Deep Dish Mexican Pizza

Posted on by Immacolata

Before I went vegan, Taco Bell’s mexican pizza was a staple of my diet. Lucky for me, there are a million DIY recipes for such pizza on the Web. But I wanted something a little bit different, so instead of using flour tortillas, I decided to use a polenta pie crust and bake it like a pie. The results of my experiment were delicious! I hope you enjoy it too.

This pizza would be good served with a green salad and an ice cold Mexican beer.

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Deep Dish Mexican Pizza

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1.5 cup cornmeal
  • 1.5 cup cold water
  • 2 cup boiling water
  • 0.25 tsp olive oil (optional)

Refried Beans

  • 1.75 cup cooked and drained pinto beans (or one 10-oz can)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 small can diced green chiles, drained
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 0.75 tsp chili powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt, or to taste

Taco Meat

  • 1 cup (or more) "beef" crumbles (see notes)
  • 1 tsp taco seasoning (see notes)

Cheeze and Garnishes

  • 2 cup grated "cheeze" (see notes)
  • 0.5 cup taco sauce
  • 0.5 cup crumbled tortilla chips (packaged or make your own for less fat)
  • 0.5 cup chopped tomatoes
  • 0.25 cup sliced green onions
  • 0.25 cup black olives
  • 0.25 cup sliced jalapeño peppers (optional)
  • 0.25 cup vegan sour cream (optional)

Instructions

Make the polenta crust

  1. Stir cornmeal, cold water and salt together in a bowl.
  2. In a medium saucepan, bring the two cups of water to a boil, then gradually whisk in the cornmeal mixture.
  3. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until very thick. Remove from heat and let cool.
  4. When mixture is cool enough to handle, use a spatula or your clean hands to press the mixture in a smooth layer on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch, non-stick pie pan. Alternatively, use a regular pie pan that you have lightly oiled with olive oil.
  5. Preheat the oven to 375F, brush or spritz with olive oil if desired, and bake about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Make the refried beans

  1. Saute chopped onion in a few tablespoons of water until translucent. Add cumin and chili powder and stir to coat.
  2. Add beans and 3/4 c. water to skillet and stir until heated. Reduce heat to low.
  3. Mash beans (still in the skillet) with a fork or a potato masher.
  4. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until beans are thick.
  5. Stir in chopped green chiles, and salt to taste.

Make the taco "meat"

  1. Toss one cup of crumbles with taco seasoning (or seasoning of your choice.)

Assemble and bake

  1. Spread refried beans over bottom of polenta crust.
  2. Spoon 1/4 cup of taco sauce over beans in an even layer.
  3. Sprinkle taco "meat" over that.
  4. Next, a layer of cheeze - save 1/4 cup for garnish.
  5. Bake in a 375F oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly. You may want to cover the edge of the crust in aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
  6. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes.

Garnish pizza

  1. Spread another thin layer of taco sauce over the top of the pizza
  2. Top with crumbled tortilla chips and remaining 1/4 c. cheeze.
  3. Top with chopped tomatoes, jalapeños and sliced black olives. Put a dollop of vegan sour cream in the middle for garnish, if desired.

Notes

For “burger” crumbles, you can either make your own or buy tofu crumbles at the grocery. I prefer making my own, it’s much cheaper and much more nutritious, with no mystery ingredients that you cannot pronounce! I use this recipe from CookingWithPlants.com.

For the cheese, again you can buy vegan cheese at the grocery store, but making your own is more nutritious and cheaper. I use Vegan Richa’s Almond Milk Pepper Jack.

You can buy ready-made taco seasoning and taco sauce everywhere. Just make sure it’s vegan. If you’re ambitious, you could do a Google search for DIY versions and make your own.