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This copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza recipe is even better than the original. They are super easy to throw together and taste totally delicious. Perfect for people who are trying to avoid fast food but still get a craving for a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell!
Taco Bell is a guilty pleasure of mine! Sure, it may be one of the unhealthiest fast food restaurants out there (though they’ve made improvements over the years), but there’s just something so delicious about cheap, Tex-Mex foods.
While I often will just spring the $1 for a crunchy beef taco, occasionally I’ll get my favorite – the Mexican Pizza.
I realized a while back that it seemed pretty simple to make – and I came up with this homemade version. Sure, it’s not the original Taco Bell Mexican pizza…but dare I say it, I think it’s even better!
Did Taco Bell Get Rid of Their Mexican Pizza?
Sadly, Taco Bell recently announced that their Mexican Pizza was on the chopping block for this November.
Their reasoning is that it “helps us work towards ourcommitmentto leave a lighter footprint on our planet. Currently, Mexican Pizza packaging accounts for over 7 million pounds of paperboard material per year in the U.S.”
But it’s still a bummer – especially after learning my beloved crispy potato soft taco was removed as well. This has been a classic Taco Bell meal for so long. I’m sad to see it go – but at least I have my homemade Tacos de Papa recipe – and now you can, too! This is an easy dinner idea that you can whip up quickly and it is sure to be one of your family favorites that the whole family will enjoy!
So keep reading to learn how to make a restaurant recipe for homemade Mexican pizza that has the feel of real authentic Mexican food! If you are a Mexican flavor lover, you can check out my Mexican lasagna.
What Sauce Does Taco Bell Use for its Mexican Pizza?
Taco Bell uses a “Mexican Pizza sauce”, which honestly tastes a lot like their mild taco sauce with just a touch of pizza sauce added to it.
I honestly just use the mild taco sauce, and it tastes great. But you can mix in a little bit of a tomato-based pizza sauce as well
Where do you buy Taco Bell Ingredients?
In our version of this, we used all the Taco Bell products that you can buy at most grocery stores or on Amazon:
At the minimum, I would make sure you use their taco seasoning and hot sauce to get the most similar flavor
What About Homemade Versions of Taco Bell?
if you are wanting to eliminate any type of processed ingredients, there are plenty of recipes for homemade versions of these Taco Bell ingredients:
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Price
This may vary from location to location – but soon, it won’t even really matter, seeing as they are discontinuing it. However, the last time I checked, it was $3.69
How to Fry Tortillas for Mexican Pizza
The thing that I love about the Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell is how crispy the tortillas are. It can be tricky to get them to that point!
You have to be patient to get them to the perfect crispness without burning them- which may take a little trial and error. Using an air fryer is also a great option as well.
How to Make Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
Ingredients:
- 8 Flour Tortillas, fajita size
- Cooking Oil that is suitable for frying
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
- Black Olives (optional)
- 1 package of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning (or packet of taco seasoning of your choice)
- 1 can Taco Bell Refried Beans (or refried pinto beans of choice)
- 1 bottle Taco Bell Mild Taco Sauce, I sometimes use my homemade chipotle sauce
- 1/4 cup favorite pizza sauce
- 1 roma tomato, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 cup Mexican Three-Cheese Blend (or cheddar cheese)
Written Instructions
- Pour oil in a large skillet and heat until ready to fry
- Fry tortillas on medium-high heat until they are a nice golden brown then sop out the excess grease. Set aside.
- Cook and crumble ground beef and drain grease.
- Return to pan and add taco seasoning, 2/3 cup water, and 3 tablespoons of taco sauce. Cook until everything is combined and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the top tortilla on a baking sheet.
- Spread a layer of refried beans on to one tortilla, then a layer of ground beef.
- Place a second tortilla on top of the ground beef/beans.
- Mix together remaining taco sauce with pizza sauce
- Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture on the tortilla, then cheese to cover the top, and then tomatoes and green onions on top of that.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. If the cheese isn’t melted at that point, put it under broil for 1-2 minutes.
Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
This copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza recipe is even better than the original. They are super easy to throw together and taste totally delicious. Perfect for people who are trying to avoid fast food but still get a craving for a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell!
Ingredients
- 6 Flour Tortillas
- Cooking Oil
- 3/4 ground turkey or ground beef
- 1 package of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning
- 1 can Taco Bell Beans
- 1/2 bottle, or so of Taco Bell Hot Sauce
- 1 roma tomato, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 cup taco cheese
Instructions
- Pour oil in a skillet and heat until ready to fry
- Fry tortillas until they are very crisp (to the point where they are just about to be burnt...but don't actually burn), then sop out the excess grease. Set aside.
- Cook and crumble ground beef and drain grease.
- Return to pan and add taco seasoning, 2/3 cup water, and 3 tablespoons taco sauce. Cook until everything is combined and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place one tortilla on a baking sheet.
- Spread a layer of beans on to one tortilla, then a layer of ground beef.
- Place another tortilla on top of the ground beef/beans.
- Mix together remaining taco sauce with pizza sauce
- Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture on the tortilla, then cheese to cover the top, and then tomatoes and green onions on top of that.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. If cheese isn't melted at that point, put under broil for 1-2 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 558Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 948mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 27g
How Many Calories are in the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza?
Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza is about 530 calories. This version comes in at around 558 calories per serving, though that can vary depending on the ingredients you use. For example, if you add sour cream, chunky salsa, or guacamole the calorie count will go up.
How to Make Taco Bell Beef
One thing about Taco Bell’s beef is one small it is. It’s really quite impressive! The one tool I use to get it just like this is from Pampered Chef – the mix and chop! It is the best way to get meat cut up nice and tiny. You could also use a wooden spoon!
Beyond that, I have found that following the instructions I shared above (using Taco Bell’s taco seasoning packet and Taco Bell sauce), you end up with a very similar and delicious version of their beef.
Can you make this recipe vegetarian?
I learned recently that this is a very popular item at Taco Bell for vegetarians. If you want the vegetarian version you just order it without the ground beef!
In order to make this recipe vegetarian, you would do the same. You also need to make sure you are using vegetarian refried canned beans.
You can also use vegan cheese if you’d prefer, too!
Is this recipe gluten free?
Not as I made it, but you could make it gluten free using gluten free tortillas and making sure all the other ingredients and seasonings you use are gluten free.
How Can I Make this Recipe Healthier?
You could use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of ground beef – or instead of using 80/20, you could use 93/7 for a leaner ground beef. You could air fry the tortillas or just lightly fry them in cooking spray instead of cooking oil.
You could also go a little lighter on the cheese to decrease the calories and/or fat and swap out flour tortillas for corn tortillas.
Make sure you pat the tortillas dry with a paper towel after you fry them to get out any extra grease.
Using homemade tortillas or homemade refried beans is another way to make them slightly healthier, as it eliminates the processed food aspect.
What if I have leftover taco meat?
There are so many options for you if you have leftover seasoned beef after you have made your taco bell food. You can use the meat to make a bean burrito , quesadilla, taco salad, or put it in a taco soup.
Sometimes making a big batch of beef allows for leftovers and you definitely don’t want it to go to waste!
More Copycat Recipes:
- Copycat Taco Bell Chipotle Sauce – Only 6 Ingredients
- Easy Taco Bell Spicy Potato Soft Taco (Copycat)
- Copycat Taco Bell Caramel Apple Empanada
- Copycat Cheesecake Factory Chicken Bellagio Recipe
- 100+ Copycat Recipes from Your Favorite Restaurants
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Katie Clark
Katie is a Colorado-native, BYU graduated, and most importantly, wife to one and mother to three beautiful boys. She is passionate about sharing her experiences with others – especially about pregnancy, breastfeeding, cooking, and crafts. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She loves spending time with her family and helping others find joy in family life.
