Loaded Beef Quesadillas with Seasoned Beef and Melted Mexican Cheese
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Servings
5
Level
Easy
Cook seasoned ground beef and chopped tomatoes and jalapeños and cheese in individual batches. Reheat to serve as quesadillas for lunch or dinner whenever desired throughout the day. Five to six servings of flour tortilla quesadillas with crispy tortillas and ground beef and other vegetables and cheese can be made with this recipe.
The meat mixture is sautéed ground beef in a pan over medium heat. Break the cooked beef into small pieces and add cumin, chili powder, salt, and garlic powder to taste. Add diced ripe tomatoes and jalapeños for plant-based ingredients. Sprinkle shredded Mexican cheese blend on top of and underneath the meat mixture in the pan. Shredded cheese on top of and underneath the meat filling in the pan helps the tortillas stay together when filled with meat. Shredded cheese also makes it easier to portion the final product into servings.
Use a golden-brown appearance of the first side of tortillas to know when to turn them; use a spatula with a wide blade to view tortillas without disturbing them. The second side of the tortillas, with cheese, should be fully melted when browned. A common complaint about this recipe is that the cooked tortillas are not watched closely enough because they cook quickly. Add water to lean ground beef only until the water is absorbed.
Cut cooked rounds into quarters and cover more rounds as they bake. Serve rounds with sour cream, mashed avocado, salsa, salad, soup, and southwest quinoa salad. Leftover round can be packed in an airtight container in the refrigerator to use for a meal the next day. Leftover round can be reheated in the microwave or oven at 350 degrees.
Why we keep this one around
- The recipe yields five or six complete quesadillas, which can be divided in half or quarters to provide servings for several days' dinners and one day's lunch.
- Cook the beef once for all tortillas in one pan rather than cooking the beef for each tortilla in a separate pan.
- Leftover quarters can be kept in a covered container in the refrigerator. According to the article, leftover quarters are a good lunch for the next day.
- Reheating is beneficial because the source allows consumers to reheat the product in a 350-degree oven or microwave.
- Bulk purchasers can reheat the product when they want to consume it at a later time.
- Chopping tomatoes, jalapeños, cheese, and other ingredients ahead of time can help you make several quesadillas more quickly.
- Cutting the rounds into quarters makes it easy to divide and serve the product in larger quantities or store the finished product for later use.
Ingredients
- •10 8-inch flour tortillas (10 to 12)
- •1 lb ground beef (16 ounces)
- •2 ripe tomatoes (2 to 3, diced)
- •¼ cup jalapeños (diced, jarred or fresh)
- •8 oz shredded Mexican cheese blend (2 cups)
- •1 Tbsp ground cumin
- •1 Tbsp chili powder
- •½ tsp salt
- •1 tsp garlic powder
- •2 tsp olive oil (plus extra as needed)
- •¼ cup water (use if the cooked beef seems dry)
Instructions
- 1
Prep the vegetables and place them into individual bowls. Set out the seasonings and shredded cheese.
- 2
Add the ground beef to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Break up large lumps with a wooden spoon and cook until fully cooked and browned, about 5 minutes.
- 3
Stir in the seasonings. If the cooked beef seems dry, add about 1/4 cup water and cook until the liquid is absorbed, then transfer the beef to a bowl.
- 4
Using the same skillet, smear 2 teaspoons olive oil over the bottom.
- 5
Place one tortilla in the skillet and scatter shredded cheese over it.
- 6
Add cooked beef over the cheese.
- 7
Sprinkle diced tomatoes over the beef, then add about 1 tablespoon diced jalapeños.
- 8
Scatter additional shredded cheese over the filling.
- 9
Cover with a second tortilla and turn on the heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, checking with a large spatula, until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is fully melted.
- 10
Remove the quesadilla, slice it into quarters, and transfer it to a platter. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm while making additional quesadillas, then serve.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
525
Calories
40.9g
Protein
25.6g
Fat
40g
Carbs
Reviews
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