Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Casserole
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Casserole has all the bold, cheesy flavor of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza but in a layered, easy-to-make casserole!
FAST FOOD INSPIRED CASSEROLE
This absolutely delicious Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Casserole is inspired by the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza but in casserole form. You can’t go wrong with a casserole and it’s so much easier to make than individual pizzas. With layers of crisp tortillas, taco seasoned beef, refried beans, gooey melted cheese, and zesty toppings, it has become one of my personal favorite meals I have made recently! Huge hit with the family!
Wow! This was so good and so easy! Definitely going into the regular meal rotation!
– Rena
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I tested this with fried tortillas and we found they didn’t hold up too well to the weight of the toppings. You could certainly do that but the crispiness from the baking gave this a more desirable texture.
This is supposed to replicate a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza which uses flour tortillas but you could use corn if that is your preference.
Personally, I would throw some sliced olives on there like they used to do back in the day but that is personal taste. I didn’t add them originally to this recipe as I know so many people don’t like them. Also, I think drizzling with a little sour cream or some taco sauce when serving would be yummy! Like any casserole, it’s not pretty but it sure is yummy!
Walmart now sells a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Dip (not a paid affiliate link) that I think would be a great alternative. I haven’t tried it because the one by me doesn’t sell it yet but I think that could be used instead of the enchilada sauce if that’s what you prefer to use. I’m just not sure how thick it is. They call it a dip so I am thinking it might be thicker like a salsa.
It is kind of a whole meal in one so perhaps something light like a side salad or some steamed veggies. I think fried corn would be delicious too. Or you could go for a side of corn cake, like you can get at Mexican restaurants.
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Please note the longer this dish is in the fridge the tortilla chips will get a bit soggy.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- large burrito sized tortillas – or 8 soft taco sized tortillas or you could use corn tortillas if you prefer.
- enchilada sauce – as I stated above, some Walmart locations now carry a jar of Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Dip. The one by me doesn’t have it yet but if you can find it, it may be a good alternative to enchilada sauce. I don’t know the texture or consistency of it though since I can’t get my hands on it. They are calling it a dip so I don’t know how thick it is.
- ground beef – ground chicken or ground turkey work great too!
- packet taco seasoning – grab whatever your favorite brand is or make some Homemade Taco Seasoning
- refried beans – I just use the store brand but grab your favorite or make your own Homemade Refried Beans!
- water
- shredded Mexican cheese blend – or use your favorite cheese here, just make sure it is a good melting cheese.
- diced tomatoes and sliced green onions – this is for topping. Back in the day Taco Bell used to also put sliced black olives on the Mexican Pizzas so I think that would be delicious!
HOW TO MAKE TACO BELL MEXICAN PIZZA CASSEROLE:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a large baking sheet, place as many of the tortillas on the baking sheet as you can fit without overlapping. Bake them in the oven for 3 minutes. Flip over for another 3 minutes or until they have some color and are turning crunchy. Remove them from the oven and repeat until all the shells are cooked. Set aside to cool. Once the shells have cooled, crumble them into smaller pieces.
To the skillet, add the ground beef over medium heat. Cook and crumble until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat.
Add the enchilada sauce and taco seasoning. Stir until it starts to simmer. Set aside.
To a small pot, add the refried beans and water over medium heat. Stir until the beans are thinned out. You can add more water if needed. Set aside.
To a 9×13-inch baking dish, add half of the broken tortilla shells. Top the shells with half of the meat mixture.
Top the meat mixture with half of the refried beans. Add 1/2 cup of cheese.
Repeat the final layer with the broken shells, meat mixture…
…refried beans, and cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted.
Top with diced tomatoes and sliced green onions.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 large burrito sized tortillas ( or 8 soft taco sized tortillas)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ounce packet taco seasoning
- 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
- 16 ounce can refried beans
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend (divided use)
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- ⅛ cup sliced green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- On a large baking sheet, place as many of 6 large burrito sized tortillas on the baking sheet as you can fit without overlapping. Bake them in the oven for 3 minutes. Flip over for another 3 minutes or until they have some color and are turning crunchy.
- Remove them from the oven and repeat until all the shells are cooked. Set aside to cool.
- Once the shells have cooled, crumble them into smaller pieces.
- To the skillet, add 1 pound ground beef over medium heat. Cook and crumble until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat.
- Add 1 ounce packet taco seasoning and 10 ounce can enchilada sauce. Stir until it starts to simmer. Set aside.
- To a small pot, add 16 ounce can refried beans and 1/2 cup water over medium heat. Stir until the beans are thinned out. You can add more water if needed. Set aside.
- To a 9×13-inch baking dish, add half of the broken tortilla shells.
- Top the shells with half of the meat mixture.
- Top the meat mixture with half of the refried beans.
- Add 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Repeat the final layer with the broken shells, meat mixture, refried beans, and shredded cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted.
- Top with 1 cup diced tomatoes and ⅛ cup sliced green onions.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I can’t have flour tortillas (gluten intolerant) so I am going to try this with either corn tortillas cooked crunchy or tortilla chips. I really miss flour tortillas!! lol thank you for the recipe – can’t wait to try it!
I’m not gluten free so I am no expert but have you tried Mission’s gluten free soft tortillas? I don’t know how they hold together in something like this but I get a lot of comments from readers who seem to like them. Another brand that gets mentioned a lot is “Ole” – I think Kroger and Walmart carry them. Just a thought in case you miss that texture. But corn tortillas would work. I know, not the same but they would work 🙂
Wow! This was so good and so easy! Definitely going into the regular meal rotation!