Taco Pizza: Fully Loaded, Epically Fast
Loaded Taco Pizza is crazy meaty and epic in 20 minutes!
The first Taco Pizza I ever had was from Pizza Hut.
I think it might have been the best I’ve ever had too – their thin crust pizza was perfectly suited to be the vessel for this delicious meal. It’s a fun little mash up between Mexican and Italian. Ready in 20 minutes, it’s faster than ordering in – and better tasting too!
Get the stove warming up before you do anything else – 400 degrees F sets the stage.
While the oven is heating up, get the ground meat going. I like to cook the beef in a cast iron skillet (affiliate links follow – see disclaimer for details). I sprinkle a little kosher salt in the skillet while it’s warming up – that way I don’t have to add any oil to the pan to make sure it doesn’t stick.
Don’t add too much salt, and remember to cut back a little bit when you are seasoning the meat. You can probably get away using less meat than we do here – but we like it meaty, and this is a filling meal using two pounds of ground meat.
Add the meat to the pan and chop it up with a wooden spoon or a spatula. While the beef is cooking, warm up the refried beans.
I use spicy, fat free beans. So they come out of the can like this ^^^^. Put them in a microwave safe bowl and mash up after warming it for about a minute on high. They don’t have to be screaming hot – they’re going into the oven on the ‘za.
Remove the crust from the tube. I like the thin crust for Taco Pizza – it’s the perfect consistency. Stretch it into a sheet pan.
We’re going to “par-bake” the shell
– pop it into the oven for 6 or 7 minutes. It goes in bare so when we add the beans and the meat it doesn’t leak through the crust.
The shell is barely tan – just like we want it.
Smear the beans. I like to use an offset spatula, but a kitchen spoon works just as well.
Add the cooked and seasoned beef. Then sprinkle the cheese across the entire pizza.
Cook the taco pizza for another 6 or 7 minutes until the crust is brown and the cheese is melted.
Cut it into precise squares. Or go for variety on the size, like I have. (Totally on purpose. I have no trouble cutting in a straight line.)
Set up your toppings all together in one place.
Shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, sour cream, and a variety of hot sauce is how we roll – but add your own favorites. Olives, guacamole and queso fresco are good options too.
Add whatever you like!
Taco Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 tube Thin Pizza Crust Dough, 11 ounces
- 2 pounds Ground Beef, 80/20
- Kosher Salt
- 1 tbsp Taco Seasoning
- 1 can Refried Beans, 16 ounces
- 1 bag Mexican Shredded Cheese, 8 ounces
- Toppings; shredded iceberg lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, jalapenos, hot sauce, taco sauce, avacado or guacomole
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle Kosher salt in bottom of skillet and break ground beef into pan. Cook and crumble until no red remains in beef. Drain excess fat and discard. Sprinkle taco seasoning on beef, and add about 1/4 cup of water to pan. Mix well, and cook until the beef absorbs water.
- While beef is cooking, spread crust into bottom of a sheet pan. Par-bake for 5 to 6 minutes, until lightly browned and slightly crisp.
- Mash up refried beans and warm up briefly in microwave for about a minute. Spread beans on top of par-baked pizza crust.
- Spread cooked beef on top of refried beans. Cover with cheese.
- Return pizza to oven and cook for an additional 6 or 7 minutes until crust is brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Cut into individual pieces and add your favorite toppings.
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