Taco Pizza Bread

Taco Tuesday? Meet Pizza Friday. This taco pizza bread recipe is everything you love about both of your favorite foods, united into one awesome(ly) easy to pull off hybrid. Pizza purists who believe that anything other than pepperoni n’ cheese is blasphemy probably shouldn’t read on. But if your attitude is “the more the merrier” when it comes to flavorful fiestas, this fusion food is for you.

Tacos are definitely a crowd-pleaser, but they can be tricky to serve as a party food. Who has the time to prepare multiple individual portions for every guest? And it goes without saying that you can’t go wrong with pizza, but we don’t always feel like making homemade pizza dough. So we went ahead and dispensed with everything complicated about both! Enter our taco pizza bread, which can be easily made as a whole and then sliced up to feed a hungry flock… and it will most likely be devoured as soon as you do! The method is inspired by our go-to shortcut—french bread pizza—so there’s no messing around with dough. If you can cut a hoagie roll in half, you can make this taco french bread pizza.

The key element that made this dish different from your standard pie was swapping in refried beans for tomato sauce. Then we cooked up some taco meat and gave it a spicy kick with a taco seasoning blend. Scroll down to find our taco seasoning recipe, or use your favorite pre-made mix. Ground beef was our protein of choice, but shredded chicken, pork carnitas, or soy chorizo (if you wanna introduce Meatless Monday to the gang) would all be mouthwatering. We topped our pizza with classic taco ingredients: shredded cheddar cheese, fresh diced tomatoes, and sliced black olives. 15 minutes in the oven got the the crust crispy and the cheese nice and melty. At the end we added a sprinkle of green onions and cilantro for some color and South-of-the-border freshness. Chill cilantro-phobes (we know you’re out there)—shredded green leaf lettuce or jalapeños are yummy alternatives that will still get you some greenery.

Happy Joe’s, a pie shop in the Midwest’s Quad-Cities that claims to have invented the original taco pizza in 1974, swears by a finishing touch of tortilla chip strips on their version. We left that out, but that’s one of the best things about this taco pizza bread recipe—it’s so fun to completely tailor the toppings to your taste buds. PS: anyone who’s a fan of Mexican torta sandwiches is gonna be way into these. So when you can’t decide between tacos and pizza, try out this convenient and crave-able mash-up of the two. We’ve never been more thrilled about such a high-profile merger.

Taco Pizza Bread


Makes 6 Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf french bread
  • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 lb ground beef (lean is ok)
  • 4 Tbsp. (1 envelope) taco seasoning, store-bought or homemade
  • 1 (16 oz) can refried beans
  • 4-6 Tbsp. water
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 small tomato, diced
  • 1 (2.25 oz) can sliced black olives
  • 4 green onions, sliced thin
  • 2 Tbsp. cilantro leaves
  • salt to taste

Taco Seasoning

  • 2 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1.5 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp. red chili flakes

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F°.
  2. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
  3. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil and ground beef. Cook beef, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until browned and cooked through. (Drain the beef fat if desired.) If using store-bought taco seasoning, follow the directions for preparation provided on the package. If using homemade taco seasoning, add to cooked ground beef and season to taste with salt, if needed. Add 2-4 tablespoons of water (depending on how lean your beef is and if you decide to drain off the beef fat) and simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Remove from heat.
  4. Slice french bread in half lengthwise.
  5. Place refried beans into a microwave-safe bowl and add a couple tablespoons of water. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir well and adjust the consistency with more water if needed. (You want the beans to be spreadable, but not soup.) Spread beans evenly over the top of the french bread halves. Divide the seasoned cooked beef evenly between the two french bread halves and sprinkle with cheese. Top with tomatoes and black olives.
  6. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bread has crisped slightly. Remove from oven and let stand a minute or two before topping with cilantro and green onions. Slice and serve warm.

What are your favorite taco fillings? Speaking of, what are your favorite pizza toppings? Get ‘em together for taco pizza bread! And let us know how quickly yours disappears.

Recipe adapted from life-in-the-lofthouse.com