This Cornmeal Pizza Crust recipe is quick and easy to make. Load up your Mexican Pizza with your favorite Mexican inspired toppings for an easy weeknight meal!
How about a pizza party… Cinco de Mayo style?
Grab your Margarita. Let’s fiesta!
How To Make A Cornmeal Pizza Crust
We love making Mexican pizza. And, while you can add Mexican style toppings to any pizza crust, we like to kick things up a notch by making our Mexican pizzas on a cornmeal pizza crust.
The cornmeal in the pizza crust gives the whole pizza a bit more of the feel of eating a taco or enchilada on a fresh corn tortilla.
The recipe we have for you below is a a basic recipe for a cornmeal pizza crust that lets you go crazy with topping your Mexican pizza however you like!
Toppings For A Mexican Pizza
The sky is the limit when it comes to Mexican pizza, will you use shredded chicken? Taco meat? Fajita beef?
Here are some of our go-to toppings for a Mexican pizza:
The Pizza “Sauce”
- Mexican Pizza Sauce (recipe below)
- Enchilada Sauce
- Refried Beans
- Salsa
Toppings
- Ground taco meat
- Grilled chicken
- Fajita steak
- Pork carnitas
- Mexican seasoned cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, or Mexican cotija cheese
- Tomatoes, onions, green peppers
- Black or pinto beans
- Black olives
Any of your favorite taco/burrito/nacho toppings can be piled on top of this crust, making it the perfect way to twist taco night leftovers into something new.
Get ready to get creative!
Cornmeal Pizza Crust for Mexican Pizza
Ingredients
- ½ c cornmeal
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ¾ cups water (warmed to 100F)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled, divided
- 1¾ - 2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, and yeast. Add the water and 1 Tbsp butter. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until no clumps remain. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, until foamy.
- Mix the yeast mixture and mix in 1 cup of flour.
- Add the paprika and salt. Mix well.
- Add remaining ¾ - 1 cup of flower, mixing as you add, until a soft dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a flat surface dusted lightly with flour and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth.
- Shape dough into a ball, place it into a clean, greased bowl. Cover the dough with your damp tea towel and let the dough rest for 10 min.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12 inch diameter circle. Place the crust onto a greased baking sheet. Brush the crust lightly with butter and prick it all over with a fork.
- Let the crust rest for 5 minutes while you preheat your oven to 450F.
- Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes, until lightly golden and slightly springy to the touch.
Top Your Pizza
- Once your pizza is topped, bake at 450F for 10-15 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese is melted.
Notes
Mexican Spiced Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ c tomato paste
- ¼ c + 2 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
- Let the sauce stand for at least 5 minutes before using to top a pizza.
- Brush pizza crust lightly with oil before topping with sauce to keep the crust from getting soggy during baking.
Notes
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our pictures since we first made it, but we’ve left the original images here as a fun throwback and shout out to how far we’ve come. Enjoy!
If you liked this recipe, here are some similar dishes you may enjoy!
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Paula Shaw
Wednesday 12th of April 2023
I have never felt compelled to tell anybody that my husband and I LOVED THIER RECIPE. This was fantastic thank you for sharing!! Will be looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Once again thank you!
Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere
Thursday 13th of April 2023
We're so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing!
RuthAnn
Sunday 24th of April 2022
WE love our pizza with lots of cheese. Would I add the Mexican cheese over the pizza crust or after adding the sauce? How about vegetables - cooked or uncooked - like your photo shows, before or after sauce and cheese?
Thank you for this recipe
RuthAnn
Sunday 24th of April 2022
@Sarah Ozimek, Thanks so much. Can't wait to try.
Sarah Ozimek
Sunday 24th of April 2022
Hi Ruth Ann. You want to par-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes, as directed in step 9. Then you can top your pizza (we prefer to layer sauce, cheese, then veggies). And after topping, bake again for 10-15 minutes, until done to your liking. Typically we use raw veggies, even raw bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. (You could cook them, but we find it unnecessary.)If using fresh tomatoes, we like to drain some moisture from them after slicing or dicing, before putting them on the pizza. The corn you will want to be thawed before putting on the pizza, so you don't add extra moisture. Canned beans (drained) work well also. Enjoy!
Debra
Friday 8th of January 2021
This pizza looks amazing as well as all the other recipes! I feel like I have traveled the world! Thank you for these recipes!
Sarah Ozimek
Saturday 9th of January 2021
Thank you Debra! Happy cooking!
Percy Dash
Tuesday 25th of February 2020
this looks more like Americanized Mexican pizza. not what I had in Cancun. real Mexican pizza is sweet not hot.
Sarah Ozimek
Tuesday 25th of February 2020
Yes, this is more of an Americanized "Mexican pizza". Tell us more about the one you can in Cancun!
Our Growing Paynes
Friday 3rd of May 2013
This is a fun idea for Cinco de Mayo! :)