Easy & Flavorful Mexican Pizza Recipe: The Perfect Back-to-School Dinner
As the school year kicks into full swing, finding quick, nutritious, and undeniably delicious meals that satisfy every family member can feel like a daunting task. This Mexican Pizza recipe is your ultimate solution! It’s designed for busy weeknights, delivering an explosion of flavor that makes it a beloved dish for both kids and adults. Plus, it’s packed with essential protein and calcium, ensuring you’re serving a wholesome meal that truly fuels your family’s active lives. Get ready to add this easy, crowd-pleasing recipe to your regular dinner rotation!
Embracing the Back-to-School Season with Effortless Meals
The return to school often brings a whirlwind of activities, from early morning rushes to after-school sports and homework sessions. While a structured routine can be a welcome change for many parents, it also intensifies the need for quick, simple, and satisfying meal ideas. This year, my son Will has started his Pre-K journey, complete with daily bus rides. Watching him confidently board that bus was a heartwarming, yet slightly bittersweet, moment – they truly do grow up so quickly! He’ll actually be celebrating his 5th birthday this weekend, reminding me how precious every moment is.
It’s precisely this fast-paced back-to-school atmosphere that makes dishes like our Mexican Pizza an absolute lifesaver. We’re thrilled to partner with the Ohio Beef Council to present this fantastic dinner or lunch option. It’s incredibly easy to prepare, bursting with beloved Mexican flavors, and provides essential protein and calcium. Serving this meal means you’re not just putting food on the table; you’re providing wholesome nourishment that everyone will genuinely enjoy, making those busy weeknights a little less hectic and a lot more delicious.
The Power of Protein: Fueling Young Minds and Bodies with Beef
Beyond its incredible taste, this Mexican Pizza stands out for its impressive nutritional value, thanks to the star ingredient: lean ground beef. Families across Ohio and the entire nation consistently choose beef, investing billions each year, recognizing it as a healthy, high-quality protein source crucial for growing children and active adults. It’s a foundational component of a balanced diet, offering far more than just flavor.
A single 3-ounce serving of beef—roughly the size of an iPhone—is a nutritional powerhouse, providing over 10 essential nutrients and half of the daily recommended value of protein, all for under 150 calories. Incorporating beef into meals like this Mexican Pizza helps ensure your children receive the sustained energy and vital nutrients they need to tackle everything from classroom learning to playground adventures. It’s a smart choice for supporting their overall development and well-being.
Boosting Focus and Energy for Academic Success
Protein is fundamental for maintaining stable energy levels and supporting cognitive function, both of which are paramount for students throughout their school day. Meals rich in protein help kids feel satisfied and focused, curbing mid-morning hunger pangs and reducing the likelihood of reaching for sugary snacks. Moreover, beef is an excellent source of B vitamins, which play a critical role in converting food into usable energy. This means better concentration in class, improved retention of new information, and the stamina needed for all their daily activities.
Building Strength for Student Athletes and Active Lifestyles
For the energetic kids and dedicated student athletes in your household, beef is an unparalleled dietary choice. The high-quality protein in beef is essential for muscle development, repair after physical activity, and building strong, resilient bodies. Scientific research consistently shows that including lean beef as a regular part of a healthy diet can support healthy cholesterol levels. Furthermore, the effectiveness of exercise is significantly enhanced when combined with a high-protein diet, making beef an ideal food for optimizing athletic performance and promoting rapid recovery. This Mexican Pizza is more than just a quick meal; it’s a strategic component for health, growth, and peak performance.
Smart Meal Prep for Stress-Free Weeknights
Like many busy individuals, I’m always looking for ways to make dinner prep easier and faster. This Mexican Pizza recipe shines in its fantastic meal prep capabilities. To ensure truly stress-free evenings, you can easily cook your ground beef ahead of time and chop all your preferred garnishes, storing them in airtight containers in the fridge. This simple preparation step transforms the assembly process into a matter of minutes, significantly cutting down on active cooking time.
When dinner time rolls around, all that’s left is to layer your pre-cooked ingredients onto the tortillas, quickly bake them for approximately 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and serve! You’ll have a wholesome, flavorful meal ready in under 20 minutes, allowing for more precious family time and less time scrambling in the kitchen. This level of efficiency is invaluable during the demanding school year, ensuring a satisfying meal without the typical weeknight rush.
