Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is easy to make at home with simple methods and ingredients instead of making a run for the border.
Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is my recipe of the day as I jointly celebrate National Pizza Day with my blogging friends.
I am sure everyone is familiar with how this recipe goes- beef and bean mixture sandwiched between two crispy flour tortillas, then topped with their signature sauce and cheese. There are also a few extra diced tomatoes on top for good measure, although once upon a time there was a touch of sliced scallion as well.
What is the Mexican Pizza?
The Taco Bell creation is a fusion of sorts between Italian Pizza and Mexican tostadas, if one can even call what they do Mexican- or even Tex-Mex- or some pseudo sort of strange lovechild between taco sauce and what might pass as that sort of food. So not authentic by any means, but Taco Bell fans don’t care.
The Bell is Very Retro
I’d been going here since the 1970’s since I always had a love for tacos of any type. The Mexican Pizza didn’t make its appearance at the bell until 1988 although it almost seems like it was there longer. Back then they used to also have the taco light which I adored. Then later got rid of- apparently it was meant to be something healthier but it was actually just the supreme taco on a crispy flour shell.
Crispy Flour Treats Abound
And in those days I liked getting taco salads at the old Casa Gallardo- which came in a *huge* flour shell, but also crispy. And while I still lived in St. Louis, I would crave the chimis they sold down at Old Mexico restaurant on Tesson Ferry Road- which covered the crispy shell end to end with loads of guac (but I digress).
So for me the crispy flour shell was always a favorite, but much easier and quick to get at the drive thru.
Sampling to Crack Their Code
With these I dropped by and grabbed some of their sauce in tubs so I could work on it. I figure I came pretty close. I also bought a sample so I could compare- and obviously the one I had didn’t have as much filling (and theirs seemed kind of skimpy) but that was realizing they didn’t actually put any meat in there. (Maybe one of the reasons I don’t like visiting if they are going to rip people off).
Better Food is Always Made at Home
Making food at home always will yield better quality as you know exactly what is, and isn’t in your food.
Plus you can make little changes to make the food healthier. For example, you can choose to lightly fry the tortillas until they are crisp. I chose to bake mine the first time I made these and it works out nicely. You can do yours however you like.
Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
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Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza Filling:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- salt and black pepper
- 16 ounce can Taco Bell refried beans
- 1 ounce package Taco Bell taco seasoning divided
Pizza Sauce:
- 16 ounces mild Taco Bell taco sauce
- 1 cup finely diced tomato
- 1 tablespoon Taco Bell taco seasoning from packet above
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Finish:
- 20 taco size flour tortillas (thin ones crisp best)
- 2-1/2 cups Taco Bell shredded 7-Layer cheese
- 1-2 cups finely diced tomato
- 1 cup thinly sliced scallion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Bake tortillas for about 5-7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp, turning halfway through the bake time. You can also choose to briefly fry the tortillas in hot oil until crisp, then drain (I fried them in this recipe)
- Season ground beef with salt and black pepper and brown in a skillet, draining any fat.
- Stir in the refried beans with two tablespoons of taco seasoning (save the last tablespoon of that for the sauce) and half cup water; cook and stir until hot and thickened.
- Simmer the pizza sauce ingredients in a small saucepan until hot.
- Place half cup of the bean/meat filling between two of the crisp tortillas.
- Cover with 1/4 cup sauce and 1/4 cup cheese and bake a few minutes until the cheese melts.
- Top with a little tomato and scallion and cut into four wedges.
Notes
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This post has been updated from 02.09.20 to reflect fresh photography.
I have never tried one of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizzas but yours looks delicious. I used to get the enchirito when I was a kid. Loved those but then they stopped selling them.
There is supposed to be a way to order those but I don’t recall how to do it. They don’t have the olives anymore anyway.
Right up my alley since I’m from Southern California. Taco Bell was founded here and has been a long time institution. Thanks so much for this!!
OH! Thank you, Sue. I had forgotten about these from Taco Bell. I loved them and thanks to you, I can love them again!
Thanks for the recipe. The pizza sauce has always been my favorite but everyone wants to use the can enchilada sauce. It tastes nothing like TB. I remember back in the early 90s when I work @ TB in KY, we added a can of salsa to some sauce which created the actual pizza sauce. I can’t wait to try your recipe to see how close it is. It actually sounds a bit closer to the original. I remember they stopped topping with tomato’s because they said it had tomatoes in the sauce already. A cost effective remedy. All about the mighty dollar, evidently the reason they pulled it to begin with. Packaging was to much/costly. I will let you know once I make this. Hopefully soon, been craving the Mexican Pizza.