This Taco Bell Mexican pizza copycat recipe is so crunchy and flavorful that you’ll never want to go to the drive-thru again! With just 20 minutes of prep work, this Mexican pizza is perfect for any busy weeknight dinner. Gather a few simple ingredients and your favorite toppings, and you’ll have a quick dinner the whole family will love!
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Easy Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
A long-time fan favorite, the Mexican pizza at Taco Bell is the go-to drive-thru order for millions of fast-food fanatics. When news broke that they would discontinue this item that had been a menu staple since 1985, people everywhere took to social media to express their outrage.
The good news is they are bringing it back, but let’s not forget- that doesn’t mean it’s here to stay (we could always have another McRib situation). If they boot it from the menu again, or you don’t want to hop in the car, I put together a recipe so you can make it yourself at home!
This recipe is both simple and delicious. I always have the ingredients on hand when I’m short on time.
You need the ingredients for an essential taco night, but this is way better than a basic taco.
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
- It's Easy! This recipe is hard to mess up, and you can get creative because you’re at home!
- So Delicious! If you aren't up for going out but crave your favorite fast food, this recipe is for you. Forget the drive-through!
- It's Quick! Dinner can be prepared in about 25 minutes, which is likely less time than it would take to get to the drive-through and back with your food.
🥘 Ingredients
This tortilla pizza is quick, easy, and bursting with flavor! You'll only need a few common pantry items and your favorite taco toppings for a meal the whole family will love!
The Pizza
- Ground Beef – 1 pound of ground beef. I use 80/20 ground beef, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
- Taco Seasoning – 1 packet of taco seasoning. Make my homemade taco seasoning, or use a package of store-bought taco seasoning. For extra-authentic flavor, use the Taco Bell brand taco seasoning!
- Water – ¾ cup of water. The taco meat needs a little water to cook it down. If you'd rather, you can substitute broth.
- Vegetable Oil - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. You can also use canola oil or olive oil.
- Flour Tortillas – 8 flour tortillas. Pick the standard soft taco flour tortilla size to make these hearty pizzas!
- Refried Beans – 1 standard 8-ounce sized can of refried beans. To make it as accurate as possible, use normal refried beans. You could also use refried black beans if you prefer.
- Enchilada Sauce – 1 small can of enchilada sauce. If you prefer that your food has a little more heat, you can opt for the spicy option.
- Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend – 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend. I usually recommend grating your cheese, and you still can, but in this case, I use the bagged shredded cheese. It consists of Monterey Jack, queso quesadilla, cheddar, and Asadero cheeses.
Optional Toppings
- Diced Tomatoes – Diced tomatoes are a standard topping on this tortilla pizza when ordered at the drive-through.
- Sliced Green Onion – Chopped green onions add a crisp, slightly spicy, peppery flavor to the dish; these are optional.
- Sliced Black Olives – Black olives are often found on enchiladas and other Tex-Mex dishes; they would also taste great here!
- Diced White Onion – It's best to use white onions sparingly when they're raw, as they have a strong flavor. They have a great crunch, making them a perfect topping!
- Shredded Iceberg Lettuce – Crisp, juicy, and mildly sweet; use it as a topping to give the dish an extra dose of freshness.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for ingredients, amounts & instructions!*
🔪 How To Make Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza
This tasty tortilla pizza is amazingly flavorful and easy to make. Grab some taco night essentials and layer your Mexican pizza as you like best!
To begin, you will need a large skillet (or frying pan), a baking sheet, parchment paper, a spatula, and some measuring utensils!
This Mexican pizza recipe will yield 4 servings. You can easily double or triple the ingredients if you are serving a larger crowd!
- Prep. First, set your oven to 400°F (205°C) and prepare a parchment-lined baking sheet (or two). Set aside the 1 pound of ground beef and make sure it has been fully defrosted if it was previously frozen.
- Brown. Cook your ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks until it's no longer pink in the center. Afterward, drain off any leftover grease.
- Season. Combine the ground beef with 1 packet of taco seasoning and ¾ cup of water. Bring the liquid to a boil. Then, you need to drop the heat to low and continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
- Crisp. To prepare 8 flour tortillas, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (*see note) in a skillet over medium heat. In the skillet, place one tortilla and cook it for 3-4 minutes, flipping it over every 30 seconds or so, until crispy. Repeat this step with the remaining 7 tortillas.
Assemble & Bake
- Layer. Refried beans can be softened by heating them in the microwave for 30 seconds or so before spreading them on the tortillas. Pull out 4 crispy tortillas and smear a layer of beans on each one. Then, top the beans with the seasoned ground beef. You'll use a quarter of the beans and beef you've prepared per tortilla.
- Add Toppings. Top each of the bean and beef tortillas with one of the plain tortillas. Then, use about 2 tablespoons of sauce to top each pizza before sprinkling ½ cup of the shredded cheese (per pizza) on top.
- Bake. Arrange the pizzas on a large, non-stick baking sheet and place them on the oven’s center rack. Bake the assembled dish in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted. To serve, remove the Mexican pizza from the oven and top it with desired toppings.
🥗 Sides
This Taco Bell dupe is surprisingly filling and will make a fine lunch or dinner. However, if you want a little something extra, pop a few tortilla chips in the air fryer and whip up some easy RoTel dip or nachos supreme!
You can also visit my collection of tasty side dishes for tacos or some of my Taco Bell sauces like Ranchero, Baja, or Avocado Ranch!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- You need just enough vegetable oil to pan-fry all of the tortillas. You may need to add a little bit more as you go.
