This easy taco pizza recipe is an easy dinner idea perfect for family night or Taco Tuesday! The crispy crust is topped with creamy refried beans, melted cheese, and crunchy tortilla chips drizzled with homemade ranch.
Are you a taco pizza fan? I’ve have spent years honing my best Italian-style homemade pizza dough and pizza sauce (I even traveled to Italy for research). But one of my favorite pizza recipes is not Italian at all: it’s taco pizza!
The base is my classic pizza dough topped with a zesty bean mixture, melted cheddar cheese, and all your favorite taco toppings. This Mexican-Italian mashup has become my go-to for busy weeknight dinners: it’s faster than delivery and everyone always loves it. It’s the perfect solution when you can’t decide between Taco Tuesday and pizza night: just have them both!
Why You’ll Love This Taco Pizza
This really is one of my favorite pizza toppings, right behind the classic Margherita pizza. Here’s what I think you’ll love it:
- It tastes like delivery: but way better! Alex had a taco pizza like this one growing up, ordered from a well-known pizza delivery franchise (that I won’t name here). It tastes just like that one, but like a gourmet spin.
- Kid-friendly appeal: Kids love this pizza mashup (and obviously, adults do too).
- Versatile: You can make it with meat or vegetarian, and with different crust styles (like sheet pan pizza or in a cast iron pan).
- Healthy as far as pizzas go: My recipe is filled with lots of veggies and not too much cheese.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Most of our pizza recipes teach you how the Italians do it. But now I’m going rogue! Here’s my take on American-style taco pizza.
Use refried beans instead of pizza sauce.
The best thing about a taco pizza is that instead of a tomato-based pizza sauce, it’s got a thin layer of refried beans. Use your favorite can of refried beans. Some of them are even already flavored and ready to go. Taste them and if they’re bland, add a pinch of salt and cumin.
Load up with the veggies.
This taco pizza is vegetarian, so I’ve loaded on the veggies! Outside of the refried beans, it’s got black olives, green onions, and tomatoes. Chopped romaine adds the perfect crunch.
Add optional taco meat.
If you love taco meat, brown ½ pound of ground beef in a skillet, drain the fat, and mix with 1 to 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning, to taste. You can also use plant-based veggie crumbles.
Top with tortilla chips and ranch.
The keys to a perfect taco pizza, according to Alex, is crushed tortilla chips and ranch. This Homemade Ranch Dressing is a perfect fit: it’s made with Greek yogurt for a healthy spin. It tastes literally divine on this taco pizza.
Easy Pizza Dough Options
You have multiple options for the pizza dough depending on your time and skill level:
- Homemade pizza dough gives you the best flavor and texture. My Best Pizza Dough recipe makes that perfect chewy-crispy crust. For even easier options, my Quick Pizza Dough in a Food Processor or Thin Crust Pizza Dough work well.
- Sheet pan or pan pizza are great for beginners. Try my favorite Sheet Pan Pizza which makes 3 pizzas at once, this Pan Pizza in a cast iron skillet.
- Store-bought pizza dough is good in a pinch. Most dough comes in 12-16 ounce portions. For a thick, chewy crust, press it into a 12-inch pizza pan. For thinner, crispier crust, stretch it to a 14-16 inch circle, or use a 9×13-inch baking pan for a rectangular taco pizza.
- Pita bread, naan, or tortillas make personal taco pizzas. Check out my Naan Pizza, Tortilla Pizza or Pita Pizza for quick personal-sized options.
Tip: Let your dough rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before stretching for best results.
Essential Equipment
While you can make taco pizza with just a baking sheet, a few key tools make the process easier and improve your results dramatically:
- Pizza stone: This is my preferred method for the absolute crispiest crust. Preheat the stone in your oven for at 30 to 45 minutes before baking. Here’s the pizza stone I use.
- Pizza peel: A pizza peel is a paddle used to slide a pie onto the hot stone in the oven. I recommend this standard pizza peel, or I use this conveyor pizza peel which is worth the investment if you make a lot of pizza.
- 18 x 13 inch pan: Perfect for feeding a crowd or making a rectangular taco pizza with my sheet pan pizza recipe.
Serving Suggestions for Taco Pizza Night
This taco pizza is perfect for those nights when you can’t decide between Taco Tuesday and pizza night. To make it into a meal, I like to add:
- A crisp Mexican Chopped Salad or Easy Tossed Salad is a nice fresh contrast.
- Add a bowl of Black Bean Salsa or Texas Caviar (Cowboy Caviar) with extra tortilla chips for scooping.
- When I’m feeding a crowd, I make taco pizza alongside traditional options like Pesto Pizza, Homemade Margherita Pizza, or Greek Pizza with Feta for variety.
Storage and Reheating Tips
Leftover taco pizza stores well in the refrigerator for up to three days, though the tortilla chips will soften and the lettuce will wilt. If you can, store the fresh toppings separately.
To reheat, you can place slices in a 400°F oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the crust crisps up again. Or, you can reheat it in the air fryer! Top with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and tortilla chips after reheating, and add a drizzle of fresh ranch dressing.
Dietary Notes
This taco pizza recipe is vegetarian. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, omit the cheese and use our Vegan Ranch.
The Best Taco Pizza
Pin Recipe
Print RecipeThis easy taco pizza recipe is an easy dinner idea perfect for family night or Taco Tuesday! The crispy crust is topped with creamy refried beans, melted cheese, and crunchy tortilla chips drizzled with homemade ranch.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough; see Notes)
- ⅓ cup refried pinto beans, canned (or Homemade Refried Beans)
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 green onions
- 1 handful canned sliced black olives
- 1/2 romaine heart
- 1/2 tomato or 3 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons Homemade Ranch Dressing
- 3 organic corn tortilla chips
- Hot sauce, for the garnish
- Kosher salt
- Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel
Instructions
- Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Prepare the toppings: Taste the refried beans: if needed, mix in a pinch or two of cumin and a pinch of kosher salt. (Ours were already well seasoned.) Thinly slice the green onion. Chop the romaine lettuce. Chop the tomatoes.
- Bake the pizza: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see How to Stretch Pizza Dough for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
- Spread the refried beans over the dough using a spatula to create a thin layer. Add the cheddar cheese, then top with black olives and half of the green onions. Top with a pinch of kosher salt.
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Top with the reserved green onions, chopped tomatoes and romaine, and crumbled tortilla chips. Drizzle with ranch dressing and if desired, sprinkle with hot sauce. Slice into pieces and serve immediately.
Notes
Meat variation: If you love taco meat, brown ½ pound of ground beef in a skillet, drain the fat, and mix with 1 to 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning, to taste.
Sheet pan variation: For a large pizza that’s the size of 3 medium pizzas, make my Sheet Pan Pizza and use these toppings.
Pan pizza variation: For a thicker crust made in a cast iron skillet, try this Pan Pizza.
Personal pizzas: For a simple weeknight meal, substitute purchased bread for the crust: try my Naan Pizza, Tortilla Pizza, or Pita Pizza.
More Homemade Pizza Recipes
from A Couple Cooks https://ift.tt/qnOdMIz
0 comments:
Post a Comment