Spicy Black Bean Tostada Pizza

The first time I had tried a tostada pizza was at California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) during my teen years. We didn't live near a CPK so every time we visited a city that had a CPK, we had to dine there just so we'd get to have their Tostada Pizza. A few years later a lot of variations of the tostada pizza recipes came out as people started to experiment at home to create their own take on the tostada pizza. I also decided to give it a shot with some flavors that I wanted to add and ended up absolutely loving it! This pizza has become a staple in my home that I HAVE to make every couple of weeks or so. Its just one of those recipes that simple just doesn't get old no matter how many times I've made it.

I love cooking with habanero peppers, but if you'd like to add any other chili pepper, feel free to do so. I use habanero in my black beans sauce because I think it gives it a unique flavor to this Tex-Mex pizza that reminds me of my childhood in Panama. I also add, fresh pico de gallo, homemade Mexican crema sauce, and homemade tortilla strips that I make in the air fryer. The tortilla strips for the topping are also so easy to make, but you can also get them ready made if you know of a place that sells them.

I've made the tostada pizza with my recipe so many times and everyone that has tasted it has loved it! I think you'll definitely enjoy the flavors that I've added, which makes it so fresh and tasty! My recipe below is for one pizza so adjust your quantities for sauce, toppings, etc. accordingly. I've made the crust for this pizza with the pizza dough recipe that I had shared on a previous post, however feel free to just get a ready made crust, or use your own recipe for the crust, if you'd like. Although, I have to say that the bread flour crust for this pizza is a perfect combination!

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Spicy Black Bean Tostada Pizza

Ingredients:

- Pizza dough (see recipe here)

- 1/2 can of Bush's black beans

- 6 oz of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

- 1 tsp of salt

- 1 tsp of habanero paste

- 1 tbsp of garlic paste (4 to 5 cloves)

- 2 cups of romaine lettuce (chopped)

- 1 roma tomato (diced)

- 4 to 5 black olives (round sliced)

- 1/2 red onion (diced)

- 1/3 cup of yellow and orange bell pepper (diced)

- 2 Serrano or jalapeño peppers (round sliced)

- 2 cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese

- 1/2 cup of minced cilantro

- 1 cup of air fried tortilla strips (store bought, or homemade - see recipe below)

- Homemade Mexican Crema Sauce (see recipe below)

Directions

1 - Drain the water out of the black beans and muddle them in a bowl, leaving some of them whole.

2 - Add salt, ranch, garlic and habanero paste and mix it all together for the black beans sauce, and set aside.

3 - Mix the onions, tomatoes, and cilantro in a bowl for pico de gallo topping, and set aside.

4 - Pre-heat the oven with the pizza stone in the oven at 450 degrees.

5 - Roll out the pizza dough to your preference and poke it with a fork all over so that it doesn't bubble up while it's baking.

6 - Once the stone is heated, take it out of the oven and place the rolled out pizza dough on it.

7 - Bake the crust for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is baked. It should get light to medium brown on top.

8 - Take out pizza stone with the crust on it, and with a spoon, spread the black beans sauce over the hot crust.

9 - Spread the cheese on top of the sauce, and then the Serrano or jalapeño peppers on top of the cheese.

10 - Bake the pizza in the oven for about 5 more minutes or until the cheese has melted well.

11 - Take out the pizza and slide it out onto something you can cut the pizza on.

12 - Using a pizza cutter, cut the pizza into slices to your preference.

13 - Top the pizza with the romaine lettuce, bell peppers, pico de gallo, olives, and tortilla chips.

14 - Drizzle the pizza with the Mexican Crema sauce. Enjoy while it's warm!

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Mexican Crema Sauce

Ingredients

- 2 tbsp of sour cream

- a pinch of salt

- 1/4 cup of finely minced cilantro

- 1 tsp of lime juice

- 1/2 tsp of taco seasoning

Directions:

1 - Whisk sour cream

2 - Add the rest of the ingredients

3 - Whisk until it becomes a runny texture, and set aside for pizza topping.

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Corn Tortilla Strips

Ingredients

- 3 fresh corn tortillas

- pinch of garlic salt

- oil spray

- pinch of Tajin seasoning

Directions:

1 - Heat the air fryer at 350 degrees.

2 - Cut up fresh corn tortillas into finger size thin strips and put them in a mixing bowl.

2 - Spray the strips with oil, and then sprinkle them with a pinch of garlic salt and Tajin seasoning and mix them.

3 - Place them directly in the in the pre-heated air fryer to fry. Check on them about every 3-4 minutes while tossing them to make sure that they all get cooked evenly. They should crisp up pretty well and will turn medium brown.

5 - Remove from air fryer, and set aside for pizza topping.