Tacos and pizza collide in this ridiculously delicious Taco Pizza! Made with refried beans, perfectly seasoned taco meat, salsa, and cheese, this Taco Pizza recipe puts a unique and irresistible spin on pizza night.
I love putting creative spins on pizza. From Pizza Meatloaf to Buffalo Chicken Pizza to Pizza Grilled Cheese pizza-inspired recipes are always a good idea.
But the BEST spin on pizza is combing two favorites, like tacos and pizza, into one outrageously delicious recipe. This Taco Pizza recipe was inspired by Papa Murphy's Taco Pizza, and it incorporates all the elements of classic tacos into a delicious pizza.
why you will love taco pizza
- Family-Favorite Recipe. The combination of tacos and pizza creates a flavorful dinner that satisfies both pizza and taco cravings.
- Incredible Use of Leftovers. Taco pizza is an excellent way to use leftovers from taco night. The toppings used in tacos, such as taco meat, refried beans, salsa, and cheese, can all be repurposed to make a delicious taco pizza.
- Adaptable. This recipe for taco pizza is highly customizable. You can swap out the type of beans, salsa, meat, and toppings to tailor the pizza to suit your taste preferences.
Notes on Ingredients
- Pizza Dough: For this recipe, you need 1 pound of store-bought or homemade pizza dough.
- Refried Beans: The refried beans will add bulk and a creamy texture to the taco pizza. You can opt to use refried pinto beans, refried black beans, or instant pot refried beans.
- Salsa: Instead of pizza sauce, use jarred salsa to top this taco pizza. This is one instance where fresh salsa is NOT best, as it has a lot of excess moisture that may cause your pizza to become soggy. I recommend using your favorite jarred salsa.
- Taco Meat: This recipe is made with ground beef that has been seasoned with tomato sauce and homemade taco seasoning. Feel free to use ground turkey or chicken in place of ground beef.
- Cheese: Use sharp cheddar cheese or a Mexican blend cheese, as it pairs best with the Tex-Mex flavor.
- Toppings: Just like tacos, taco pizza is even more delicious when served with your favorite toppings like shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, avocados, guacamole sour cream, olives, etc. Use whatever you like!
Variations on Taco Pizza
- Vegetarian Taco Pizza: Be sure your refried beans are vegetarian and skip the taco meat. In place of the taco meat, you can use Sofritas, lentil taco meat, or just keep it simple and skip adding "meat" altogether.
- Taco Pizza with Chicken: Replace the taco meat with leftover Instant Pot Chicken Taco Meat or Shredded Mexican Chicken. Alternatively, you can combine 1 to 2 cups of leftover rotisserie chicken that has been seasoned with 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning.
- Dairy-Free Option: This Taco Pizza has so much flavor, you can simply omit the addition of shredded cheese and still have a pizza filled with flavor. Or you can use your favorite dairy-free shredded cheese.
How to Make Homemade Taco Pizza
The recipe card for Taco Pizza will walk you through the steps on how to make homemade pizza dough and homemade taco meat as well, That said, you can begin this recipe with store-bought pizza dough and leftover taco meat to make fast work of this recipe.
- Roll Out Pizza Dough. Using your homemade dough or store-bought dough, roll the dough out into a large circle and then place it onto a greased 12-inch pizza pan.
- Assemble Taco Pizza. Spread an even layer of refried beans over the pizza dough and then top with salsa to cover. Sprinkle the taco meat over the salsa and then top with the shredded cheese.
- Bake. Bake the pizza until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove the pizza from the oven and let it rest so that it is easier to slice and won't burn your mouth.
- Serve. Top the pizza with your favorite taco toppings before serving OR slice the pizza and let each person top as desired.
More Pizza Recipes
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If you gave this recipe for Taco Pizza a try, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Taco Pizza
Ingredients
For the Pizza Dough
- ¾ cup warm water 100-105 degrees
- 2 teaspoons dry active yeast
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cup flour
For the Taco Meat
- ½ pound ground beef or chicken or turkey
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
For the Pizza
- cooking spray
- 1 pound pizza dough using recipe provided or store-bought dough
- 1 cup refried beans
- ¾ cup salsa
- 1-2 cups prepared taco meat using the recipe provided or leftover taco meat
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- Toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, avocado, olives, sour cream, etc
Instructions
For the Pizza Dough
- Combine the water and yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes in a large mixing bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached until the yeast is foamy.
