Tacos. So very satisfying. Pizza. I think it goes without saying that it’s probably the most satisfying food in history.
But taco pizza? We had a lot of taco fixin’s in the house tonight, left over from a dinner we hosted this weekend. We also had some frozen homemade pizza crusts, so i decided to combine my two loves. Huge mistake. HUGE.
As a pizza, it’s "off. " As Mexican, it’s just too heavy. An all-around disappointment of a meal. It’s like mixing orange juice (delicious) and apple juice (delicious). You just shouldn’t do it.
Now Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza? That’s a food of los dioses. Probably because it’s got nothing in common with actual pizza.
I think you have to do it just right. A thin crust so that the crunch mimics the shell. Not too much cheese. A spicy sauce that’s halfway between marinara and mole and acts as a vehicle for the taco seasonings. Diced tomato and shredded lettuce should be added, fridge-cold, just before shoving the slice into your mouth.
Taco pizza can absolutely be delicious. There’s no reason it can’t work. I’ve had many good versions of it, and some odd versions of it that were still pretty good (like covered in shredded lettuce and crushed tortilla chips.) There’s like a million ways you can go about doing this, and most of them will end up fine as long as you start with a good crust (err on thinner for me.) For the sauce, I actually would just keep it simple – crushed tomatoes with some garlic and salt. Maybe some hot peppers if you want a spicy sauce, but I’d do that as a topping; and if you’re doing something like, say, ground beef-with-taco-spice-pack as the protein, that’s more than spiced enough that you don’t need to mess about with the sauce (and I just generally believe a simple sauce base is best, anyway. I rarely do anything on my pizzas beyond crushed tomatoes, salt, and garlic. Maybe a sprinkle of oregano, depending on the style.)
I live in the land of a regional pizza chain called Happy Joe’s, who for literally decades had a top-notch taco pizza. However, since Happy Joe died, the people who took the company over have used lesser quality ingredients and boosted the prices, and are heading downhill fast.
My local pizza place years ago had a great taco pizza. Tomato sauce, taco-seasoned ground beef, refried beans, cheddar (not a lot), chopped tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, olives. Not too heavy on the sauce or the cheese.
I guess I’m not too picky. I’ve had frozen taco pizzas I enjoyed. There used to be one my daughter liked that was discontinued. Many local places have a version but I think they need more crunch.
Cheeseburger pizzas are much the same - they sound good (I mean, ground beef and cheese are already pizza toppings), but in reality it usually involves someone putting American cheese/Velveeta on pizza and it just doesn’t work.
Worst example I had involved yellow mustard, which is terrible on pizza. OTOH I did discover that pickles/gherkins go very nicely as a topping - a little vinegar to offset all the grease is a good thing.
I guess I’m a traditionalist because the words “taco” and “pizza” simply don’t go together in my mind. I view “Tostada Pizza” as significantly better because they are both round and flat. In fact, I have to wonder why that wasn’t its name in the first place.
I guess I’m the oddball here. Taco pizza is our go-to recipe for using up taco leftovers. I put a thin layer of refried beans on the crust, then a layer of taco sauce, then the taco meat. Add chopped onion and sliced black olives, cover with taco cheese, and bake. When it’s finished baking, top with lettuce and diced tomato.
This is a good summary of my opinion. If you change pizza too much it starts to become something other than pizza. That isn’t to say it can’t be good but, beyond a certain point, it can’t be good pizza because it isn’t pizza anymore. For example, replacing tomato sauce with salsa (or anything else) is probably a deal breaker. Refried beans on the pie is likely to get it struck from the list, too.
That said, fresh Mexican chorizo and al pastor would probably make for great pizza toppings.
Last weekend I had a white pizza with lots of roasted, mashed garlic, burrata cheese, and extreme dill pickle chips. It was delicious, looked like a pizza, and was on the pizza menu.
I don’t mean to apply my weird rules to others. The modifier of white to pizza would change my expectations. To me, pizza means wheat dough, tomato sauce, a mild white cheese plus toppings, baked. At what point does pizza become flatbread? Or a tostada? Similarly, separate wrap from burrito.