Crispy Mexican Pizza with Seasoned Beef and Fresh Salsa

Recreate Taco Bell’s iconic Mexican Pizza at home with this simple copycat recipe. In about 20 minutes you can build crispy tostada-style pizzas layered with taco-seasoned ground beef, refried beans, red enchilada sauce, and a melty cheese topping. This family-friendly meal is easily customized with fresh toppings and makes a fun weeknight dinner everyone will enjoy.

Mexican Pizza is a Tex‑Mex favorite that layers crunchy tostada shells with seasoned ground meat and refried beans, then tops everything with red enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, and fresh tomato. This copycat version uses red enchilada sauce as the pizza “sauce” and a mix of Monterey Jack and cheddar for a great melt. Let everyone build their own pizza with additional toppings for a fun, customizable meal.

Ingredients

• Ground beef – 1 pound. Ground turkey or chicken works well, and soy chorizo or extra refried beans make an easy vegetarian swap.
• Taco seasoning – 2 tablespoons. Use a store packet or mix your own with chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic and onion powder, and salt for a fresher flavor.
• Water – 2 tablespoons (to help the seasoning cling to the beef).
• Tostada shells – 8 shells (six-inch size works well). You can also make tostada shells from corn or flour tortillas in the oven.
• Refried beans – about 1 cup, used as the inner layer to help hold the filling.
• Red enchilada sauce – ½ cup for the top sauce layer.
• Shredded cheese – 1 cup total. Use a blend like cheddar and Monterey Jack for best melt, or choose your favorite cheese.
• Tomato – 1 medium tomato, diced, for topping after baking.

Instructions

These steps produce four Mexican pizzas. Prep time is short and the bake/broil step only takes a minute to melt the cheese.

1. Preheat the oven. Set the broiler to high and place a rack in the middle position. If you prefer to bake instead of broil, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Cook the beef. In a large skillet over medium‑high heat, add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until no longer pink. Drain excess grease. Return the skillet to the heat, add the taco seasoning and water, stir to combine, reduce heat to medium‑low, and simmer for 5 minutes so the flavors meld. Remove from heat.
3. Assemble the pizzas. On four tostada shells, spread a layer of refried beans, then top each with a portion of the seasoned ground beef. Place a second tostada shell atop each layered shell to form a sandwich. Spread about 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce on the top shell of each pizza, then evenly sprinkle about ¼ cup shredded cheese on each one.
4. Melt the cheese. Arrange the assembled pizzas on a foil‑lined baking sheet. Place the sheet on the middle oven rack and broil for 30–60 seconds, watching carefully so the cheese only melts and does not burn. If baking, place the sheet in the oven preheated to 350°F and bake for 4–5 minutes until the cheese melts.
5. Finish and serve. Remove pizzas from the oven and top with diced tomatoes and any fresh toppings you like. Serve whole or slice into quarters—if slicing, add the fresh toppings after cutting to keep them from falling off.

Recipe: Quick Reference

Servings: 4 pizzas | Prep time: 8 minutes | Cook time: 12 minutes | Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients (short)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning
• 2 tbsp water
• 8 tostada shells
• 1 cup refried beans
• ½ cup red enchilada sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar + Monterey Jack)
• 1 tomato, diced

Steps (short)

1. Preheat broiler (or oven to 350°F).
2. Cook and season beef with taco seasoning and water; simmer 5 minutes.
3. Spread beans on four tostadas, add beef, top with another tostada.
4. Spread enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Broil 30–60 seconds until cheese melts (or bake 4–5 minutes).
6. Top with diced tomato and desired toppings, then serve.