This Mexican Pizza copycat recipe is sure to please even the biggest Taco Bell fans! Crispy fried flour tortillas get layered with refried beans, seasoned ground beef, the perfect sauce, and melty cheese for the ultimate Taco Bell-inspired Mexican Pizza recipe!
Growing up, Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza was a staple in my fast food rotation. With a crispy tortilla, flavorful beef, melty cheese, and that perfect Mexican pizza sauce, it’s easy to see why the iconic dish gained a massive fan base. So much so that after temporarily discontinuing the menu item, Taco Bell brought it back to appease its loyal following.
But during the absence of the Mexican Pizza, many home cooks started trying to replicate it at home. And since consumers could no longer drive thru and grab their favorite Mexican-inspired pizza, the copycat craze was born.
Now, the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is a popular dinner to make on the griddle, because you can take advantage of the large cooking surface and cook the ground beef, beans, and fried tortillas all at once. So I was surprised to realize that after 600+ griddle cooking YouTube videos, I had yet to put my spin on the Mexican Pizza.
So today is the day! With simple semi-homemade refried beans, perfectly fried flour tortillas, delicious seasoned beef, and classic toppings, my Mexican Pizza copycat recipe is sure to please even the most discerning Taco Bell fans! Serve alongside some griddle Mexican street corn for a full flavor-packed dinner.
Mexican Pizza Video
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what I used to create an amazing homemade Mexican pizza, similar to the iconic Taco Bell dish:
- flour tortillas – I made my own flour tortillas from scratch, but you can definitely substitute store-bought flour tortillas to make this recipe even easier. You’ll need the soft taco sized tortillas.
- ground beef – We prefer using 80/20 or 85/15 ground chuck for this recipe.
- beans – You can use your favorite canned refried beans, or even mash-up these slow cooker pinto beans. When we made this Mexican Pizza recipe on our YouTube channel, we actually used a can of chili beans with sauteed diced onions – more about that down below!
- cheese – For a classic Taco Bell Mexican Pizza, use a blend of yellow and white cheeses, like freshly grated cheddar and Monterrey Jack.
- Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Sauce – You can actually buy the legit sauce that the Bell uses at the grocery store or on Amazon, and it’s fantastic! Highly recommend using this jarred sauce for that authentic flavor.
- high-heat cooking oil for frying – The tortillas will get shallow-fried on the griddle or in a skillet, so you’ll need a bit of your favorite frying oil.
- Mexican pizza toppings – Like diced tomatoes, sliced black olives, and sliced green onions.
How to Make a Mexican Pizza (Taco Bell Copycat)
There are a few steps to creating the perfect Mexican pizza at home, because you’ll need to cook the individual components like the beans and beef before assembling the iconic dish. Here’s a step-by-step guide and some tips to get you started:
Make the Refried Beans
These are by no means “authentic” refried beans, but with just two ingredients my Mexican beans recipe is a simple hack that delivers on flavor. And they actually taste pretty darn similar to the beans that we get at our local Mexican restaurant.
My recipe uses canned chili beans, which are simply pinto beans with a blend of spices, most of which you would add anyway if you were making refried beans from scratch… so this is a great shortcut!
To start, simply sauté diced onions in a large skillet with a bit of oil until tender and translucent. Then add a can of chili beans. When the beans are heated through, use a spatula or a potato masher to mash them up to the desired consistency. The beans will continue to thicken as they cool, and you’ll have the perfect easy refried beans!
Brown the Ground Beef
While the beans are cooking, start browning off the ground beef. Add the beef to the griddle and sprinkle with your favorite taco seasoning. You may need to add a bit of water as the beef cooks, depending on what seasoning you are using.
Cook the ground beef until done, chopping and crumbling it as you go. Then transfer to a bowl to wait until the other Mexican pizza ingredients are done.
Fry the Flour Tortillas
We made our own homemade flour tortillas for our Mexican pizza copycat, but you can definitely use store-bought tortillas to cut down on the prep time.
Just heat a bit of oil on the griddle – like in a corner if your griddle surface is uneven and allows “pooling”. *Or you can also add a bit of oil to a large skillet to shallow fry the tortillas instead.
When the oil is hot (about 350°F), carefully lay one flour tortilla in the oil and fry on the first side until slightly golden brown. Then flip to the second side and continue to shallow fry until golden and slightly crispy. The fried tortillas will continue to crisp up as they cool and drain.
Transfer the tortillas from the oil to a stack of paper towels or a wire cooling rack to drain off the excess oil, and immediately season with salt.
Assemble the Mexican Pizzas
Then all that’s left is to put on your imaginary Taco Bell employee shirt and assemble the Mexican Pizzas.
Spread a layer of the refried beans on one fried tortilla, and top with the seasoned ground beef. On the second fried tortilla, spread on a few tablespoons of the jarred Taco Bell Mexican Pizza sauce, sprinkle with shredded cheese, and add black olives, diced tomatoes, and sliced green onions.
