Before I met my husband, he used to eat Taco Bell every single week.
And what was his go-to order at Taco Bell?
“Mexican Pizza, no meat, with beans instead of the meat.” (he would have ordered it with meat when he was a kid, but he turned vegetarian at age 15).
Full disclosure: when I was a kid, I had my share of veggie Mexican Pizzas too, and I remember really liking them! I mean, the crispy fried shells, the salty, seasoned filling, it’s everything that makes fast food addictive.
The hubby likes them too – it’s like a treat for him these days since he eats Taco Bell way less often now, compared to his past cadence of Taco Bell dinners. I actually like the concept of a Mexican Pizza – but the Taco Bell one has 550 calories for one tiny 6-7 inch pizza, with 30g fat and 900mg sodium.
I decided to give the Mexican Pizza a makeover in my kitchen, and my version is JUST as crispy as the original, but has only 370 calories, at least 10g fiber (even more depending on how much veggies/beans you use), and only 14.6g Fat.
I swear, it’s delicious and with salsa and guac, tastes just like a Mexican Pizza!
The Ingredients (makes one pizza, which is one serving)
- 1/3 cup refried black beans, heated through with taco seasoning stirred in to taste
- 1/4 cup mexican 4 cheese blend
- 1 whole wheat tortilla (100-120 calories, with at least 5g fiber – I like the ones from Trader Joe’s: they are delicious and crisp up perfectly – picture below).
- 1/4 red onion, diced
- 1 roma tomato, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- Salsa (I like Pace Picante) – 2 Tbsp
- Guacamole – 2 Tbsp
Here’s the Trader Joe’s tortilla I used:
The Directions
Step 1: Crisp up the whole wheat tortilla in either a toaster oven or a regular oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or until it’s crispy like a chip).
Step 2: Spread the beans on the tortilla, top with veggies, top with cheese. Heat in a toaster oven or under a broiler until the cheese has melted
Step 3: Top with salsa and guac, and enjoy!
This whole recipe takes 15 minutes to make (max), and is a delicious, filling and healthy dinner. It’s such an easy swap and it’s so much better for you than the original. This recipe has become a staple in our kitchen – I literally eat it almost every week. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, and the best part is, it’s totally guilt-free!
Mexican Pizza
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup refried black beans heated through with taco seasoning stirred in to taste
- 1/4 cup mexican 4 cheese blend
- 1 whole wheat tortilla 100-120 calories, with at least 5g fiber – I like the ones from Trader Joe’s: they are delicious and crisp up perfectly – picture below.
- 1/4 red onion diced
- 1 roma tomato diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- Salsa I like Pace Picante
- Guacamole – 2 Tbsp
Instructions
- Crisp up the whole wheat tortilla in either a toaster oven or a regular oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or until it’s crispy like a chip).
- Spread the beans on the tortilla, top with veggies, top with cheese. Heat in a toaster oven or under a broiler until the cheese has melted
- Top with salsa and guac, and enjoy!
TAGS: entrees, kid friendly recipes, mexican recipes, pizza, quick meals, vegetarian
Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas were a staple for me growing up as well! In college, the cashier knew us so well that we didn’t have to even say the “no meat” thing. Maybe that was because of the Indian thing. Who knows! Anyway, this looks delicious. I make mine pretty much the same way, and I think homemade pizzas trumph TB any day!
Haha!! I think my husband ended up with the same deal at a Taco Bell near where he went to college 🙂 I love how we totally had the same idea with the homemade pizzas!
Yummy! Looks awesome
Thanks!! Let me know if you end up trying it! 🙂
Such a great idea! 🙂 I’m definitely trying this at home.
Thanks Minal!! Let me know how you like it!
Nice! I love Mexican pizza, and on a tortilla makes it manageable for a quick dinner.
Definitely! This is one of my weeknight meals that I generally make after a long day at work. It’s so quick and easy, it’s perfect!
First time here – read your about page and some of your recipes !! Love your blog and am sure am going tobe a regular here:)
Welcome!! And thank you so much! I’m so glad you like my blog and my recipes 🙂 It’s so nice to meet you – looking forward to connecting with you more through my blog!
What a lovely little meal! We must be channeling the same Mexican/Italian vibe. Just last night I made what I call a Mexican lasagna. Corn tortillas instead of noodles, enchilada sauce, cumin. I think the ground turkey and oregano stayed the same though. 🙂
Thank you so much! Haha – that’s funny – we are TOTALLY on the same wavelength – I just made an “enchilada lasagna” a few nights ago as well! It was a bit different than yours but very similar in terms of using corn tortillas instead of noodles. I’ll be posting that recipe soon, can’t wait to hear what you think! 🙂
I love it when I have everything I need to make a meal. This is dinner tomorrow night!
Yay!! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This looks amazing… love it.
Thanks!! I’m sure you’ll love it if you try it!
My Taco Bell vice was the fully loaded nachos (with a side of cinnamon twists, of course) before I decided to clean up my diet. Your Mexican Pizza looks great…I have to admit, I’m a huge meat eater, so I’d likely throw some ground turkey on my version. Looks quick and simple, which is perfect because there aren’t enough hours in the day!
Ooooh yeah – the cinnamon twists were my weakness as well! I think ground turkey would still be pretty healthy with this recipe – let me know how you like it when you try it!
Just made this 🙂
I went a little topping crazy though. it ended up less like the picture and more like a pizza or nachos haha. added kale cause i needed veggies too. I cant remember what the real thing tastes like but this was definitely delicious!
Haha! That is awesome – sometimes I get topping crazy too so I totally understand! Btw – LOVE the idea of adding Kale to this, I’ll have to do that next time!
I love this recipe, it sounds amazing!! I will be making it tonight – i also love love love this blog!!!!
Yay!!! Thank you SO much Taryn! I know you’re going to love this recipe – let me know how it turns out!
Tryed this last night, as my boyfriend love love loves taco bells mexican pizza’s – it was wonderful! and so easy to make i topped mine off with some fat free sour cream and it was delicious!!
Yay! I’m so glad you and your boyfriend loved it! Thanks for telling me – I’m happy to know it’s “boyfriend approved” 🙂
I want to start of my post by saying I’m OBSESSED with your blog! I love all of the recipes because I’m a picky, vegetarian eater as well 🙂
I had this Mexican pizza probably 5 times last week. Thank you for inspiring me to make these quick, simple meals!
Awwwww thank you SO much Shrina!!! I’m soo happy to hear that. And I LOVE that you love this Mexican pizza recipe! I’m actually going to be making it for dinner tomorrow – because it’s such an easy weeknight meal 🙂 Let me know if you end up trying any other recipes and how they turn out, I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Mexican pizza is my Top favorite and the next is hawaiian Pizza. I sometimes make Pizza at home especially for my family.
My husband likes hawaiian pizza (without the ham) too!
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