Taco Bell recently did this super rude thing where they discontinued the beloved Mexican Pizza (their best menu item, in my opinion), brought it back, and then ran out of one of the main components and took it off the menu yet again. No offense, but get your shit together, guys!
News broke just this week that the Mexican Pizza will be back for good in September, but in the meantime people have been looking for dupes. Back in early July, my ears perked up big time when this Layered Beef Tostada hit Trader Joe’s stores and people started pointing out that it kind of resembles a Mexican Pizza. So we stuck one in the oven to see if it would satisfy our Mexican Pizza hankering.
YOU GUYS, NO. What makes the Mexican Pizza so delicious and special is the pair of crispy, fried tostadas that sandwich Taco Bell’s signature seasoned beef and refried beans. This thing is made with two crummy, unfried flour tortillas. Worse, the beef and bean mixture is … gray? Looks gray and tastes gray. Oh, and it’s grainy to boot! The black olives, green onions, and generous layer of cheese on top are nice touches, but when the rest is so aggressively underwhelming, they come off as lipstick on a pig.
I don’t like to sow negativity on the internet and I generally like TJ’s premade frozen snacks, but this is trash. See you in September, actual Mexican Pizza. And, hey Taco Bell, bring back the Meximelt while you’re at it, dammit!
Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks.
Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction.
Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home.
Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Gwynedd Stuart
Jordan Myrick
Matt Crowley
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!