Then the next step is the kicker… it will make your Mexican Pizza taste more authentic to “the Bell”! Place the second tortilla with the toppings back on the griddle and cover with a melting dome for the cheese to melt.
*You may not think to heat the diced tomatoes, olives, and green onions along with the cheese as it’s melting – but in my experience, this is one of the key’s to perfecting the iconic recipe!
Then, simply stack the top tortilla on top of the beans and beef tortilla. Cut into quarters and serve!
I don’t have a griddle… Can I make Mexican Pizzas in the oven?
Absolutely! Just follow the instructions to prepare the refried beans and the seasoned taco beef in skillets on the stovetop. Then completely assemble the Mexican pizzas on a large baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for about 6-7 minutes for the cheese to melt.
What if I can’t find the Mexican pizza sauce?
We really recommend using the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Sauce that comes in a jar (probably in the Hispanic aisle of the grocery store). It really is fantastic, and it would be great on burritos or as a topping for tacos as well. You can also buy it on Amazon for a great price.
If you need a good substitute, try a simple blend of your favorite enchilada sauce with some salsa mixed in. It will have a similar consistency and taste.
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Mexican Pizza (Taco Bell Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef 80/20 or 85/15 is preferred
- 1 packet taco seasoning *Use your favorite, or substitute Mexican-style seasoning for ground beef
- 8 flour tortillas soft taco sized
- high-heat cooking oil *Enough to shallow fry tortillas
- salt to season the fried tortillas
- Taco Bell Mexican Pizza sauce *See notes
- 8 oz block cheddar cheese freshly grated
- 8 oz block Monterrey Jack cheese freshly grated
- diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, and sliced black olives for topping
For the Refried Beans:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ¼ medium yellow onion diced
- 15.5 oz can chili beans
Instructions
- Make the refried beans. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet. Sauté onions in the skillet over medium heat. When onions are translucent and tender, add canned chili beans to the skillet (with the bean liquid from the can). Heat the beans until warm, and then use a potato masher or spatula to mash the beans as they're cooking. Continue to cook the beans down and mash until desired consistency, about 5-8 minutes. Then remove the skillet from the heat and set aside. *Beans will continue to thicken as they cool. You may need to reheat slightly before assembling the Mexican pizzas. *TIP – If beans get too thick, you can thin them with a bit of water or stock.
- Cook the ground beef. Brown the ground beef on a griddle or in a skillet. Add taco seasoning and follow package instructions to prepare taco meat. When meat is done cooking, drain off excess fat if needed, and transfer to a bowl until ready to assemble the pizzas.
- Fry the tortillas. While the beef is cooking, add high-heat cooking oil to the griddle, allowing it to pool in the corner for shallow frying. If using a skillet, add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. When the oil is heated, carefully lay one flour tortilla in the hot oil. Shallow fry on the first side until golden brown. Then flip to the second side and continue to fry until golden brown. *Total frying time is about 60-90 seconds per side, depending on your oil temp. When tortillas are done frying, transfer to paper towels or a wire cooling rack and lightly salt.
- Assemble the bottom tortilla. Spread about ⅓ cup of refried beans over one fried tortilla. Top with about ¼ of the taco meat.
- Assemble the top tortilla. Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of Mexican Pizza sauce on one fried tortilla. Top with shredded cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese. Sprinkle on diced tomatoes, sliced black olives, and sliced green onions.
- Heat Mexican pizzas on the griddle or in the oven. *See notes for oven instructions. Place the two prepared tortillas (top and bottom) on the griddle to warm. Cover the top tortilla with a melting dome for the cheese to melt.
- Serve Mexican pizzas. When the cheese is melted, remove the top and bottom tortillas from the griddle. Stack the top tortilla on top of the one with the beans and beef. Allow to cool slightly, cut into quarters and serve.
Video
Notes
- For this most authentic taste, this copycat recipe uses the jarred Taco Bell Mexican Pizza sauce, available at most grocery stores or on Amazon.
- Use your favorite taco seasoning to prepare the ground beef, and season according to package instructions. If using a packet of taco seasoning, you may need to add a bit of water to the taco meat as it cooks.
- For griddle cooking, we heated the prepared top and bottom tortillas separately on the griddle. That’s because to better melt the cheese on the top, it’s best to have the bottom-end heat as well to help penetrate through and melt the cheese. You can also heat the prepared Mexican pizzas in the oven to melt the cheese – See below.
- When all of the ingredients are ready (taco meat is cooked, refried beans are heated and done, and tortillas are fried), you can bake the Mexican pizzas in a 400 degrees F oven instead of melting the cheese on the griddle. Just assemble the Mexican pizzas on a large baking sheet, then bake in preheated oven for about 6-7 minutes for the cheese to melt.
This and the taco crunch wrap looks so good. This will be going in my list of recipes.
Merry Christmas!
These turned out really great! My kids loved decorating their own pizza with the toppings. It’s amazing how much heartier they are than taco bell. Also the re-fried beans are delish. :chefs-kiss: