Birria Pizza – A Beautiful Mess

I love pizza. Dare I say this is one of my favorite foods! I’ll never turn down a classic cheese or pepperoni pizza, but sometimes I want something a little different. This birria pizza recipe was inspired by my birria tacos. In fact, you could potentially use the birria meat from that recipe for both of these meals. And I love easy slow cooker recipes that easily turn into two delicious meals.

Birria, also known as birria de res, is a traditional Mexican stew made with meat such as beef, lamb, or goat, spices, and dried chili peppers. This stew-inspired pizza has tender and delicious beef, and stew is used in the sauce and consommé. And I use a classic pizza dough recipe to make large hand-toss style pizzas.

Related: If you like this flavor, try mole sauce, chipotle sauce, or pico de gallo next time.

birria pizza ingredients

• all-purpose flour
• water
• instant dry yeast
• granulated sugar
• salt
• olive oil
• chuck roast
• onion
• garlic
• Chipotle pepper with adobo sauce
• diced tomatoes
• cumin
• paprika
• black pepper
• salt
• brown sugar
• oregano
• cloves
• cayenne
• lime
• Beef stock
• bay leaves
• cinnamon stick
• mozzarella cheese
• coriander

How to make birria pizza

First, let’s start with birria meat. Pat the meat dry and add plenty of salt. Grill the meat on both sides. Then add to the slow cooker.

In a blender or large food processor, add half the onions, garlic, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin, paprika, pepper, brown sugar, oregano, cloves, cayenne pepper, lime juice, and 1 cup beef stock. Stir into a thick sauce. Pour this sauce over the meat in the slow cooker. Add another cup of beef stock to cover the meat. Add bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Cook on low heat for 8 hours.

Remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Set the stew aside, but transfer the meat to a cutting board and shred it with two forks. Yes, it should be soft enough to easily shred with a fork.

For the pizza dough, measure out the hot water and stir in the sugar, if using. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it activate for a few minutes. It should look bubbly.

In a medium to large mixing bowl, add flour, salt, and olive oil. Pour in the yeast water and stir until a loose ball of dough forms. Lightly flour the surface and (clean) hands and knead the dough for a few minutes until it feels almost elastic in your hands.

Add a little more oil to the bowl to coat the sides and return the dough ball to the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a circular shape. If you want to throw it in the air like in the movies, feel free to do so, but I usually use a rolling pin. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet.

Brush with the slow cooker stew and add the shredded beef and cheese. Bake at 400°F (204°C) for 15 to 16 minutes. Top with chopped onion and cilantro.

tips for success

• If you can find dried chili peppers, such as ancho or guajillo chiles, these will make this recipe more authentic. However, I couldn’t find it at the supermarket where I usually shop, so I didn’t post it here.
• Use Mexican oregano and cinnamon sticks if possible.
• I used chuck roast, but you can also use other cuts of beef or lamb in this recipe.
• I like white onions for this recipe, but yellow or red onions will also work.
• I like to cook this on low for 8 hours, but you can also cook the birria meat on high for 4 hours if you prefer. Also, if you don’t know the internal temperature of your meat, we recommend using a meat thermometer to check it.

More great pizza recipes

As already mentioned, this recipe makes enough meat for multiple pizzas. Or you can have birria taco night first and enjoy pizza night with leftovers the next day. Leftover meat can be served over rice, made into birria bowls, or even used in sandwiches like birria grilled cheese. Simply store leftover shredded beef in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days and use as desired.