Taco Pizza with Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
The following recipe was created in collaboration with Lauren Schulte. To see more of her bites and meals, visit her Instagram @TheBiteSizePantry.
Ring the dinner bell and get the whole family to the table because it’s pizza night! These taco pizzas are inspired by Taco Bell and feature a mixture of Mexican taco seasonings, ground beef, beans, cheese, red enchilada sauce and an array of additional toppings of your choosing.
As if that flavor wasn’t enough, I decided to take advantage of Hatch Chile season and kick things up a notch with my Hatch Chile avocado dipping sauce. Easily roasted at home, you’ll love the sweet heat that these seasonal peppers add to this simple, creamy sauce.
If you haven’t picked up your own batch of Hatch Chiles yet, be sure to visit the produce department at your local Heinen’s so that you can experience the “deliciousness” of this recipe.
Taco Pizza with Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
Ingredients
For the Taco Pizza
- 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying the tortillas
- 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (sub with 3 ½ cups semi-firm ground tofu for meatless)
- 8 oz. can of refried beans
- 4 oz. of red enchilada sauce
- 2 cups of shredded Heinen's Mexican cheese
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 1 packet of Ortega taco seasoning (sub with homemade mix)
For the Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
- 2-3 Hatch Chiles, roasted (see roasting instructions below)
- 1 avocado, pitted and diced
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ 0% fat Greek yogurt
- Juice and zest of one lime
- 1/3 cup salsa verde (avoid red salsa as it will dull the vibrant green color of the crème)
- Salt, to taste
Toppings
- Black olives
- Diced tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Salsa
- Avocado
Instructions
For the Taco Pizza
- In a deep skillet, add vegetable oil over medium to high heat. When the oil starts popping, add one tortilla at a time and cook for 2 minutes per side.
- Discard the remaining oil from the pan and add the ground beef or ground tofu. Brown until cooked through and drain the excess liquid.
- Mix in taco seasonings.
- Take tortilla and smear a layer of refried beans across it, all the way up to the edges.
- Add a layer of the seasoned ground meat and press down into the refried bean layer.
- Place another fried tortilla on top of the ground meat layer and press down.
- Spread some of the red enchilada sauce over the top making sure to save some for the other pizza. Top with shredded cheese and place on a baking sheet.
- Repeat steps 4-7 with remaining ingredients.
- Bake in a 375˚F oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is fully melted and bubbly.
- Slice into quarters and serve with additional toppings and Hatch Chile Avocado Crème for dipping. (See recipe below.)
Note: I like my taco pizza with some arugula tossed in Garlic Expressions dressing and tomatoes.
For the Hatch Chile Avocado Crème
- Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. This will help evenly roast the Hatch Chiles.
- Place Hatch Chiles in the oven, on the middle rack, and roast for 10 minutes. Flip and roast for another 10 minutes. Chiles will begin to blacken and blister.
- Remove chiles from the oven. While they are still hot, place them in a bowl and cover with the tin foil. This is called “steeping.” Leave the chiles to rest in the covered bowl for another 5-10 minutes. This method makes it very easy to remove the outer skin.
- Once the chiles have finished steeping and are cool to the touch, the skin should peel off from the inner flesh. Massage the chiles to loosen the outside skin and discard. Scrape out the seeds from inside. The seeds are the hottest part of the chile.
- Add the hatch chiles and the rest of the crème ingredients to a high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
