This cheesy ground beef quesadilla is packed with flavor and it’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. I added some veggies to the meat mixture – bell pepper, onion, corn, and beans. They add more flavor and make this dish more nutritious, so it’s meaty, comforting, and cheesy, but you also feel good after eating it! Serve it with guacamole and tomato salsa for a truly perfect meal.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this amazing dish:
- Tortillas
- Ground beef – preferably lean. You can also use other ground meat such as ground turkey, chicken, or a mix of ground pork and beef.
- Spices – I used my homemade Fajita seasoning for this recipe – it’s really easy to make, you just have to mix 6 spices that you probably already have in your cupboard. You can also use Taco seasoning – these two seasonings are really similar so you can use them interchangeably. You can also use a store-bought seasoning but they are often stuffed with sugar, and other weird ingredients instead of just spices.
- Corn starch – a small amount – is used to make the sauce more thick and not runny. Omit it if you’re using store-bought seasoning – they usually have plenty of corn starch.
- More seasonings – tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce (adds great flavor).
- Veggies – bell pepper, canned corn, canned beans (kidney or black beans). You won’t use up the whole can of corn and beans but you can freeze them and use later.
- Cheese – I like to use half mild cheddar and half sharp cheddar. It’s better so grate the cheese yourself than to purchase pre-grated cheese. Store-bought grated cheese is coated with potato starch so it won’t clump but it inhibits melting. You can use any cheese that you like as long it’s a melting kind of cheese. Other good types of cheese for a quesadilla are: mozzarella, Swiss cheese, Monterey jack, Pepper jack, Mexican cheese blend, Havarti, Fontina (especially picante), Gruyere. You can combine different kinds of cheese.
How to make these quesadillas spicier: add sliced jalapenos to the filling or some cayenne pepper/red pepper flakes/chopped fresh chilis.
Step by step instructions
STEP 1: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the beef in an even layer. Don’t stir! When you see that the beef is browned at the bottom, reduce the heat to medium, sprinkle with seasoning, salt, and pepper.
STEP 2: Cook for a couple of minutes until the beef is cooked through (no longer pink). Stir the meat with a spatula to break it up.
STEP 3: Add finely diced onion and bell pepper. Add water/broth, Worcestershire sauce, corn starch, and tomato paste. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the bell pepper and onion are soft. Add more liquid if necessary so that the meat mixture is not dry.
STEP 4: Add corn and beans, stir everything together, and season with salt and pepper.
STEP 5+6+7: Assemble the quesadillas: Place some shredded cheese on one half of a large tortilla (about 1/3 cup), top with the meat mixture (about 1/2 cup), top with more shredded cheese. Fold tortilla in half.
STEP 8: Cook the quesadillas: Heat a small amount of oil in a clean pan over medium heat. Place your assembled quesadilla in the pan. Cook until browned on both sides and the cheese is melted.
Tips: be careful not to burn your quesadillas. They should be browned but not burned but they also need to be cooked long enough for the cheese to melt. Flip them on the other side with a large and wide spatula.
Alternatively, you can cook the quesadillas in the oven. It’s a great option if you have lots of quesadillas to cook. In terms of taste, they taste the same and are both crispy.
How to do it: place the quesadillas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with melted butter, and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 5-10 minutes or until browned and crispy.
Transfer your quesadillas to a plate, sprinkle with salt, and cut into two parts. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Enjoy!
Storage
These quesadillas can be easily reheated in a pan. They will still taste amazing but the tortillas won’t be crunchy anymore.
The best way to store these is to store the filling separate from tortillas and assemble them just before cooking. This way your quesadillas will be crispy.
You can store the filling in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Quesadillas can also be frozen. Wrap them in plastic foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in a pan or in the oven.
How to serve it
- This quesadilla is really good on its own but I really like it with guacamole and simple tomato salsa (store-bought or homemade) – they cut through the richness of the filling.
- Easy guacamole: mash avocado with some lime juice, dried coriander, and season with salt and pepper.
- Quick blender tomato salsa: mix all the ingredients in a blender/food processor until just a little chunky: 1 can crushed tomatoes (14-oz/400ml), 1 handful fresh cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 1 large clove garlic, 1 deseeded jalapeno or some hot pepper flakes to taste, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 small white or yellow onion, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Pico de gallo (fresh tomato salsa).
- Sour cream.
Sheet pan quesadilla for a crowd
This is another option to cook quesadillas and it’s great if you’re feeding a crowd! The filling with tortillas is baked in the oven until golden then cut into servings/squares. These quesadillas are crispy and taste great.
I haven’t tried making a sheet pan quesadilla with this particular filling but I estimate you would need to double the filling. You will need 6 large quesadillas for a 9×13 inch pan (22x33cm) (the photo below shows how to make sheet pan quesadillas with a different filling).
How to make it:
- Brush 9×13-inch (23x33cm) baking pan or baking sheet with melted butter.
- Arrange tortillas overlapping around the edges of the pan so that half of the tortillas overhang the rim and the entire bottom surface of the pan is covered.
- Spread the filling evenly over the tortillas.
- Fold the overhanging tortillas back towards the center, then place an additional tortilla on top so that all the filling is covered.
- Brush the top generously with melted butter.
- Bake at 425°F/220°C for about 10 minutes or until golden.
- Take out of the oven then let rest for 5 minutes.
- Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!
More quesadilla recipes
- BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
- Mushroom quesadilla with caramelized onions
- Easy breakfast quesadilla recipe
- The Best Vegetarian Quesadillas (sweet potato and black bean quesadilla)
- Chicken fajita quesadillas
- Broccoli cheddar quesadillas
- Chicken quesadilla
- Turkey Quesadilla
- Zucchini Quesadilla
Check out all my quesadilla recipes here.
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Ground Beef Quesadilla
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon frying oil
- 1 lb (450g) lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Fajita seasoning or taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup water or broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon corn starch omit when using a store-bought seasoning mix
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 cup canned corn 80g, about 1/3 of a can
- 1/2 cup canned kidney or black beans 80g, about 1/3 of a can
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 large tortillas
- 3 1/4 cups shredded cheddar I used half mild and half sharp, 350g or 12 ounces
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the beef in an even layer. Don’t stir! When you see that the beef is browned at the bottom, reduce the heat to medium, sprinkle with seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes until the beef is cooked through (no longer pink). Stir the meat with a spatula to break it up.
- Add finely diced onion and bell pepper. Add water/broth, Worcestershire sauce, corn starch, and tomato paste. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the bell pepper and onion are soft. Add more liquid if necessary so that the meat mixture is not dry.
- Add corn and beans, stir everything together, and season with salt and pepper.
- Place some shredded cheese on one half of a large tortilla (about 1/3 cup), top with the meat mixture (about 1/2 cup), top with more shredded cheese. Fold tortilla in half.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a clean pan over medium heat. Place your assembled quesadilla in the pan. Cook until browned on both sides and the cheese is melted.
- Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with salt, and cut into two parts. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Alternatively, you can cook the quesadillas in the oven. It’s a great option if you have lots of quesadillas to cook. In terms of taste, they taste the same and are both crispy. How to do it: place the quesadillas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with melted butter, and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 5-10 minutes or until browned and crispy.
- I like these quesadillas best with guacamole and tomato salsa.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/3 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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