Birria Pizza

Pizza doesn’t get more flavorful than Birria Pizza! This fusion pizza takes tender, flavor-packed birria de res and pairs it with a traditional pizza. The results are mind-blowingly delicious – just be warned: it’s so good, you may want thirds!

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Who doesn’t love a fully-loaded pizza? With plenty of juicy, tender birria, crunchy radish and onions, and oodles of flavor, this pizza gets gobbled up in a nanosecond whenever I serve it. The best part? Making this pizza is super easy once you’ve got the birria meat!

What is Birria?

Also known as birria de res, birria has become a household name. Originating from Jalisco, Mexico, birria is a stew. But it’s a rich, fatty stew that’s flavored with chilis. You can make it spicy or mild, and when cooked low and slow, it comes out so amazingly delicious.

Fall apart tender birria meat is used to create this recipe, but you’ll also need some of the consomme or the cooking broth. Here’s an excellent recipe for making homemade birria de res.

Birria on Pizza?

Heck yes! This pizza is made with tender and flavorful beef birria. I make a batch ahead of time and then freeze the meat to make Birria Pizzas – and we can’t get enough of it!

What You’ll Need

To make one large pizza, you’ll need:

• Pizza dough – I love buying the premade pizza crusts that I can top and bake. You can also make your own pizza dough.
• Birria meat – I use beef birria, but goat meat also works.
• Consomme – The cooking broth from making birria.
• Cheese – I used a combination of mozzarella and cotija cheeses. Any other mild shredded cheese will also work.
• Hot sauce – I used chile de arbol salsa, but your favorite hot sauce is fine.
• Radishes – To garnish. Optional, but they add a fresh, peppery crunch that’s so good.
• Cilantro – What birria pizza would be complete without cilantro?
• Onion – Diced onion and birria go hand-in-hand. I use sweet onions for an onion flavor and crunch without overwhelming the dish.
• Sour cream – To drizzle on top.
• Lime – A bit of fresh lime juice adds a pop of flavor and brightness.
• Jalapeno – Optional garnish.

How to Make Birria Pizzas

For a complete list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe at the bottom of this page.

Start by getting your pizza dough ready, or set out a precooked pizza crust so everything is ready to assemble. I find a pizza peel especially helpful when working with raw dough because it makes transferring the pizza much easier.

Lightly brush the crust with 2 to 3 tablespoons of consomme using a silicone brush. You want just enough to add flavor without soaking the crust.

Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the top, then add the birria meat in small chunks. Finish with crumbled cotija cheese or Oaxaca cheese. A small offset spatula can be useful for nudging toppings into place without stretching or tearing the dough.

Bake according to the crust you are using. For a precooked crust, follow the package directions. For raw dough, bake in a 450 F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. A pizza stone or steel can help create a crisper bottom crust.

Once baked, finish the pizza with hot sauce, sliced radish, chopped cilantro, diced onions, and sour cream.

Serve hot and dig in.

Chef Jenn’s Tips

• This isn’t a cheesy pizza. There’s cheese on it to help glue on the meat. If you like more cheese, add more cheese.
• Don’t soak the crust when you brush on the consomme or you’ll have trouble cooking it through. Just a light coating for flavor is all you need.
• Put the broiler on for the last minute of cooking to get the top bubbly and brown.
• For best results, cook this pizza on a pizza stone.

Variations

This pizza is crazy good on its own, but if you want to jazz it up, here are some ideas:

• Make build-your-own pizzas with personal-sized pizza dough and toppings laid out for people to customize their own birria taco pizzas.
• Try cooling ranch dressing on top instead of sour cream.
• Save some consomme for dipping the pizza slices, like you’d dip the birria tacos.
• Try it topped with pickled onions instead of fresh.
• Chopped jalapenos, pickled jalapenos, sliced fresh chiles, avocado, and salsa can be added to fully load your pizza.

Make It A Meal

In my house, pizza is often the whole meal. But if I want to stretch the pizza or want to serve it as a part of a larger meal, I turn to sides like this Mexican corn salad, baked Spanish rice, or veggies with a great dressing for dipping.

Or, serve your Birria Pizza along with Shrimp Scampi Pizza or offer a low-carb option with chaffle pizzas.

How To Make The Best Pizza

I almost always cook pizza on a pizza stone. When you preheat the pizza stone it gets good and hot and will help to cook the pizza from the bottom, and it’ll wick away any moisture letting the crust get crunchy.

Pizza stones can be finicky. Read the instructions on how to use them. I’ve broken a few of them over the years so treat them with care!

Storage Instructions

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat the pizza in a low oven, in an air fryer, or the microwave.

Unfortunately, this pizza will not freeze well.