't turn your oven off yet).
- In a microwaveable-safe bowl, begin heating up your refried beans in the microwave.
Begin stacking everything. On one baked tortilla, slather a layer of refried beans.
- Then place a layer of seasoned ground beef.
- Place another baked tortilla on top.
Spread 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 and green onion on top.
- Slice and serve!
Recipe Notes
No need to heat up the enchilada sauce, it will get warmed up when you put your pizzas back in the oven. 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.
Funky tasting meat? LOL, I don't think I'll be entering a TB anytime soon 🙂 Instead, I'll make your much better rendition of a Mexican pizza…it looks fabulous!
Made these – way better than Taco Bell!
My husband loved this! Thank you!
This looks great! I love Mexican…I think I could eat it every single day 🙂
We love Mexican pizza, this looks so easy and very delish!
Thank you for this recipe – we really enjoyed it!
Looks good. Love it.
Quick, easy and to the point. Also way better than anything Taco Bell could come up with.
Not a fan of Taco Bell, I would rather make at home. These pizzas do look tasty and I like the stacked layers-yum!
They HAVE changed their meat, for sure. It used to be seasoned with a dry seasoning, but now it's wet. They also used to use real beans and not dehydrated beans. My first job as a college student was with Taco Bell (back in the 70s) and I had to stand on a stepladder with a drill to "drill the beans" before refrying them after they were cooked. I call it Gringo Mexican, but it was Taco Bell that first introduced me to any kind of Mexican food, which I now adore! I also love these!!! Can't wait to try them.
I am still so jealous that you had the opportunity to live in England! This pizza looks delicious though – very creative!
LOVE this as it's simple, yet YUMMY!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Oh my goodness…I had forgotten how much I love Mexican pizzas, until I saw your post. Thanks for the reminder. This looks fantastic!
Thank you! I forgot all about making homemade Mexican pizza! I used to make them when we were stationed in Canada and the closest Taco bell was 2 hours away!
My husband and I would love to make these but have not been able to find the Aztec salad shells. Any ideas where they would be in the store?
Help
Corrine Appel
sometimes by the can biscuits
They are with the refrigerated tortillas by the cheese in the stores I shop at.
Walmart carries them!
Hi Corrine! You don't have to use the Aztec salad shells for this. You can use regular flour torilla shells. You can bake them or, if you like, you can actually fry them up. Just put about an inch or so of oil in a frying pan. Heat it up to 350F degrees. Then fry your tortillas until golden brown and crispy (flipping them over halfway through). It should only take about 30 seconds or so for each side. Hope that helps!
Steph, you are so sweet to take the time to come back & let me know how it turned out for you!! So happy your family liked this one!!
Just made these last night for our family of 5. Yummy! I made 4 pizza total and we had leftovers. It was a hit all around! Thanks for the recipe. Mexican pizzas are my favorite at Taco Bell, but these are much better.
This is a pretty decent rendition! To make it even closer to the T-Bell version, I recommend adding about half a can (enchilada sauce can) of salsa to the sauce. Also, to get the same texture and nearly the same flavor to the meat, add the seasoning packet and water to the uncooked meat, cook until most of the liquid evaporates, stirring frequently. This also makes the meat cook up with hardly any grease as well!
I made these tonight for a house of picky eaters and was told they are better than Taco Bell's so I say that is wonderful!
This was sooo good! I hadn't had a Mexican Pizza in years so my mouth was watering just looking at your pics. I made a low fat version, but it was still awesome. I will be putting this in the dinner rotation! Thanks!!!
Your Mexican pizza looks great, I have been thinking of making them at home. So your recipe is much appreciated. Whenever I get a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell I always bring it home and add a few ingredients. I thought I'd share with you, makes it really yummy. I slice black olives on top and cover with slices of pepper jack cheese. Put into the microwave until the cheese melts. Cover with sour cream and taco sauce. Thanks again for your recipes you always have such great ideas.
Valerie
I LOVE this dish at Taco Bell, and I have no doubt that 'Brandie Bell's' is much tastier. *-* YUUMMM!
My mother was a wonderful cook. Whenever Taco Bell came out this this pizza she always said she could make it better!! LOL, I'm not for certain that is did, but u did for sure! I made this last night. I was only cooking for 3 so I put the layers on thick and I used Rotel tomatoes! Yummy!!
These are yummy and so-o-o easy to make! I made a mistake and got the green enchilada sauce instead of the red, but we loved it anyway. I also added black olives for my husband.
Up 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!
They 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.
Are tortilla shells different from regular tortillas? I don't think I have seen them, can't wait to try this at home.
this looks realy good ill have to try it thanks
I 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!
I 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
Hi 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!