Taco Pizza
Loaded with your favorite taco toppings, this Taco Pizza is one heck of a tasty way to mix up weekend pizza nights!
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So a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I took a trip down to Texas to visit family. My Dad lives in Dallas, and I also have relatives who live in east Texas. So what exactly am I doing living way up here in upstate New York? Hmmm…good question. (Just kidding!) The trip was great because (1) we got to experience 80+° weather for the first time in, oh, 7 months, but more importantly because (2) we got to catch up with family that we don’t get to see all that often.
We’ve all heard that everything is bigger in Texas, right? Well, apparently the tall tales are bigger down there, too. (By tall tales, I really mean outright lies.) My father has always been a jokester. You can’t believe a thing he says. At the age of 5, he convinced his brother that a bunch of crocodiles were living under his bed. Years later, he managed to convince his daughter that he had been wearing a toupee for years. (The man doesn’t wear a toupee. Never has.) I still remember her squealing when he went to pull off his “toupee.” To this day, I think she still wonders whether he has a toupee.
It’s easy to say that you’ll never be fooled like that. And then you realize you were fooled like that. My wife and I had driven out to visit my aunt and uncle in Longview, Texas, and we were sitting around chatting about family history. I came across an awesome family tree dating back to the late 1700’s, and that led to a fun conversation. That is until I asked, “So who was the one who dated Jesse James?” My uncle looked at me and just started laughing. He immediately knew it was a prank, and he also immediately knew who was behind it. Yup, good ole Dad.
As the story (aka Dad’s lie) went, my great-grandmother had gone on a date with Jesse James way back before he started his legendary crime spree. Sure, that sounds unbelievable, right? But here’s the thing. There was just enough accuracy in the story to make it believable. My grandfather’s middle name was Jesse, and Jesse was not a family name. That part of my family also lived up in the panhandle of Texas, so that was somewhat close to Jesse James’ territory. Add in a gullible kid, and all of a sudden Dad had managed to strike again…and this time, I had been the target.
While we were there in Texas, we went out to watch college basketball one night at a local sports bar. Turns out this local sports bar had a wood-fired oven out back. Like a full-on brick oven with the burning wood stacked on one side while delicious pizzas baked on the other side. (What I wouldn’t give to have a brick pizza oven in my backyard…but I somehow suspect that won’t be happening anytime soon.) Instead, we bake pizzas indoors, but we do use a nice thick pizza stone that we picked up at a restaurant supply store a few years back.
Taco Pizza
Taco PizzaOur go-to toppings when we make homemade pizzas are pepperoni, thinly sliced onions and diced jalapenos. Oh, and a nice sprinkle of Parmesan cheese all over the pizza before the toppings get added. But for this pizza, I decided to mix it up a bit. We love tacos here in the Spiced house, so I decided to turn that traditional pizza into a Taco Pizza to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. This pizza was seriously delicious! It was so very different than our normal go-to pizza, but it was just as tasty.
We all know that tacos go well with margaritas, right? Since pizza night is typically casual around here, I served up this Taco Pizza with Cayman Jack. Cayman Jack is a hand-crafted margarita that’s available in bottles (or cans). All you need is a bottle opener. Talk about easy! Plus, Cayman Jack is made from premium natural ingredients curated from around the world. Ingredients like 100% Blue Agave nectar from Jalisco, Mexico, organic key limes from Colima, Mexico and pure cane sugar from south-central Brazil. Once combined, they create one seriously tasty (and seriously easy) margarita! These Cayman Jack margaritas are the perfect option for Cinco de Mayo (or general summer) entertaining. (Oh, and they taste especially awesome next to a slice of Taco Pizza. Just sayin’.)
So here’s to warmer weather, margaritas, evenings with friends on the back porch and stories lies about Jesse James.
Did you make this Taco Pizza at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Taco Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 batch pizza dough homemade or storebought
For the Seasoned Beef
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- pinch cayenne pepper
For the Pizza Toppings
- 1 cup refried beans
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¾ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- ¼ cup green onions sliced
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos
- ½ cup romaine lettuce thinly sliced
- 1 medium tomatoes diced
- 2 Tbsp cilantro minced
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- hot sauce for finishing (optional)
Instructions
- Place a pizza stone in oven and preheat to 460°F. (Tip: If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can use an upside-down baking sheet.)
For the Seasoned Beef
- In a large skillet, add the ground beef and cook until evenly browned.
- Add water and all of the seasonings (chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper). Simmer over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set cooked beef aside.
For the Pizza
- Roll pizza dough into a 12-13” round circle.
- In a small dish, whisk together the ingredients for the Herbed Crust (olive oil, cumin and salt). Brush the outer 1" of the dough with this mixture.
- Spread the refried beans evenly around the center of the dough.
- Sprinkle mozzarella and cheddar cheese evenly around top of pizza.
- Sprinkle cooked beef and green onions evenly on top of cheese.
- Bake pizza at 460°F for 12-13 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
- Remove pizza from oven and top with pickled jalapenos, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and cilantro.
- Drizzle or drop small spoonfuls of sour cream around top of pizza. Drizzle with hot sauce before serving (optional).
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cayman Jack. The opinions and text are all mine.
Looking for other tasty pizza recipes? Check out these favorites, too:
Steak and Gorgonzola Pizza
Shrimp Scampi Pizza
Broccolini and Goat Cheese Pizza
