Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas with Juicy Black Bean Filling
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
20 min
Cook
20 min
Total
40 min
Servings
6
Level
Easy
Make the ground beef filling in advance and refrigerate. Cook quesadillas close to mealtime. You can keep cooked quesadillas warm in a low oven while frying additional batches. Ground beef quesadillas feature a filling of ground beef, black beans, and spices mixed together and served with two kinds of cheese in a flour tortilla.
The beef filling consists of sautéed sliced white onions and red peppers. Lean ground beef is sautéed with paprika, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Tomato puree, water or broth, and cornstarch are added to the ground beef. Canned black beans are added to the ground beef mixture. Layers of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses are added before and after cooling the filling to help assembled tortillas hold together.
Cook the filling until the meat is no longer moist and no moisture can be seen in the pan. This will prevent overflow when the filling is placed in tortillas. Signs that the filling is ready include a shiny rather than wet surface on the meat. Do not assemble while the filling is still steaming. Moisture from the hot filling will make the tortillas soggy. Fry filled quesadillas until they are browned on both sides and make a hollow sound when tapped.
Cut each half-moon-shaped quesadilla into two pieces and offer one quesadilla half and a side item per serving. Suggested side options for quesadillas include guacamole, fresh tomato salsa, sliced avocado, tortilla chips, avocado dip, sour cream, limes, and cilantro. Warm cooked quesadillas while preparing additional quesadillas.
Why we keep this one around
- Precook the ground beef mixture and cool it before assembly to prevent steam from building up in the tortillas while frying and making them soggy.
- Six folded units provide serving suggestions and serving sizes, suggest serving one half-moon per person with sides such as raw tomato salsa or guacamole.
- Batch-cooked foods can be kept warm by placing them in a low-temperature oven while frying tortillas. Other foods can then be served warm with the tortillas.
- Two layers of cheese in the folded tortilla help hold the sandwich together while cutting individual servings from the pan to serve on a plate.
- Making one mixture of ground beef and beans for all six quesadillas will save time during assembly and eliminate the need to season each one.
- Leftover ingredients can be kept separately from other ingredients so that tortillas can be fried just before serving rather than with other ingredients and reheated.
Ingredients
- •2 tsp paprika
- •2 tsp cumin
- •1 tsp garlic powder
- •1 tsp oregano
- •1 tsp salt
- •½ tsp onion powder
- •½ tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to spice preference)
- •¼ tsp black pepper
- •1 lb lean minced or ground beef (500g)
- •½ can black beans (14oz/400g can, drained)
- •½ cup water or low-sodium beef stock (125ml)
- •1 small red pepper (finely diced)
- •1 small white onion (finely diced)
- •1 heaped tbsp tomato puree (tomato paste in the US)
- •1 tsp cornstarch (cornflour)
- •olive oil (as needed)
- •6 small flour tortillas (approximately 7-8 inches)
- •1 ½ cups Cheddar (150g, grated)
- •1 ½ cups Monterey Jack (150g, grated)
- •1 cup pickled jalapeños (sliced, optional)
- •oil spray (as needed, or use 2 tbsp oil to brush on)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the paprika, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in a small bowl.
- 2
Set the spice mix aside.
- 3
Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large pan over medium heat.
- 4
Fry the onion and red pepper until soft and starting to pick up colour.
- 5
Add the beef to the pan.
- 6
Fry the beef until brown all the way through, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
- 7
Incorporate the spice mix into the beef.
- 8
Stir the tomato puree into the beef and fry for a couple of minutes.
- 9
Deglaze the pan with the water or low-sodium beef stock.
- 10
Stir in the cornstarch.
- 11
Add the black beans.
- 12
Simmer until the filling is thickened, juicy, and there is no liquid in the pan.
- 13
Transfer the beef filling to a bowl and allow it to cool at least until it stops steaming.
- 14
Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper towels.
- 15
Lightly coat one side of each tortilla wrap with oil.
- 16
Place one tortilla oil-side down in the pan with the heat off.
- 17
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over the tortilla.
- 18
Add around 1/2 cup of beef filling, or one-sixth of the mixture.
- 19
Top with a few jalapeños, if using.
- 20
Finish with another 1/4 cup of cheese.
- 21
Fold the tortilla over.
- 22
Repeat with another quesadilla next to it.
- 23
Switch the heat to medium and fry for a few minutes on each side until golden and hollow to tap.
- 24
Repeat with the remaining quesadillas.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
587
Calories
37.57g
Protein
31.67g
Fat
38.6g
Carbs
Reviews
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