This is obviously a cheat recipe, but a healthier copycat Casey’s Taco Pizza is something we’ve been thinking about tackling for a while, and with all the CrossFit, yard, and house projects we had on tap for this weekend, we thought the timing was perfect.
First, a little background.
CrossFit Fringe sits right behind a Casey’s convenience store. I didn’t grow up with them, so it was a while before I realized that they had carry-out pizza. Yes, carry-out pizza at a gas station/convenience store. I’ll let that sink in.
Of the pizzas they have, the taco pizza is definitely the most popular around here, and although I’ve been able to abstain, I’ve always wanted to try taco pizza. Taco pizzas are typically made with refried beans, ground beef, lettuce and tomato, and then topped with taco chips and cheese. Pretty amazing sounding right?
Not wanting the full carry-out experience (which honestly would make me sicker than a dog) and wanting to healthify wherever possible I thought that we could tackle this ourselves.
We made the dough for the crust (our super easy and amazing sourdough crust) and picked up fresh organic ingredients, including taco chips. We went lighter on the cheese, and achieved a fresh pie that was devoid of all the grease, salt and cheap, processed ingredients of typical carry-out pizza.
- 1 batch sourdough pizza crust (or whichever recipe you prefer)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal or flour
- 1 14.5-oz can refried beans
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tomatoes, chopped (decently large)
- 5 cups Romaine lettuce, shredded thinly
- 1 cup pickled jalapenos (optional)
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- In a large saucepan, brown beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Return to pan, and add seasoning and 1 chopped tomato. Cook for another minute, stirring continually. .
- Roll dough in cornmeal and roll out on counter or coated baking pan or pizza stone. Pre-bake in oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove pizza from oven. Using a rubber spatula, spread refried beans evenly over dough like you would normal pizza sauce.
- Add the beef evenly over the refried beans. Then sprinkle cheese over top. Place pizza back in oven and cook for 12-14 minutes or until crust is crisp.
- Top with remaining tomato, lettuce, jalapenos and taco chips.
Not a bad way to accompany a busy weekend!
