Taco Pizza is the appetizer for when you just can’t decide between your favorite foods. And now you don’t have to! Taco + Pizza for the win.
Everybody loves tacos! And not just regular tacos but taco everything! From taco pasta salad to taco dip to taco hand pies – I love tacos in any form!
This cream cheese taco pizza appetizer is easy to make and you can eat it for dinner as well – it’s a total family favorite and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
You can quickly make this taco pizza recipe before guests arrive or for Friday pizza night for the easiest dinner at the end of the long week. You’ll love it!
I’m always looking for new ways to use ingredients that I know my family loves. It makes dinner time so much easier than completely reinventing the wheel.
That said, it’s also really tiring to have the same thing every week or two, and we all get bored with the old standbys we love and start to crave variety.
This taco pizza recipe takes two extremely kid friendly handheld eats and combines them in a way that adults will want, too!
How To Make Taco Pizza
The beauty of this easy recipe is that once you know how to make taco pizza you can switch it up however the mood strikes you!
To make our basic taco pizza recipe, you will need:
Ingredients
- Canned crescent rolls – We typicall make this recipe with canned crescent rolls, but you can use any kind of dough for the crust to be honest. Canned biscuits flattened into a crust or pizza dough work just as well.
- Ground beef – Like everyone’s favorite beef and cheese tacos, this taco pizza recipe uses ground beef to create delicious taco flavor.
- Taco seasoning – Keep things easy by using a packet of taco seasoning or make our homemade taco seasoning.
- Cream cheese – While not traditional in tacos, the cream cheese adds a richness to this pizza recipe that you don’t want to miss.
- Salsa – Instead of your standard pizza sauce, our taco pizza recipe is made with your favorite salsa or hot sauce.
- Cheese – Use shredded cheddar cheese or another similar option like shredded taco cheese or Mexican shredded cheese.
- Shredded lettuce – Like any good taco, our taco pizza is topped with crunchy, shredded lettuce to balance the meat, cheese and salsa flavors.
- Tomatoes – Use fresh diced tomatoes or sliced grape tomatoes – basically whatever you want to use on your tacos.
Gear
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- Sheet pan – You’ll need a basic sheet pan for making taco pizza. I love the Nordic Ware baker’s half sheet pans, which come in a 2-pack and are incredibly versatile and durable. I use them for everything!
- Pizza roller – It’s handy to have a pizza roller to help smooth out the seams of your crescent roll dough – I like the Norpro wood pizza roller.
- Knife + cutting board –
Step 1. First, unroll the crescent dough and place on a baking sheet. I like to use the sheets of dough so I don’t have a lot of seams to pinch together, but you can use the crescent roll dough just as well.
Bake the dough until golden, then cool it completely. While the crust is baking and cooling, you can get started on the taco meat.
Step 2. Cook the ground beef according to the instructions on the taco seasoning packet or using your favorite taco meat recipe.
I like to make triple batches of taco meat at a time (or more) since it’s something we eat so often. I freeze the extras and pull them out to thaw when I have a recipe such as this.
Step 3. Next, mix together the cream cheese and sour cream. Make sure the cream cheese room temperature or warmer so it blends easily.
If you or your guests are not fans of spice, leave the mixture as is. However, for extra flavor I like to mix in a little picante sauce.
My husband is a big Cholula fan, but he’s currently hooked on The Pepper Plant Original California Style Hot Sauce. He bought a half gallon of it!
Make sure you use a thick hot sauce or the cream cheese mixture will get watery.
You can mix the cream cheese and salsa first, then add the sour cream a little at a time until a spreadable, but not drippy consistency is achieved.
Spread it all over the crust – which is why you need to make sure it’s cooled all the way!
Step 4. Then start adding the toppings: taco meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and done! Feel free to get creative and add your own favorite taco toppings.
Some ideas include black beans or pinto beans (drained and rinsed), corn, olives, pickled jalapeno slices, diced green chiles, cilantro, chopped onion.
You may also want to add a bit of homemade guacamole on top or make a batch to serve alongside your taco pizza for the most delicious dipping.
Cut into squares and serve. If you’re not going to serve immediately, cover your sliced taco pizza with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
We’ve eaten leftovers the next day, but the crust starts to get soft and the lettuce wilted at that point. So, this pizza is best enjoyed within four hours!
What Pairs Well With Taco Pizza?
This taco pizza recipe can easily stand on its own as a whole meal in and of itself, but you may want to add a few tasty selections to serve on the side.
Or, perhaps you’re serving it as an appetizer at your next party and a new a few other snacks to go along with your pizza. We’ve got you covered!
Fresh, fun, and flavorful, Mexican street corn is the perfect side dish for any Mexican or Tex Mex themed dinner table. Tex Mex Crabcakes
Our black bean mango salad plays off the flavors of this taco pizza recipe without clashing. If you ask me, this is a perfect dinner pairing!
If you’re looking for a more refined side to serve with your taco pizza, look no further! Serve our Tex Mex crab cakes to add sophisticated flair to your meal.
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Related: Can you recycle pizza boxes? Find out!
Taco Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cans Crescent Rolls 8 ounces each
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 packet Taco Seasoning
- 1 8 ounce package Cream Cheese well softened
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- 1-3 tablespoons Salsa or hot sauce, optional
- 1 1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese 6 ounces
- 1 cup Shredded Lettuce
- 1 cup Diced Tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Unroll crescent roll dough and place on a large ungreased baking sheet.
- Pinch the seams together to make one sheet of dough.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown; let cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown ground beef until no pink is remaining. Drain any excess grease.
- Stir in taco seasoning and cook according to package instructions; let cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cream cheese, sour cream and hot sauce (if using); spread in an even layer over cooled crust.
- Top with cooled taco meat followed by cheese, lettuce and tomato.
- Cut into squares before serving. Serve immediately.