Since the beloved Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is being removed from the menu on November 5th, I figured it was about time I made a healthier copycat version. If you’re unfamiliar with the Mexican Pizza, it’s essentially a blend of taco meat and refried beans between two slightly crispy shells and topped with sauce, cheese, and diced tomatoes. It’s as tasty as it sounds.
While Taco Bell has some healthier options these days, the Mexican Pizza nutrition facts don’t make the cut. The original Mexican pizza has 530 calories, 19g of protein, 49g of carbs, and 29g of fat. For my version of the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza, we’re looking at 275 calories, 18g of protein, 31g of carbs, and 8g of fat. That means you could have two for roughly the same calorie count and double up on your protein intake!
How to Make Taco Bell Mexican Pizza at Home
This is a pretty straightforward recipe, but I’ll run you through everything below and cover a few ingredient modification notes and tips as we go. You’ll find a full recipe card at the bottom of the post as well. If you skip down and have a recipe question, hop back up to this section.
Step 1: Cook ground beef with fat free refried beans, taco seasoning, and chicken broth or water.
Easy enough, right? If you wanted to spruce up your Mexican Pizza filling or avoid pre-packaged taco seasoning, check out the ground beef from my cheesy beef baked tacos, air fryer stuffed peppers, or sweet and spicy ground chicken tinga.
Step 2: Sandwich the beef and beans between baked tostadas, topping with taco sauce and shredded cheese.
I used baked tostadas from Mission. They have a handy where to buy feature on their website so you can easily track some down in your area.
If you have trouble finding any baked tostadas, you could make your own. I’d go with the extra thin corn tortillas I used for my Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch copycat or baked chicken tacos. Bake them at 400ºF or so for 12-15 minutes.
For the taco sauce, I used Trader Joe’s spicy taco sauce. You could use enchilada sauce or another taco sauce. I’d be careful using a full tablespoon of straight hot sauce, though.
Since you’ll be saving a ton of fat compared to the original Taco Bell Mexican Pizza, you could double up on the cheese for extra cheesy pizzas without adding too many calories.
Step 3: Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes. Top with pico de gallo, slice, and serve!
The original Mexican pizza has diced tomatoes on top, but I think pico adds a bit more flavor. You could also add a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt or a blend of yogurt and salsa for a dip like the one in my black bean and corn quesadillas recipe.
Now, I think that covers everything. If you have a recipe question I missed, drop a comment at the bottom of the post. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this copycat Mexican Pizza recipe! Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t suggest serving it with some of my Mexican potatoes. Onward.
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Copycat
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef, 96/4
- 15 oz can Fat Free Refried Beans
- 8 oz Chicken Broth, Beef Broth, or Water
- 1 package Reduced Sodium Taco Seasoning
- 16 Baked Tostadas*
- 1/2 C 120g Taco or Enchilada Sauce
- 4 oz Shredded Mexican Cheese
- Pico de Gallo, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 400ºF and place 8 tostadas on a large baking sheet (or two baking sheets). Set aside.
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once cooked, add the taco seasoning, refried beans, and broth. Continue cooking until everything is evenly mixed and no excess liquid remains, about 3-4 minutes.
- Top the 8 tostadas with the beef mixture, about 4-5 ounces each. Place the remaining 8 tostadas on top of the beef, sealing the pizzas.
- Add 1 tablespoon of taco sauce on top of each pizza, spreading it to the edges to fully coat the top. Sprinkle 1/2 an ounce of shredded cheese on top of the sauce.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted.
- Top with pico de gallo or diced tomatoes, slice into quarters, and serve!
Unreal!! They taste amazing – I even used ground chicken and my fiancé gobbled them down. Sharing with all my Taco Bell obsessed friends that are grieving the loss of the pizza.
These were really good! Remember back before there was a food illness related to them, the mexican pizza traditionally had green onions on it too!
Ah, those were the days!
This was amazing!!!! I’m a huge Taco Bell fan and this was SO easy to make and delicious. I will definitely be making these again.
This has been my favorite recipe so far. Taco Bell obviously doesn’t fit in the macros but two of these pizzas did!! I can’t wait to make them again.
I loved these! I used red enchilada sauce to before baking to soften the tops up and then added the hot sauce, a little pico and olives at the end. Served with a side of Spanish rice and salad.
These were amazing!!! I made some with baked tostado shells and some with flour tortillas that I baked first – for my son. Both were incredible but I will go with the lower point option (Baker tostada shells) only for next time! Thank you so much!!! These were incredible! I shared your recipe with a friend and she made them too and loved them!
These were amazing!!! I made some with baked tostado shells and some with flour tortillas that I baked first – for my son. Both were incredible but I will go with the lower point option (Baked tostada shells) only for next time! Thank you so much!!! These were incredible! I shared your recipe with a friend and she made them too and loved them!
These are so dang delicious, do yourself a favor and make them today! They even smell like Taco Bell, yum!
These exceeded every expectation I had! I actually prefer this version over the real Taco Bell ones. I get a request to make these weekly for our house. I make it as is and it is perfect. I added a lot more pico than pictured, but that’s a personal preference.
This was delicious! I will make again.