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 PERFECTLY DELICIOUS COPYCAT RECIPE
When my husband and I were stationed in England years ago, I often craved my favorite foods from the States. If I couldn’t get them in England, I would try to recreate them at home. One of those things was Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza. This one is slightly similar to my Easy Layered Taco Bake but I don’t use refried beans in that one and the tortillas in that one are not fried.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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.
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.
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.
No. I love how crispy it makes the shells but you could bake them or put them in the air fryer until crispy.
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.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- ground beef
- taco seasoning (or Homemade 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.
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.
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.
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!
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Originally published: November 2011
Updated & republished: February 2020
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza (+Video)
Ingredients
For the pizzas:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 3/4 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:
- diced tomatoes
- sliced green onion
- sliced olives
- sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. In a large skillet, brown and and crumble 1 pound ground beef.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Video
Nutrition
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 can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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!
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!
These turned out really good. I added nacho cheese to mine, it was delicious.
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!
Thanks so much Ella!
I’m going to try them in butter next time that sounds great
I can’t wait to try this! Thank you for the recipe