Mexican Pizza
Growing up, my mom would make Mexican Pizza for my family (7 of us kids). It was made with a traditional pizza crust, refried beans, and cheddar cheese on top.
We kids loved it! I almost completely forgot about it until recently, it’s been so long since we’ve eaten that. Somehow it came to the forefront of my mind recently and I re-vamped it.
This recipe is a family-pleaser. It makes a lot, it’s cheap, filling and healthy. And it’s Mexican food (er….kind of)….need I say more?
While you could make it on a regular pizza pan, I made it in a sheet pan, for sentiment’s sake. My mom always made it in a sheet pan.
Remember that homemade refried beans recipe I shared earlier? This is another great use for those beans. Or, just use a can! Don’t want to make pizza dough? You could buy it, or use whole-wheat tortillas for personal pizzas and bake them for about 5 minutes.
Mexican Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 recipe your favorite pizza crust, after rising (the recipe I used is below)
- 1 can fat-free refried beans (or about 1 1/2 cups homemade)
- 1 1/2 tsp taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 2 small tomatoes (or additional salsa)
- 1 can pickled jalepenos (or a fresh one)
- 1 cup corn (fresh or thawed from frozen)
- 1 green onion
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 avocado or guacamole
- Cashew Queso or your favorite cheese
Cashew Queso
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tsp taco seasoning
- 1 can green chilies
Instructions
- If using the cashew queso, cover cashews with water to soak. Set oven to preheat to 500 degrees.
- Sprinkle 1 large pizza pan or cookie sheet with corn meal, or lightly grease it. Spread out pizza dough onto a cookie sheet until evenly spread out. Press a thick crust around the edges.
- In a small bowl, stir refried beans with salsa and taco seasoning. If using canned beans, add a little water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup) until they are thin and spreadable. Adjust to taste and add more salsa or taco seasoning as desired.
- Spread bean mixture over pizza dough. Sprinkle with chopped onion, corn, tomatoes or salsa, jalepeno and cheese, if using (if using cashew queso sauce, save it for after baking).
- Bake at 500 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until beans are bubbling and crust is golden.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped avocado, chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, and lots of cashew queso (I put mine in a zip lock bag with the tip cut off, but you could also just use a spoon and drizzle it over the pizza). Serve with additional hot sauce, guacamole, or sour cream if desired.
To make Cashew Queso
- Let cashews soak in hot water for at least 10 minutes. Then drain, and place all ingredients in a small bullet or high-speed blender and blend until very smooth and creamy. Add about 1/2 tsp salt if your taco seasoning is not salted.
Notes
One-Hour Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour (I use 1 cup white bread flour and 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour)
- 2 1/4 tsp dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 cup lukewarm water
Instructions
- Mix the flours and salt in a large bowl.In a liquid measuring cup, stir warm water, honey and yeast together. Let the yeast activate and foam for 5 minutes.
- Pour water into flour mixture. Dump onto clean counter and knead for 7 minutes or use the dough hook of a stand mixer. Shape into a ball and place dough in a floured or greased bowl. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. I like to put it in my oven with the light on if it's chilly in the house.Â
- After rising, press dough onto pizza pan and cover with desired toppings. Bake at 500 degrees for 7-10 minutes.
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So delicious! We just put these on whole wheat pitas and baked for about 8 min in a 375 oven then topped with avocados and cilantro!m and fresh tomatoes. It was awesome! Thanks for another great recipe!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing this quick version!
This was delicious! Since we don’t eat wheat, we used mashed polenta (with a little vegetable broth) which we pre-cooked for the crust. We also added chopped red, orange, and yellow bell peppers. For the tomatoes, we sliced heirloom grape tomatoes in half (length-wise) which had a delightful flavor. Next time, we will be adding chopped olives! YUM! Thanks so much for sharing your scrumptious recipe with us, Faith! We are excited to make it for our family who traditionally eats the Standard American Diet. We are confident they’ll love it and won’t complain about the lack of meat, dairy, oil, etc.
I just recently tried cashew queso for the first time, and was very pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was. I should have done it a long time ago and weaned myself from dairy cheese. I love all those healthy veggies as toppings. This recipe is delicious and fun because it is, after all, pizza!