Serving Suggestions and Delicious Leftovers
While Mexican Pizza is a fantastic standalone meal, it pairs wonderfully with a variety of complementary side dishes. For a complete and satisfying dinner, I highly recommend serving it alongside a fresh, zesty cilantro rice. If you’re looking for a lighter accompaniment or want to boost your vegetable intake, a simple side of Simple Roasted Broccoli makes for a perfect match, offering a crisp texture that contrasts beautifully with the pizza’s richness. These pizzas also double as a delightful and quick lunch option. If you have any leftovers from the night before, simply reheat them in a skillet over medium heat until the cheese is wonderfully re-melted and the pizza is heated through, preserving its appealing texture and flavor.
Customizing Your Perfect Mexican Pizza Experience
As a huge enthusiast of Mexican cuisine, tacos are a staple in my home, appearing at least once a week. However, Mexican Pizza night offers a fantastic and exciting deviation from the usual, bringing a fun twist to familiar flavors! If you share a love for Mexican food, this recipe is truly a must-try, largely because of its incredible adaptability. While I typically opt for refried black beans for a slightly healthier profile and robust flavor, you are absolutely free to use any type of refried bean your family prefers.
The cheese choice also allows for creative freedom. My personal preference leans towards sharp cheddar for its rich, tangy notes, but don’t hesitate to experiment! Pepper jack will introduce a delightful spicy kick, while a pre-shredded Mexican blend offers a harmonious mix of flavors. When it comes to garnishes, the possibilities are truly endless, and this is where you can tailor each pizza to individual tastes. My go-to toppings include fresh, diced tomatoes, thinly sliced green onions, and fragrant cilantro. For added creaminess, a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt is excellent. Consider adding sliced black olives, a sprinkle of corn, or even a few pickled jalapeños for an extra layer of flavor and heat. This recipe encourages personalization, ensuring everyone around the table gets to enjoy their Mexican Pizza exactly the way they love it.
Your Weeknight Hero: Quick and Delicious
During the often-chaotic first few weeks of school, having a reliable, quick-to-prepare recipe like this Mexican Pizza is an absolute game-changer. I, for one, am always on the lookout for dinner and lunch ideas that can be effortlessly brought together in under 30 minutes, without compromising on taste, nutritional value, or family appeal. This recipe perfectly embodies those qualities, offering a comforting, satisfying, and wholesome meal that keeps everyone happy, energized, and ready for whatever the busy week throws their way. It’s a testament to how simple and incredibly enjoyable cooking can be, even on the most demanding of school days.
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Mexican Pizza
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Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef {I used 80/20 but feel free to use whatever you like}
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 packet of taco seasoning {or use a homemade taco seasoning}
- 1 – 16 ounces can refried black beans {I had leftovers that I saved for another meal}
- 1/2 cup salsa of your choice
- vegetable oil, or cooking spray
- 10 flour tortillas {I used taco size}
- 1 – 10 ounces can red enchilada sauce {I used about half the can and saved the rest}
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 F.
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In a large skillet heat the 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is browned and cooked through. Add 1/4 cup water and the packet of taco seasoning or if using a homemade taco seasoning add 2-3 Tablespoons of that seasoning instead. Turn the heat to medium and simmer until the water is mostly absorbed, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, drain the excess fat and set aside.
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Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add each tortilla to the skillet and let cook on each side for about 1 minute to help the tortillas crisp. Place half of the tortillas on a plate and the other half arrange in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet.
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Spread a layer of refried black beans on each tortilla on the baking sheet followed by salsa. Next sprinkle the ground beef over the refried black beans followed by a sprinkling of cheese on each. Place the other tortilla on top of the tortilla on the baking sheet. Using a spoon spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on each Mexican pizza, followed by another sprinkling of cheese.
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Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling. Garnish with freshly chopped tomatoes, green onion, cilantro and sour cream or garnishes of your choice.
Notes
- You can use refried beans of any sort. I like the refried black beans because I feel like it is a bit healthier.
- Add whatever garnishes your family likes.
- Try using a variety of cheeses, like pepper jack or a Mexican blend.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.