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Is it a pizza? Is it a taco? Who can say for sure? What I can tell you is that this taco pizza is delicious! Put all your favorite taco toppings on a pizza crust with taco meat and nacho cheese and you have a tasty, hearty dinner.
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This taco pizza is just what it sounds like, a taco and a pizza combined making it one of the best dinner recipes! Skip the traditional pizza and add this fun taco pizza recipe to the menu. Put a little twist on pizza with this easy taco pizza recipe adding all your favorite taco toppings and ingredients Each bite tastes like a taco just on a round pizza dough. It is the perfect combination!
There are so many variations for making this taco pizza your own! Add your favorite toppings, share it with friends and family, and create all the memories around the table while enjoying another great type of pizza. You can make it vegetarian and omit the meat altogether or you can try it with our shredded Mexican beef recipe, shredded chicken, or shredded sweet pork.
What is Taco Pizza?
Taco Pizza is a fun, fusion twist on pizza for taco lovers. It has a soft crust making it almost taste like a Taco Bell Chalupa or even a Navajo Taco. The best thing about it is you can make it however you want. The recipe below is merely a guide to how we make our taco pizza, but you can make it any way you want!
Ingredients for the Best Taco Pizza
Make your homemade taco pizza just the way you like it! Make the dough, cook the beef, then add your favorite sauces and toppings layered on top of each other. Combined it makes the perfect flat taco layered with deliciousness!
- Pizza dough – We like using our easy pizza dough recipe for this crust. The dough recipe makes 2 large pizzas so you can make them both up if you are having a party or you can save one for later.
- Butter – Melt the butter to be brushed over the top of the pizza dough. This will give a nice crisp edge.
- Ground beef – The most popular taco meat is usually ground beef. It’s the one we almost always go for. It is so fast to cook up and it is easy to distribute evenly.
- Onion – Chop the onion into small minced pieces. Add more or less to the beef depending on who you are feeding.
- Taco seasoning – Once the beef is cooked, season the meat with your traditional taco seasoning packet.
- Refried beans – Learn how to make easy refried beans from scratch or open a can and remove the refried beans to warm up.
- Nacho cheese – Homemade nacho cheese is delicious and easy to make. You can also make it simple by using your favorite canned flavor nacho cheese.
- Lettuce – Shredded lettuce sprinkled over the top of the taco is added last.
- Tomatoes – Diced tomatoes give it a tasty taco bite.
- Black olives – Drain and rinse the olives. For smaller pieces of olives slice them in half.
- Shredded cheese – Sprinkle thinly shredded cheese over top. We used a mexican blend but cheddar cheese works great too.
Easy Sour Cream Sauce
This special sauce is a creamy and savory sauce that adds that extra flavor to this homemade taco pizza recipe! Mix together sour cream, mayonnaise, taco sauce, and a little bit of salt and pepper to taste. It blends together perfectly and adds a special touch to this taco pizza!
How to Make Homemade Taco Pizza
This homemade Mexican pizza is so simple to make and can be easily done with homemade ingredients or store-bought. Simply bake the dough, cook the beef, then layer the ingredinets to the top. It is the perfect way to enjoy pizza with a taco twist!
- Bake dough – Spread pizza dough onto a pizza pan or stone. If using homemade dough, poke with a fork to prevent air pockets from forming. Bake until the crust is cooked through and golden brown. Remove the pizza crust from the oven when finished baking.
- Cook beef – While pizza dough is cooking, brown ground beef and onion together until the beef is cooked through and the onions are transparent. Add taco seasoning and water. Stir until well combined and keep warm on low heat until ready to use.
- Bottom layer – Spread a thin layer of refried beans over the top of the hot pizza crust.
- Warm-up – Heat nacho cheese in a saucepan or microwave until hot. Spread cheese in a layer over the refried beans.
- Top – Add cooked taco meat over the top and spread evenly.
Taco Pizza Toppings
The toppings are the fun part! You can totally go crazy here and add whatever toppings you like. Try some of these pizza topping ideas to take your easy taco pizza to the next level!
- Sour cream – This is a light and creamy condiment that is perfect for cooling down the taco pizza and adding an extra bite of the tangy and tart taste.
- Spicy sauces – Taco sauce, hot sauce, Jalapeño peppers, and salsa all add a kick of heat for those who like things hot and spicy.
- Avocados – Slice or chop ripe avocados for a delicious topping.
- Guacamole – Mash avocados together with a few extra ingredients to make a homemade guacamole recipe.
- Cilantro – Fresh cilantro tossed on top of the mexican pizza will give it a boost of flavor.
- Green onion – Chop green onions into small pieces and garnish over top.
- Limes – Squeeze fresh lime juice over top for a zesty and refreshing flavor!
