Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas

Published: May 26, 2019 Updated: August 10, 2019 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 160 Comments

Looking for super cheesy ground beef quesadillas? You’ve come to the right place! Well-seasoned ground beef, lots of ooey gooey cheese and a crispy golden brown exterior make these quesadillas simply irresistible! They’re sure to become a favourite in your home as they are in ours.

Stack of eight cheesy ground beef quesadillas.

Hi friends! If you’re looking for an easy quesadilla recipe, you’ve come to the right place!

If you know me, you know that I’m a huge fan of quesadillas. One of the reasons is, like grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas are a method of getting more cheese into my pie hole, LOL.

Seriously, though, hubby and I enjoy quesadillas on the regular. They’re super easy to whip up, you can put as little or as much as you want in them and they always taste amazing. I’ve made lots of varieties, like chicken, turkey, and breakfast quesadillas.

Today though? Ground beef quesadillas. One thing they all have in common: cheese (and lots of it). You gotta have quesadillas with cheese! Tell me you don’t wanna grab some through your screen (if only, right?!).

These cheesy quesadillas come together in no time at all with some pretty basic ingredients you probably already have on hand. I’m pretty confident they’ll be in regular rotation in your home as they are in ours.

Ingredients for ground beef quesadillas with cheese.

How To Make Ground Beef Quesadillas

Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:

Heat oil in a pan, then add ground beef, spices, salt and pepper.
Cook the ground beef.
Once the ground beef is fully cooked through, stir in tomato paste.
Pour in beef stock/broth (or you could use water). Once stock/broth is absorbed, remove the ground beef from the pan.
Place some cheese on one half of each tortilla.
Top with cooked ground beef.
Add a little more cheese.
Fold over each tortilla so it’s a half-moon shape.
Gently cook quesadillas (in batches) in a greased pan until they’re golden brown on the outside and the cheese has melted. Watch that they don’t burn. They cook quickly! Once they’re done, cut in half and enjoy.

Collage of steps to make ground beef quesadillas with cheese.

What Type of Tortilla Should I Use for Quesadillas?

For quesadillas, I prefer flour tortillas over corn tortillas. They’re readily available (more so than corn tortillas here in Newfoundland). Plus, they’re hearty, flexible and withstand all those delicious toppings.

If you like, try homemade flour tortillas instead of store-bought. If using that recipe, just make them a little bigger for these quesadillas.

What Size of Tortilla Is Best?

I typically use flour tortillas that are about 7 to 8 inches in diameter.

What’s the Best Cheese for Quesadillas?

Cheese not only tastes awesome in these beef quesadillas, but also acts as a “glue” to keep things together. Cheese, is there anything you can’t do?

When making quesadillas, pick a nice melting cheese, like cheddar, pizza mozzarella or Monterey Jack (or a combo of them).

I’ve made these quesadillas a bunch of times with different varieties of cheese, as well as with a store bought blend of cheddar, Monterey Jack and pizza mozzarella. I don’t often go for pre-shredded cheeses, but by buying a blend, you get a variety without having to buy multiple blocks of cheese.

Having said that, in the event that you do have odds and ends of cheese in your fridge, now would be the time to use them!

Other nice melting cheeses are Manchego, Havarti, fontina, Swiss, Gouda and provolone. For added flavour (even though it doesn’t melt well), I’ve even added crumbled feta to the mix (queso fresco also works great).

It’s cheese. As a cheese obsessed person, there is no going wrong in my book!

Close-up of a stack of six beef and cheese quesadillas.

What To Serve With These Ground Beef Quesadillas

You can certainly enjoy these quesadillas on their own or serve with any of these:

Sour cream or Greek yogurt
Salsa
Pico de gallo
Guacamole
Green salad, like this chopped Mexican salad with pepitas
Rice
Mexican street corn

Stack of four cheesy ground beef quesadillas next to cilantro.

Leftovers

Properly store leftover quesadillas in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat before serving.

Reheating Leftover Quesadillas

You can reheat leftover quesadillas in a non-stick frying pan on the stovetop over about medium-low heat until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through. This reheating method will yield the crispiest results.

Alternatively, you can reheat the quesadillas in an oven. To do so, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, place the quesadillas on a sheet pan and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

They may not be quite as crispy as freshly made, but they are still pretty awesome.

