Recipe Background
Mexican Flatbread Pizza brings comfort with an easy and inventive use of simple ingredients.
The first time I whipped up this Mexican Flatbread Pizza, I was navigating the chaos of my first college apartment. Moving into a place where I had to fend for myself brought both anticipation and a gnawing need for a taste of comfort. I discovered a misjudged shopping spree had left me with a solitary can of biscuits and a forgotten jar of salsa. Clearly not a feast, but just the kind of challenge I needed. I flattened each biscuit and coated them with olive oil, watching them puff with golden spirits in the oven while the refried beans bubbled away on the stove. The scent alone could have restored anyone’s faith in beginner’s luck.
Just as I uncovered a can of refried beans in the pantry’s darkest corner, a roommate tossed in cooked ground beef, like an unsuspected thumbs-up from the universe. We layered the warm beans and meat onto those golden disks and crowned each with a heap of grated cheddar. A few minutes under the broiler and the cheese melted into a bubbling blanket of glory. Topped with fresh pico de gallo and crisp lettuce, each bite was perfectly balanced. It was a revelation on a plate, turning a humble midweek crash course in creativity into a culinary triumph. My tip from this escapade: Never underestimate the power of pico, it lifts the whole dish.
And to finish with a flourish, a generous dollop of sour cream sealed the deal. This dish wasn’t just easy; it was a standout way to celebrate the scrappy spirit of college life, one improvised bite at a time.
Ingredients
For the flatbreads:
- flour to taste, for dusting a work surface
- 1 (16.3-ounce) can large biscuits not flaky
- olive oil to taste
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can refried beans
- 3 tablespoons prepared salsa
- 2 cups ground beef cooked and crumbled
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese grated
Optional, for serving:
- pico de gallo to taste
- iceberg lettuce to taste, shredded
- 5 tablespoons sour cream
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Using the flour, dust a work surface.
- Unwrap the biscuits and separate them.
- On the prepared work surface, roll out the biscuits until they are very flat.
- Lightly brush the rolled-out biscuits with the olive oil.
- Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Bake the biscuits until they start to turn golden, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer the biscuits from the oven and set them aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the refried beans and the salsa and cook, while stirring, until combined and warmed, about 5 minutes.
- In a microwave safe bowl, add the ground beef and heat it in the microwave until heated through.
- Spread the refried bean mixture evenly over the top of each of the biscuits.
- Evenly top each of the biscuits with the ground beef and the cheddar cheese.
- Transfer the biscuits to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes.
- Transfer the flatbreads from the oven and top them with the pico de gallo and the lettuce.
- Add the sour cream to the top of each of the flatbreads.
- Serve garnished with the cilantro.
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