Healthy Taco Pizza {weeknight friendly}

Hi guys! Happy Tuesday! I thought I would take this opportunity to share one of my favorite easy weeknight “recipes” — TACO PIZZA!  It’s not necessarily the healthiest thing in the world (although it’s much healthier than a typical pizza), but it’s so easy to make that I can throw it together after work on a week night.  Since the goal of my blog is to help people maintain a healthy lifestyle despite all the things life throws your way, I thought this would be a fun, easy recipe to share.  Plus, who doesn’t love tacos and pizza? 

One of my goals on this blog is to show you that you don’t always have to follow recipes exactly, or have every single ingredient on hand.  It’s more important to understand the “components” of a recipe and try to use what you have on hand, use what aligns with your dietary needs, and what you like.  Read on —> 

As much as I like to eat really healthy, sometimes I just need a fun meal that I can put together quickly when I get home.  This is one of them.

I think this taco pizza is a perfect example of a customizable, easy-peasy recipe.  You don’t need to use exactly what I used and it doesn’t need to look exactly the way I did it.  Pizzas are kind of like sandwiches (or hoagies, for us Jerseyans)… you can’t really mess them up!

{You can probably see which side of the pizza is mine and which one is my husband’s!}

For the chicken, try this super easy method to make “salsa chicken”: add raw chicken breasts to the bottom of a slow cooker.  Season with sea salt and pepper. Add 1 jar of salsa, making sure you cover the chicken. Cook on high for 3.5 to 4 hours (mine cooks fast, so 3.5 was more than enough).  Shred with a fork and enjoy! 

Taco Pizza:

• 1 pre-cooked pizza shell (Feel free to try whole wheat, paleo, brown rice or other options!)
• 1/2 can vegetarian refried beans (I like the spicy lime version from Whole Foods)
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup of homemade or jarred medium Salsa
• 1/4 thinly sliced onion (any variety)
• 1.5 cups cooked shredded chicken, meat substitute or additional veggies (*See note above about salsa chicken)
• Optional: Mexican cheese (or non-dairy almond cheese from Trader Joe’s)
• Optional Toppings to add after cooking: sliced green onions, cilantro, avocado, black olives, additional salsa, chopped romaine, chopped raw onion, etc.

1. Preheat oven to 400* while you assemble the pizza. (*Be sure to follow the instructions on the pre-cooked pizza shell package in case it is different than this!).
2. Place pizza shell on a baking sheet.
3. Spread vegetarian refried beans around the pizza crust, leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch rim around the pizza.
4. Spread salsa around in the same way like you would spread tomato sauce on a regular pizza.
5. Arrange the thinly sliced onion around the pizza.  Feel free to add other veggies like peppers or zucchini.
6. Add the shredded chicken.
7. If you’re adding cheese, lightly sprinkle the cheese all over the top.  Lightly sprinkle some chili power and paprika on top. 
8. Bake according to the pre-cooked pizza shells directions.  Typically about 8 minutes or until the cheese, if any, melts.
9. Let rest for 2 minutes.  Load with fun toppings from above!  I love green onions and avocado.

Enjoy! I hope you try this super easy Taco Pizza.  I love that the variations are endless so that you will never get bored.

Do you have any go-to weeknight dishes that are easy to make? 

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