Tips and Variations
Follow these simple tips and variations for making easy taco pizza. Keep this recipe as simple as you would like or use all canned items. Layer the taco pizza just right to avoid a soggy crust. Finally, make it a party and enjoy a taco bar with all the toppings! These suggestions are only the beginning of making this pizza recipe even better!
- Pre-made crust – You can find great refrigerated bags of dough at Trader Joe’s and Winco that are the perfect size too. If you are really in a rush you can always use a pre-made crust or make a crust with crescent dough on a sheet pan.
- Sauces – For the sauce on this pizza, we do a refried bean layer topped with nacho cheese. If you aren’t a fan of nacho cheese, you can always use enchilada sauce or even salsa.
- Layers – We like doing the refried bean layer on the bottom because it keeps the sauce from absorbing into the dough and making it too dry. A dry crust is usually the biggest problem with taco pizza and refried beans are an easy way to solve it!
- Taco bar – If you are serving a large group or picky eaters, it may be best to serve the pizza Taco Bar style. Slice the pizza right after adding the taco meat and serving the toppings separately. That family and friends can add toppings on their own and make it just the way they like.
- Leftovers – If you plan on having leftovers, it is best to serve the toppings separately. That way you aren’t picking off toppings before trying to re-heat. Lettuce typically doesn’t taste great when heated. Especially on leftover taco pizza.
“We can’t get over this taco pizza recipe! A new favorite! It was incredibly delicious and enjoyable!”
-Sharina
Questions
Taco pizza is said to be Mexican meets Italian dinner. The pizza dough is topped with Mexican taco ingredients. Starting with beans, salsa, beef, and cheese, then topped with taco toppings. This is the perfect twist on dinner!
Taco Pizza is known for the pizza parlor chain Happy Joe’s in Davenport, Iowa. It is claimed to have invented the original taco pizza. Joe Whitty, the franchisee wanted to add tacos to the menu and was refused. Joe decided to make something better than tacos when he invented taco pizza.
The actual first mexican pizza was introduced publicly under the name “Mexican Pizza” by Taco Bell. They had several test markets between 1984 to 1985. It became a hit and Taco Bell rolled it out nationwide.
The pizza crust would determine if it is GF or not. If you can use a GF pizza crust then the taco pizza will be able to be gluten-free. Gluten-free can not have flour.
How to Reheat Taco Pizza
Try these different ways of reheating taco pizza and adding your toppings at the end for another great meal!
- Microwave – On a plate microwave individual slices for 20 to 30 seconds intervals until it is warmed through. You don’t want it to become soggy on the bottom or rubbery from overcooking.
- Air fryer – This is our favorite method. Put a slice of two in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes or until it is warmed through. This gives the pizza a crispy crust without it becoming soggy.
- Oven – Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 10 minutes. Once the pizza is warmed through it is ready to enjoy!
- Toppings – It is best to separate the leftover toppings into individual containers. This helps the toppings stay fresh and easy to add to the leftover taco pizza.
More Tasty Pizza Recipes
Pizza is always a favorite dinner for most families! It is the perfect way to gather friends and family around the table enjoying a one-handed meal together. Try these favorite family pizza recipes that take your pizza to the next level!
How to Make Taco Pizza
Easy Taco Pizza
Video
Equipment
- 1 pizza pan
Ingredients
- 1 recipe pizza dough (1 large pizza, you can also use store-bought)
- 3 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup onion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 can refried beans (16 oz)
- 1 cup nacho cheese or your favorite queso dip
- shredded lettuce to taste
- diced tomatoes to taste
- sliced olives to taste
- shredded cheese to taste
Sour Cream Sauce
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons taco sauce or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Spread pizza dough onto a pizza pan or stone. If using a homemade dough, poke with a fork to prevent air pockets from forming. Bake at 450-degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until crust is cooked through and golden brown.
- While pizza dough is cooking, brown ground beef and onion together until beef is cooked through and onions are transparent.
- Add taco seasoning and ¼ cup water. Stir until well combined and keep warm on low heat until ready to use.
- Remove pizza crust from the oven when finished baking.
- Spread a thin layer or refried beans over the top of the hot pizza crust.
- Heat nacho cheese in a saucepan or microwave until hot. Spread cheese in a layer over the refried beans.
- Add cooked taco meat over the top and spread evenly.
- Top with additional toppings and sour cream sauce. Serve immediately.
For the Sour Cream Sauce
- Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, taco sauce, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Mix until well combined.
We can’t get over this taco pizza recipe! A new favorite! It was incredibly delicious and enjoyable!
This was so easy to make and my kids loved the idea of having a taco pizza.
Oh this was SO good! As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to try it right away. So glad that I did. We all loved it!