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At Ryan Manning’s MX Taco Restaurant, the chef has hacked the perfect homemade version of Mexican Pizza. (Photo: MX Taco Restaurant)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nDid you hear that?<\/p>\n
That sound was the uproarious cries of elation when Taco Bell announced its Mexican Pizza would reappear on its menu less than two years after removing it. But shortly after, there were cries of dismay from Taco Bell fans when again, the fast food chain removed the dish from its menu due to it selling out … everywhere.<\/p>\n
In Sept. 2020, Taco Bell announced it would be discontinuing its immensely popular Mexican Pizza because it no longer aligned with the brand’s long-term environmental impact goals. All told, the packaging from Mexican Pizzas contributed over seven million pounds of paper waste annually.<\/p>\n
But the social media backlash from even eco-conscious millennials – whose generation was just starting when the dish was introduced in 1985 – was so swift and strong that the brand couldn’t ignore it. A Change.org petition garnered more than 170,000 signatures, imploring Taco Bell to bring the Mexican Pizza back.<\/p>\n
On May 19, the beloved dish returned to the drive-through. Taco Bell lovers rejoiced. But on May 31, in a letter to fans, Taco Bell announced it was once again pulling Mexican Pizza from the menu, with hopes of bringing the beloved dish back … in the fall.<\/p>\n
With fall feeling pretty far away, Taco Bell fans are curious: Can you make a Mexican Pizza that’s drive-through quality at home? To find out, Yahoo Life did a deep dive into what a Mexican Pizza is and how it’s made.<\/p>\n
A culinary contradiction <\/strong>– neither Mexican or pizza<\/h2>\nThere’s nothing in Mexican food culture that looks or tastes anything like Taco’s Bell’s cult classic.<\/p>\n
If you want to get kind of close, you can look to tlayuda<\/em>a fried tortilla topped with beans, chicken and cheese and served open-face, usually with guacamole.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTlayuda is a Mexican dish made from a partially fried or toasted tortilla topped with refried beans, meat, vegetables and cheese. (Photo: Getty Creative)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nIn fact, the YouTube channel MaMah, which has nearly 500,000 subscribers, released a video of real Mexican mothers trying the Mexican Pizza on May 25. In it, three women share their varied reactions to taste-testing the dish. The moms were stumped: One even likened it to “scrambled chilaquiles,” the breakfast dish made from tortilla chips tossed with sauce and served with a fried egg, tomatoes and cheese on top.<\/p>\n
Story continues<\/button><\/p>\nAnother said, “This isn’t pizza. This is a bean quesadilla,” which is probably the most accurate description out there.<\/p>\n
“I can see why they were crying about this. I don’t mind eating it. It’s really delicious,” said one of the women. “I just wouldn’t call it pizza.” The main complaint: the enchilada sauce, which tasted obviously canned or jarred to the taste testers.<\/p>\n