Birria Pizza Recipe: How to Make Flavorful Mexican-Style Pizza

Birria Pizza features a chewy crust piled with tender shredded birria beef, smoky birria consomé, plenty of melted cheese, chopped sweet onion, fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and a small bowl of red chile sauce for dipping. Picture the best birria tacos transformed into a pizza and you’ll get an idea of how delicious this is.

If you love both pizza and tacos, this mashup is a dream. The combination of rich, slow-cooked birria and gooey cheese brings bold, comforting flavors that go far beyond a typical pepperoni pie.

Birria is more than a spicy stew: the beef becomes fall-apart tender and richly flavored, and the consomé makes a fantastic sauce and dip. While birria can be enjoyed many ways, turning it into a pizza is one of the most satisfying.

You don’t need to track down a taco truck to get great birria. A homemade instant pot birria will give you both the tender meat and the consomé you need for this recipe. The pizza itself is not just an open-faced quesabirria or folded taco — it’s a proper pizza using dough rather than tortillas.

Despite its bold flavors, this birria pizza is surprisingly straightforward to prepare. Below are the ingredients and equipment that make it easy to recreate at home.

Pizza Birria

This pizza delivers big flavor with a short, accessible ingredient list. Most items are easy to find or make, so you can satisfy your birria pizza cravings any night of the week.

Ingredients

1. Leftover birria meat: Make your own or pick up a quart from a local Mexican restaurant.
2. Birria broth/consomé: This flavorful, slightly spicy liquid replaces tomato sauce and doubles as a dipping sauce.
3. Pizza dough: Use fresh pizza dough (homemade or from a bakery). Avoid canned dough — it won’t hold up well for this pizza.
4. Cheese: Oaxaca melts beautifully; Monterey Jack or mozzarella are fine substitutes. Grate your cheese fresh for the best melt and texture.
5. Onion: Diced sweet, white, or red onion adds brightness and crunch.
6. Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is traditional; substitute parsley if you prefer.
7. Lime wedges: A squeeze of lime brightens the rich flavors and balances the cheese and meat.

Next, a few tools that make assembly and baking easier — you can keep it simple or use more specialized pizza equipment if you like.

Equipment

1. Oven that reaches 450ºF (a wood-fired oven works too).
2. Pizza stone, pizza steel, or pizza pan. A stone or steel gives a crisper bottom crust.
3. Pizza peel if using a stone or steel (optional if using a pan).
4. Cheese grater for freshly grated cheese.
5. Chef’s knife and cutting board for chopping onion and cilantro and slicing lime wedges.
6. Pizza cutter or a sharp knife for slicing the finished pizza.

Birria Pizza

Preheat the oven to 450ºF. If using a pizza stone or steel, place it on the center rack to preheat with the oven. For a pizza pan or sheet pan, grease it well and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Gently stretch 1 pound of pizza dough with your hands into a 12–14 inch circle. If using a peel for a stone or steel, dust the peel with cornmeal so the dough slides easily.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan or peel. If it sticks to the peel, add more cornmeal under the dough and shimmy the peel to loosen it.

Brush the dough edges with about 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Spread half of 1 cup birria consomé over the dough as the sauce.

Sprinkle half of the 2 cups grated cheese over the sauce, add 1 cup shredded birria meat, then top with the remaining cheese. Dollop the remaining consomé on top in tablespoon-sized spoonfuls.

Carefully transfer the pizza to the preheated stone, steel, or into the oven on the pan. Bake 18–20 minutes, until the crust is golden, the cheese is melted and taking on some color, and the sauce is bubbling.

Remove the pizza and place it on a cutting board. Let it rest 3–5 minutes, then garnish with 1/4 cup chopped onion and 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves. Slice and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over each piece and extra consomé for dipping.

Birria Pizza

Rebecca Lindamood

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Chewy crust topped with tender shredded birria beef, smoky consomé, melted cheese, chopped sweet onion, cilantro, lime, and a bowl of sauce for dipping — everything you love about birria tacos in pizza form.

Equipment

• Oven
• Pizza stone, steel, or pan
• Cutting board and chef’s knife
• Cheese grater

Ingredients

• 1 pound pizza dough
• Cornmeal for dusting
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (plus more if using a pan)
• 1 cup birria consomé (stew broth), plus more for serving
• 1 cup leftover birria meat
• 2 cups grated Oaxaca, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped white, red, or sweet onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450ºF. Preheat a pizza stone or steel on the center rack if using.
• Grease a pizza pan and sprinkle with cornmeal if not using a stone or steel.
• Stretch dough into a 12–14 inch circle. Dust a peel with cornmeal if using a stone or steel.
• Transfer dough to the prepared pan or peel, adjusting cornmeal to prevent sticking.
• Brush the edges with olive oil. Spread half the consomé over the dough.
• Add half the cheese, top with birria meat, then add the remaining cheese. Dot the pizza with the rest of the consomé.
• Bake 18–20 minutes, until the crust is golden, the cheese is melted and golden, and the sauce bubbles.
• Remove from oven, rest 3–5 minutes, then garnish with onion and cilantro. Slice and serve with lime wedges and extra consomé for dipping.

Nutrition

Calories: 903 kcalCarbohydrates: 64 gProtein: 50 gFat: 50 g

Nutritional information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. Calculate nutrition using the exact ingredients you use if needed.