Everything you love about a taco, in pizza form! Pizza crust slathered in taco seasoned refried beans and topped with cheese. The whole thing gets baked in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Finished with cool, crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato, refreshing lime crema and homemade tortilla strips.
Vegetarian Taco Pizza is a regular on our dinner rotation and it’s something I’ve been making for YEARS. I thought it was finally time to share this recipe with you. It’s really simple to throw together and uses really common ingredients.
What you need to make Taco Pizza
- pizza dough
- black refried beans
- taco seasoning
- jack cheese
- romain lettuce
- tomato
- cilantro
- lime crema (recipe to follow, my favorite Mexican crema is Cacique)
- tortilla strips (recipe to follow or store bought)
How to make Vegetarian Taco Pizza
There are a couple steps to this recipe, but none of them are too difficult! Let’s start with making the lime crema. You can sub regular sour cream for an even quicker weeknight meal, but the lime crema adds a nice tangy flavor.
Assembling the Lime Crema
In a small bowl, combine the crema (or sour cream), lime zest and lime juice. Stir to ensure everything is well incorporated and set aside.
Making the Air Fryer Tortilla Strips
This step is totally optional. If you have an air fryer, it’s really easy to whip up tortilla strips and you can’t beat fresh tortilla strips! Store bought will also be delicious if you don’t want to make your own. At the bottom of this blog post (in the FAQ) you can find instructions for how to make tortilla strips at home, without an air fryer.
Begin by cutting your corn tortillas into thin strips.
Place tortilla strips into the basket of your air fryer. Lightly spray with cooking spray to ensure nothing sticks. Cook the strips at 400° for 6-8 minutes, removing the basket and shaking the strips every 2 minutes for even browning.
Preparing the Pizza Crust
Pizza dough will be the easiest to work with when it is at room temperature so I recommend letting it sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes before working with it.
I also like to stretch the dough directly on the sheet pan to help ensure it’s the right shape and size. If you have a pizza stone, I recommend using it for this recipe!
While the dough comes to temperature, prepare the beans.
Seasoning the Beans
The beans are the main source of protein for this recipe, but if you wanted to add meat, my Chipotle Shredded Beef would be delicious on this pizza!
Heat the beans in a skillet until warmed through. Add the taco seasoning and mix to combine. Set aside while the crust bakes.
Baking the Crust
Bake the crust in a 400° oven for 7-10 minutes, until it begins to brown and puff up.
Assembling the Vegetarian Taco Pizza
Once the crust is partially baked, begin layering on the beans and cheese.
Begin by spreading the seasoned black beans on the crust, in an even layer. Top with jack cheese and return the pizza to the oven for another 7-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and begins to brown.
Allow the pizza to cool for a few minutes and slice (this makes it easier to serve once the toppings are added). Then top with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and your homemade tortilla strips.
Finish with chopped cilantro and a drizzle of the lime crema.
FAQs about Vegetarian Taco Pizza
I have not tested it this way, but don’t see why it wouldn’t be delicious!
Because the pizza is hot, and the toppings are cold, I recommend making the pizza right before serving. You can bake the crust ahead of time, but hold off on adding the beans and cheese (and toppings) until serving.
Prepare the strips the same way as listed in the recipe, but instead of cooking them in the air fryer, shallow fry them in a large skillet with about 1″ of vegetable oil. Fry until golden brown, then remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil, and sprinkle with salt.
Vegetarian Taco Pizza with Air Fryer Tortilla Strips
Ingredients
For the Lime Crema
- 3 tablespoons Mexican Crema or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon Lime Zest
- 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
For the Air Fryer Tortilla Strips
- 6 Corn Tortillas cut into thin strips
- Cooking Spray
- pinch Salt
For the Pizza
- 1 lb Pizza Dough I prefer a raw dough, but a cooked crust will work as well
- 1 15oz can Refried Beans black
- 3-4 tablespoons Taco Seasoning adjust seasoning to taste
- 2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese
- 3 cups shredded Romain Lettuce
- 1 Tomato medium diced and lightly seasoned with salt
- ⅓ cup chopped Cilantro
Instructions
For the Lime Crema
- Combine crema, lime zest and lime juice in a small bowl and set aside while you prepare the pizza.
For the Air Fryer Tortilla Strips (store bought will also be delicious)
- Place tortilla strips into the basket of your air fryer and lightly spray with cooking spray. Cook tortilla strips at 400° for 6 minutes, shaking the strips every 2 minutes to ensure even browning. Remove and lightly season with salt. Set aside.
For the Pizza
- Allow the pizza crust to come to room temperature while you preheat your oven as hot as it will go. Most ovens go to 500°. If you have a pizza stone, go ahead and pop that in the oven to preheat as well.
- While the dough comes to temperature, prepare the beans. In a medium skillet, heat the beans over medium heat. Once beans are hot, add taco seasoning and stir to combine. Make sure seasonings are evenly distributed and cook until beans are hot and feel a little loose.
- Once pizza dough is room tepmerature, stretch and form the dough into a rectangle the size of a sheet pan. I like to do this directly in the sheet pan, with a little bit of oil on the bottom, to ensure it's the right size. If using a pizza stone, shape the dough to match the stone.
- Bake the pizza dough in the oven for 7-10 minutes, until it begins to brown and puff up.
- Remove the crust from the oven and spead the refried beans onto the crust in an even layer. Then top with cheese and place back in the oven to bake until crust is set and cheese it melted. About 7-10 minutes.
- Once cheese has melted, top the pizza with lettuce, tomato, cilantro and tortilla strips. Finish with a drizzle of the lime crema.
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