Taco Pizza | A Mind “Full” Mom

By Kristen Chidsey | 43 Comments | Published April 13, 2022 | Updated April 13, 2022 *This post may include amazon links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tacos meet pizza in this delicious Taco Pizza Recipe! Made with refried beans, salsa, taco meat, cheese, and topped with all your favorite taco toppings, this Taco Pizza is a delicious and easy spin on pizza night.

Most everyone I know loves tacos and pizza. So it just makes sense that Taco Pizza is a good thing. A really good thing.

Inspired by Papa Murphy’s Taco Pizza, this recipe for Taco Pizza combines everything you love about tacos in pizza form.

Soft pizza dough is topped with refried beans, salsa, taco meat, and sharp cheddar cheese and baked until bubbly and browned. While you can stop right there and your taco pizza will be downright delicious, I love topping my taco pizza with shredded lettuce, olives, tomatoes, sour cream–any and everything you like on tacos.

Taco pizza is a family-favorite recipe. And my absolute favorite way to transform leftovers from taco night into a delicious, hearty, new meal.

Notes on Ingredients

One of the BEST things about Taco Pizza is that you can adapt it to suit any dietary need/preference. You can also use leftovers or begin this recipe entirely from scratch. I will walk you through both options!

• Pizza Dough: For this recipe, you need 1-pound of pizza dough. I opt for homemade pizza dough, but store-bought works in a pinch.
• Refried Beans: Use either homemade refried beans or canned refried beans. I do suggest using vegetarian refried beans to avoid added lard.
• 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.
• Taco Meat: For a Copycat Taco Murphy’s Pizza, seasoned taco meat is best. While I show you how to make homemade taco meat for this pizza, this is a great time to use leftover taco meat, or for a meatless taco pizza, use leftover sofritas. 
• 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!

How to Make Homemade Taco Pizza

Taco pizza comes together quickly using premade pizza dough, canned refried beans, and leftover taco meat. Or you can prepare the pizza dough and taco meat starting from scratch. It is not hard to do, just a bit more time-consuming.

Step One: Prepare Pizza Dough

• Combine the water and yeast and let sit to proof for about 5 minutes until foamy.
• In a large bowl combine the proofed yeast with the honey and oil in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
• Add in the flour and salt, a small amount at a time, mixing to incorporate.
• Knead the dough until shiny and smooth and then place the dough ball into a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
• Let the dough rise until it doubles in size.

Step Two: Prepare Taco Meat

• Brown the ground meat in a medium skillet 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 over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Step Three: Prepare Taco Pizza

• Roll the pizza dough out onto a greased 12-inch pizza pan.

• Spread an even layer of refried beans over the pizza dough.
• Spread the salsa over the refried beans to cover.
• Sprinkle the taco meat over the salsa and then top with the shredded cheese.

• Bake the pizza until golden brown and bubbly.

• Once you remove the pizza from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes to rest.
• Top the pizza with your favorite taco toppings OR slice the pizza and let each person top as desired.

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 “meat” altogether.
• Vegan Taco Pizza: For the pizza dough, replace the honey with maple syrup for a vegan option. Use vegetarian refried beans, skip the meat or use sofritas or lentil taco meat, and leave the cheese off the pizza. You can certainly use a vegan cheese replacement, but I find the pizza plenty flavorful without the need for it.
• Taco Pizza with Chicken: Replace the taco meat with leftover Instant Pot Chicken Taco Meat, Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken, or use ground chicken in place of the ground beef to prepare taco meat. You can also use 1 to 2 cups of leftover rotisserie chicken tossed with 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning.

More Pizza Recipes

Need more inspiration for planning meals that your family will love? Sign up for my FREE Meal Plans and each week you will get a meal plan with a shopping list.

If you gave this recipe for Taco Pizza a try, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.

Taco Pizza

Tacos and pizza collide in this delicious and easy recipe for Taco Pizza.

Print
Pin
Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 328kcal

Cook ModePrevents your screen from going dark while preparing the recipe.

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

Pizza Dough: You need 1-pound of pizza dough. Use the homemade recipe or your favorite store-bought dough.
Salsa: This is one instance where fresh is NOT best. Jarred salsa is best because it is thicker and will not water down the pizza as much as a fresh salsa would. 
Vegan Taco Pizza: If you would like to have a Vegan Taco Pizza, use sofritas instead of taco meat and omit the cheese. Top with avocado after baking if desired. 
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a 325 degree F oven until warm, about 10 minutes. 

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 842mg | Potassium: 257mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 470IU | Vitamin C: 0.6mg | Calcium: 252mg | Iron: 2mg

Liked this Recipe? Tag me Today!Snap a picture and tag #amindfullmom on Instagram – I would love to see!

This recipe was originally published in 2017 but updated in 2022 with new photos and video.