Cheesy Mexican Pizza is about to become one of your favorite foods for parties, snacks and game night! A great recipe for nearly any occasion- including a quick kids meal after school. Or even a fun twist on Taco Tuesday.
Taco Bell Copycat (Or Is It?)
Are you ready to spice up your game day? Every year hubby and I host game day parties, but as much as we love entertaining, we also love football and want to actually be able to watch the games instead of spending time in the kitchen.
It can also be challenging to offer food that caters to everyone’s taste buds! Or foods that won’t take up all of our time. So I started making these little pizzas. Little did I know that Taco Bell apparently also makes a Mexican Pizza.
I honestly had no clue- I usually stick to the bean burrito. LOL. I am told it is similar, but I only use one crispy tortilla instead of a double stack. So it ends up being more like a tostada.
Make Your Own Mexican Pizza
The idea is genius. I set up a fixings bar on our kitchen island and left the oven on a low temperature.
As folks got hungry, they grazed through building their own Mexican Pizza, popping it in the oven, setting the egg timer and coming back for their personalized dish when they heard the ding.
The kids loved having control of their own meal. The adults loved not having to deal with the kids.
Making Mexican Pizza with small flour tortillas means that each person can casually make several creations throughout hours of watching pig skin. If you aren’t a big fan of flour, you can use corn tortillas instead.
Mexican Pizza Ingredients
One of the best things about this easy recipe is that it is totally customizable! I’ll share with you what ingredients we used to make ours, but then I’ll also share some other options and variations later on.
- Flour tortillas – I much prefer to use flour tortillas for this recipe. But if all you have is corn (or if you prefer corn) go ahead and use those. They will just get slightly crunchier.
- Enchilada sauce – Instead of tomato sauce, we smother each tortilla with zesty enchilada sauce, fresh vegetables and gooey cheese. You can even use a green enchilada sauce! This serves as the “pizza sauce” instead of traditional tomato mixture.
- Cheddar cheese and cotija cheese – We love cheddar, so that’s what we always use. But feel free to use grated pepper jack or even a Mexican blend. You can never have too much cheese!
- Toppings:
Here are some other fun topping ideas:
- green onions (scallions)
- black beans
- red onion
- black olives
- tomato
- jalapeno
- pico de gallo
- crushed red pepper
- peppadew
- bacon
- bell pepper
- mushroom
- blender salsa
- avocado
- guacamole
- lime
- mole sauce
- spanish rice
- chorizo
- green chile
- pickled red onion
- green chile sauce
- iceberg lettuce
- ancho chile
- spinach
- corn
- pepper sauce
- black refried beans
- pulled pork
- salsa verde
- Mexican street corn salad
- chile powder
Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing
Because these Mexican pizzas are so quick and easy to whip up, I do not recommend making these up ahead of time. What you can do to save on time is prepare all of your toppings and get them in separate bowls. Things like chopping the veggies and shredding the cheese is a-ok to do, just refrigerate them until you’re ready to do.
These will not taste the same when you reheat them. The tortillas tend to get soggy from all of the ingredients on them. But if you need to warm up your leftovers just throw them in a 350 degree oven until warmed through.
More Mexican inspired dishes:
Crispy Mexican Chicken
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
Mexican Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
Tortillas:
- 12 6-inch flour tortillas
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese , freshly shredded
Topping:
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 cup enchilada Sauce
- 1 cup cheddar cheese , freshly shredded
- 1 cup cotija cheese ,crumbled
Garnish:
- crema Mexicana
- cilantro leaves
- pico de gallo
- guacamole or fresh avocado slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Using two baking sheets, place 3 tortillas on each. Mix together the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil with 1 teaspoon ground cumin . Baste half of the mixture over each tortilla, reserving the remaining. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove and evenly divide the shredded 1/2 cup cheddar cheese between the tortillas, it will be thin- it is just the glue to hold both layers together. Top with the remaining 6 tortillas and baste them with the remaining oil. Bake for another 5 minutes, or until the top tortilla is a little crispy.
Pizza Toppings:
- Heat the 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 1/2 pound ground beef , breaking up as you cook. Allow it to brown well. Add the 1 tablespoon taco seasoning and toss until mixed. Remove from the heat.
- Spoon a thin layer of the 1 cup enchilada Sauce on each flour tortilla. Evenly spoon the cooked ground beef mixture on the 6 pizzas. Sprinkle the shredded 1 cup cheddar cheese and 1 cup cotija cheese.
- Bake again for 5 minutes until the cheese melts and edges are lightly browned.
- Top with a drizzle of cream Mexicana, fresh cilantro, pico de gallo or guacamole.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
Nutrition
Best to serve this summer, Thanks for sharing
What a great way to use tortillas. We had fun making this with our kids and I love that everyone could customise their toppings. Great recipe!
I would always have to drive down to our local taco bell for this – but thanks to you, now I can make these mexican pizzas at home! Thanks!
These cheesy Mexican pizzas were so delish! My kids loved them.
Super delish and so easy to make, they are perfect for an afternoon snack attack! Thanks so much!
My daughter and I had such a fun time making these for dinner. She loved being able to personalize hers and I loved having a quick and easy meal to make with her as part of our “girl’s night”. Thanks!
This is such a fantastic idea!! I will be using it for our next Tn Vols football party! I know that everyone is going to love it and I’m going to love how easy it is!