- If you want to skip the meat, vegetarian Mexican pizzas can be made by omitting the beef. You can use your choice of meatless meat substitute and season the meat in this recipe the same way you would season the meat.
- Use whatever toppings you like. For example, I like to add a big dollop of sour cream. Add-ons available on the actual menu include black beans, chicken, jalapenos, onions, steak, seasoned rice, red tortilla strips, lettuce, and extra cheese.
- If you went to Taco Bell and ordered this, it would come with refried beans and ground beef layered between two crispy tortillas that are topped with enchilada sauce, cheese, and diced tomatoes.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
You can make the meat in advance; it will be even better the day after as it sits in the fridge, infused with the seasonings.
Store the meat in an airtight container for up to three or four days once it has been chilled. *Wait to assemble the pizza until you're ready to eat it, as the tortillas will get soggy in the fridge.
Freezing
You can freeze the seasoned ground beef quite easily. Seasoned meat can be kept in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.
Defrost frozen meat in the fridge overnight. Again, wait until you're ready to eat the pizza before putting it together. I do not recommend freezing it once it is assembled.
Reheating
If you have already assembled yours and you want to heat it up, use the oven. Depending on how crunchy and crispy you want it to be, it takes 5-10 minutes to reheat leftover Mexican pizza at 350°F (175°C).
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Cook for 5 minutes at 300°F (150°C) in the air fryer. Crisping them in the air fryer has one drawback. As they dry out, they become lighter and more prone to flying around. A second airflow rack can be placed above the first in an air fryer oven to prevent this from happening when creating this Mexican pizza dish.
You can use whichever type of tortilla you like. Both tortillas will work with this recipe. If you want a crunchy bite, I recommend corn tortillas, but remember that the original is served on flour tortillas.
This Taco Bell knock-off is at its best immediately out of the oven when it is as crispy as it can be. However, it can become soggy if the fillings are too moist or too plentiful. Drain canned toppings thoroughly, and don’t go too heavy on the sauce.
🔔 More Restaurant Copycat Recipes!
- Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits - These cheddar bay biscuits are super easy to make and will be ready to serve in 20 minutes!
- Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole - One of the most popular breakfast sides is now yours to make for Sunday brunch!
- PF Chang's Mongolian Beef - Tender strips of beef are coated with a sweet and tangy ginger sauce!
- Texas Roadhouse Dinner Rolls & Cinnamon Honey Butter - These addicting dinner rolls are the perfect side to go with any main course meal!
- Panda Express Fried Rice - This delicious copycat recipe combines white rice, peas, carrots, eggs, soy sauce, and green onions!
- Cracker Barrel Meatloaf - Stay at home to enjoy this comforting copycat meatloaf recipe that takes only 15 minutes to prep!
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📖 Recipe Card
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning (see recipe or notes below to make homemade taco seasoning)
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (more, as needed)
- 8 flour tortillas (taco sized)
- 15 oz refried beans (1 15-ounce can)
- 10 oz enchilada sauce (or taco sauce, 1 10-ounce can)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
Toppings
- tomatoes (diced)
- green onion (optional, sliced)
- black olives (optional, sliced)
- white onion (optional, diced, or use yellow onion)
- iceberg lettuce (optional, shredded)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.
- Brown the 1 lb ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Once there is no pink remaining, drain off any excess grease.
- Add the 1 packet taco seasoning and ¾ cup water to the ground beef. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer until it thickens.
- In a clean, large skillet heat the 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (*See note) over medium heat. Add one of the 8 flour tortillas to the skillet and pan-fry for 3-4 minutes, flipping frequently, until crispy. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, place the 15 oz refried beans in a bowl and heat them for 30 seconds or so, just to soften them so they are easier to spread. Spread a thick layer of refried beans on 4 of the tortillas, then top with ground beef. (You will be using ¼ of the beans and ground beef per tortilla.)
- Next, place one of the remaining tortillas on top of each of the bean and ground beef tortillas. Spread roughly 2 tablespoons of 10 oz enchilada sauce (or taco sauce) on the top tortilla of each pizza. Top each pizza with ½ cup portion of the 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Place the pizzas on a large, non-stick baking sheet and put them in the oven on the middle rack. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, top with desired toppings (tomatoes, green onion, black olives, white onion, iceberg lettuce), and serve.
Notes
- You need just enough vegetable oil to pan-fry all of the tortillas. You may need to add a little bit more as you go.
- If you want to skip the meat, vegetarian Mexican pizzas can be made by omitting the beef. You can use your choice of meatless-meat substitute and season the same way you would season the meat in this recipe.
- Use whatever toppings you like. For example, I like to add a big dollop of sour cream. Add-ons available on the actual menu include black beans, chicken, jalapenos, onions, steak, seasoned rice, red tortilla strips, lettuce, and extra cheese.
- If you went to Taco Bell and ordered this, it would come with refried beans and ground beef layered between two crispy tortillas that are topped with enchilada sauce, cheese, and diced tomatoes.
Holly says
I made this for dinner for my family and everyone loved it. Even my picky eater! This is so much better than Taco Bell. The only thing I changed was that I used a flour tortilla on the bottom and a tostada on the top. They both were just the right amount of crunchy. I also used my homemade refried beans. Delicious!!!
Heather G says
Pretty dang close to the Taco bell version. Really enjoyed it, thank you.
Sandy says
Would like to know how to keep tortillas crisp. Can't cut very well but excellent. Have made many times.
Sarah says
It was delicious. I will make this again.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Desi says
I'm so glad my brother found this,, were just learning to cook, thank you for easy to understand recipes!!🥰
Avani says
Thanks for sharing a delicious recipe!