Tips and Variations for Making the Best Quesadillas

Watch those quesadillas in the pan! They are burn quickly. It’s better to have the heat on the lower side so you get a nice golden brown colour (without burning) and still melt the cheese.
Carefully flip the quesadillas so the filling doesn’t spill out. Use two spatulas (or one really large one) to flip, or cut into pieces before browning. It may make things a little more manageable.
I like to keep these beef and cheese quesadillas simple, but you could add sliced avocado, hot peppers (patted dry before using), corn or cilantro (or whatever you please).

Hand holding a cheese and beef quesadilla.

Like These Cheesy Quesadillas? You May Enjoy These Too!

Hope you love these ground beef quesadillas as much as we do! Stay tuned for more easy cheesy quesadilla recipes coming your way!

If you make these cheesy beef quesadillas, be sure to leave a comment below!

Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas

Dawn | Girl Heart Food

Looking for super cheesy ground beef quesadillas? You've come to the right place! Well-seasoned ground beef, lots of ooey gooey cheese and a crispy golden brown exterior make these quesadillas simply irresistible! They're sure to become a favourite in your home as they are in ours.

5 from 35 votes

Print Recipe Save Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 12 pieces

Calories 227 kcal

Ingredients

½ tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef, I use extra lean ground beef
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons unsalted beef stock/broth, or low sodium or regular
12 ounces shredded cheese blend, divided (about 3 cups. I used a combination of cheddar, Monterey jack and pizza mozzarella)
6 flour tortillas, about 7 to 8 inches in diameter each
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, to grease pan (about 2 teaspoons of oil per batch)
Salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (to keep quesadillas warm while cooking batches).
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan (about a 10-inch or 12-inch pan) over medium heat. Add ground beef, chili powder, chipotle pepper, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper (if using). Cook, breaking the ground beef into small pieces and stirring occasionally, until the ground beef is fully cooked through (the ground beef should no longer be pink and be browned all the way through), about 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste and beef stock/broth and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove beef from the pan and place into a bowl. If there is any excess grease, drain/remove.
Distribute about 8 ounces (or 2 cups) of cheese among all tortillas (on one side of them).
Note: Reserve the remaining 4 ounces of cheese (or 1 cup of cheese).
Distribute ground beef on top of cheese. Then sprinkle remaining 1 cup (or 4 ounces) of cheese on top of ground beef. Fold over each tortilla so it's a half-moon shape.
To cook quesadillas, heat about 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Gently swirl the oil around the pan to coat.
Note: If you're using the same pan that you used for cooking the ground beef, just wipe out before greasing and cooking your quesadillas.
Note: Cook the quesadillas in batches, two quesadillas at a time, adding more oil to the pan between batches as necessary.
Place two quesadillas in the pan. Cook quesadillas for about 2 minutes on one side.
Carefully flip quesadillas to the other side and continue to cook for another 2 minutes or until they're golden brown and crispy on the outside and the cheese is melted inside (carefully watch to ensure they don't burn). Transfer cooked quesadillas to a sheet pan and place into your preheated oven to keep warm while you are continuing to cook the remaining quesadillas.
Repeat process to cook remaining quesadillas.
Once done, cut each quesadilla in half so you have 12 pieces. Great served with salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream. Enjoy!
Note: If you have any leftovers, properly store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat before serving.

Notes

Sub the seasoning/spices with this homemade taco seasoning, if you like.

Nutrition (estimate only)

Nutrition Facts

Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas

Serving Size

1 piece (½ of a whole quesadilla)

Amount per Serving

Calories

227

% Daily Value*

Fat

Saturated Fat

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

Sodium

443

Potassium

210

Carbohydrates

Fiber

Sugar

Protein

Vitamin A

326

Vitamin C

Calcium

211

Iron

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Based on 1 serving.

Nutrition information provided is an estimate only.

Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

Keyword beef quesadillas, cheesy quesadilla recipe, easy quesadilla recipe

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How To Make Ground Beef Quesadillas

What Type of Tortilla Should I Use for Quesadillas?

What Size of Tortilla Is Best?

What’s the Best Cheese for Quesadillas?

What To Serve With These Ground Beef Quesadillas

Leftovers

Reheating Leftover Quesadillas

Tips and Variations for Making the Best Quesadillas

Like These Cheesy Quesadillas? You May Enjoy These Too!

Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition (estimate only)

Tried this recipe?

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