Switch things up for your next taco night, with this scrumptious vegan taco pizza! Piled with hearty refried beans, zesty tofu crumbles, creamy cashew queso, and your favorite taco toppings.
Taco pizza never really appealed to me. I always saw it on pizza menus growing up and thought it was a terrible idea.
I realized recently that things had changed. I think I used to be attached to the idea that pizza needed to be topped with red sauce and cheese. You know, before I started making all kinds of vegan pizzas topped with stuff like hummus, caramelized onions, and barbecue sauce. Once you've gone down that road, why the heck not put some taco toppings on your pizza. That's just what I did!
What is Taco Pizza?
Did you also grow up seeing taco pizza on restaurant menus? Or maybe even ordering it? Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about.
Taco pizza is a pizza that's topped with ingredients you'd normally find not on a pizza, but in a taco. There are a bunch of different versions, but typical recipes call for ingredients like refried beans, taco meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and crushed tortilla chips.
What You'll Need
- Pizza dough. You can use store-bought dough or make your own. I'm pretty partial to my recipe for whole wheat pizza dough.
- Olive oil. For your pizza dough and browning the tofu.
- Cornmeal. Totally optional, but I like to sprinkle it on my pizza dough.
- Refried beans. Again, buy a can or make your own!
- Tofu. Guess what? Tofu taco meat is awesome.
- Onion. For adding some flavor to your tofu taco meat.
- Garlic. Also for flavoring the taco meat.
- Spices. You'll need cumin, ancho chile powder, and oregano.
- Tomato sauce. For saucing up the taco meat!
- Soy sauce. Is this weird? Not really! It adds savory flavor to the tofu.
- Hot sauce. Totally optional, but great for adding a little kick.
- Cashew queso. For drizzling. Feel free to substitute with shredded store-bought vegan cheese to save time.
- Taco toppings. Use your favorites! I went with lettuce, tomato, crispy tortilla strips, and black olives.
How to Make Vegan Taco Pizza
Start by baking your pizza dough. Brush it with some olive oil, sprinkle it with some cornmeal, and bake it until it's puffy and slightly browned.
While the dough bakes, you can make your tofu taco meat.
Heat up some oil in a skillet and add some onion. Cook the onion for a few minutes to soften it up. Now crumble your tofu into the skillet and continue cooking it with the onion until it begins to dry out and crisp in spots.
Add the garlic and spices, and cook everything for about another minute. Now stir in the tomato sauce and soy sauce, as well as hot sauce, if you're using it. Let the mixture simmer until the sauce thickens up a bit, then take it off of the burner and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
Once the crust is out of the oven you can top it! Slather it with a layer of refried beans, followed by tofu taco meat, then drizzle it with cashew queso. Finish the pizza with whatever additional toppings you like, like shredded lettuce, tomato, tortilla chips, and sliced black olives.
Vegan Taco Pizza Tips & FAQ
- Be careful if you use store-bought refried beans, as many brands contain lard. Check the ingredients or look for cans specifically labelled vegan.
- Can this pizza be made gluten-free? Yup! Just use your favorite vegan and gluten-free pizza crust (try this recipe) and substitute gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce.
- For extra crumbly texture, try freezing your tofu before cooking it. I usually just pop the entire package in the freezer, then let it thaw, drain and press it before cooking.
- Leftovers and storage: Try to plan ahead, and if you think you'll have leftovers, leave the lettuce and tomato (and any other toppings that might not reheat well) off of those slices that you'll be storing for later. Store leftover slices in a sealed bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw the pizza (if frozen) and place it on a baking sheet. Pop it into a 425°F oven until hot. Sprinkle with your reserved toppings just before serving.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Taco Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pound pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal (optional), as needed
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce (optional), or to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups vegan refried beans (homemade or from a can)
- ¼ cup cashew queso (or as needed)
- Toppings of choice, such as shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, salsa, avocado, and/or tortilla chips/strips*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. If you have a pizza stone, place it into the oven to preheat. Otherwise, lightly oil a baking sheet.
- Roll the pizza dough into a 12 to 14 inch circle and brush the top with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Optionally, sprinkle the edges with cornmeal.
- Carefully transfer your pizza dough to your baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake the crust until browned and puffy, about 16 to 18 minutes.
- While the pizza dough bakes, make the tofu taco meat. Start by heating up a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion to the skillet and cook it for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent.
- Crumble the tofu into the skillet and cook it with the onion, flipping it occasionally and using a spatula to break up any large chunks, until it begins to dry up and crisp in spots, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, ancho chile powder, and oregano to the skillet. Cook everything for about a minute, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and season the tofu mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
- When the crust has finished baking, spread the refried beans evenly over it, then evenly distribute the tofu taco meat over the beans. Drizzle everything with cashew queso, then sprinkle with toppings of choice.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
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Made this tonight... probably the best pizza I’ve ever had, taco or otherwise!
You always have the BEST recipes!! Thanks for always sharing them with us!!