- Add the honey and oil to the yeast mixture, stirring to combine. Add the flour and salt slowly, mixing as you go, until well combined.
- Once mixed, knead the dough for 5-9 minutes by hand on a lightly floured surface or with your dough hook on low-medium speed for 3-4 minutes. You want your dough to form a shiny ball.
- Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 20-30 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.
Taco Meat
- In a medium skillet, brown the ground meat over medium-high heat, breaking it into small chunks as it cooks. Once browned, drain off excess grease if needed, and then return the meat to the skillet. Add in tomato sauce, water, and taco seasoning. Simmer on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until thickened.
For the Taco Pizza
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray or brush with oil.
- Roll out the pizza dough onto the lightly greased pizza pan.
- Spread refried beans out evenly over the pizza crust. Top with salsa, spreading to cover the beans. Sprinkle the prepared taco meat over the salsa and then top with cheese.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until crust is cooked through and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.
- Let the pizza cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and topping with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2017 but updated in 2022 with new photos and video.
Rachel Cooks
I love switching up leftovers too (hate eating the same thing two nights in a row!). Pizza crust is always such a great vessel for leftovers. Yours looks amazing!
Kristen Chidsey
Pizza can take on so many flavors--it is truly so versatile.
Josie
Looks like a great fusion of Mexican and Italian food 🙂 Love the idea of turning leftovers into something yummy!
Kristen Chidsey
Using leftovers to create something new (and yummy) is something I LOVE to do!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
We love taco pizza! Great way to use up those leftovers that everyone forgets about!!!
Kristen Chidsey
I hate letting ANYTHING go to waste, and this is a fun way to use up leftovers!
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme)
Wow! This is so creative. I never would have thought to do this, but I totally agree, food waste is the worst. I feel like its something I need to get better about!
Kristen Chidsey
Well, I hope this inspired you to cut down on your food waste at least when it comes to Mexican food 🙂
Alida
This is such a great idea to use up taco leftovers! Yum!
Kristen Chidsey
Makes cooking a whole lot easier when a meal can do double duty.
allie@ThroughHerLookingGlass.com
Love this idea Kristen! Taco Pizza. We all love both, so this is sure to be a hit at our house!
Kristen Chidsey
It is a great family pleasing meal for sure 🙂
Kimberly
Oh yum! This looks so good. Pinned. Lou Lou Girls
Jaren (Diary of a Recipe Collector)
It's a great feeling to turn leftovers into another great meal! Looks great! Thanks for linking up with SNF! Pinned to our party board!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks so much!!
mila furman
This looks pretty awesome!!! The crust looks so nice and thin! That's my favorite type.
Thanks for linking with us at #Foodie Fridays! Great to see you on there this week!
Kristen Chidsey
A thinner crust, just means you get to eat more slices, right?!
chanelle
I also can not STAND to waste food! My kids know to only take a little bit on their plate because you can always have more, but mama doesn't like food to get thrown out! This recipe looks good, and what a good way to use up leftovers.
Kristen Chidsey
Sounds like you and I are on the same wave length. I am always looking for creative ways to reduce waste. Wait till you see what I share tomorrow on my blog about how to use kitchen scraps 🙂
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup
Thanks so much for this simple, clever recipe. We eat a lot of Mexican food around here and this is a great way to change it up a bit. Definitely pinning this one and trying it soon. Thanks, again!
Dini @ giramuks kitchen
I love leftover ideas! Tacos in pizza form? Genius!! Can't wait to try it out! 😀
Kristen Chidsey
It is a crazy good way to eat pizza (plus use up a few leftovers!)
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life
Brilliant! I love finding creative ways to use up leftovers too. Sometimes I even make things with the leftovers in mind! Thanks for sharing it with us at Foodie Fridays!!
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul
Yum! I love leftovers!
Kristen Chidsey
Especially when those leftovers can be so tasty 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
Yea! You will love it--even if you have to make the taco meat first 🙂 Or you could just season up some canned refried beans and keep it really simple!
Joanna @Makingmine
I don't have leftovers, but I still think I'm going to try this tonight! It looks SO good! Thanks for sharing!