With tender pulled pork, barbecue sauce, creamy refried beans and plenty of cheese, these pulled pork quesadillas are such an easy and incredibly delicious way to use leftover pulled pork. Great for taco Tuesday (or any day of the week, really)!
Whenever I make pulled pork, I always get so excited about all the ways I’m going to use it (there’s just so many).
And these quesadillas happen to be one of my favourite recipes using pulled pork (right along with rice bowls and pork and beans).
Quesadillas are a go-to meal for us, especially on Friday or Saturday night. After all week, there’s nothing like curling up with a comforting meal while watching a movie.
How To Make Pulled Pork Quesadillas
Here is an overview of how to make these pulled pork quesadillas (full details are in the recipe card below):
Prepare the quesadilla filling
- Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan, then cook the diced bell pepper.
- Add the leftover pulled pork, barbecue sauce, chopped green chilies and taco seasoning and cook until it’s heated through.
- Mix some refried beans and salsa together in a bowl. (You can use either homemade or store-bought refried beans, it’s up to you!)
- In another bowl, combine the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
Assemble and pan fry
- To assemble each quesadilla, distribute some shredded cheese on one half of each tortilla.
- Spread over some of the refried bean mixture.
- Top with the pulled pork mixture.
- Layer on more shredded cheese and a drizzle of barbecue sauce.
- Fold over the tortilla so it’s a half-moon shape.
- Pan fry the quesadillas (in batches), cooking on both sides, in a greased pan. Once they’re all cooked, cut each quesadilla in half.
Do I Have To Use Refried Beans?
Not at all! They add a flavour and creaminess to these pulled pork quesadillas, but you can omit if you prefer.
Alternatively, add some drained canned black beans to the pulled pork filling when preparing.
What To Serve With Them
These pulled pork quesadillas are nice and hearty, so I like pairing them with something a little lighter, like grilled corn or salsa and tortilla chips.
If you feel like something more substantial, serve them with stuffed double baked sweet potatoes or fluffy rice.
Of course, to dip, they’re great with guacamole, sour cream, crema, salsa or even barbecue sauce!
More Easy Quesadilla Recipes
If you make this pulled pork quesadilla recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!
Pulled Pork Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 small bell pepper, small dice (use whatever colour you prefer)
- ½ pound cooked pulled pork, about 2 cups
- ½ cup barbecue sauce, divided
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies, about 127 millilitre can (or use salsa)
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- ⅔ cup refried beans
- 1 tablespoon salsa
- 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, about 1.5 cups
- 2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, about ½ cup
- 6 large flour tortillas, each about 7 to 8 inches in diameter
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add bell pepper and cook until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the pulled pork to the frying pan, along with ¼ cup of barbecue sauce, chopped green chilies and taco seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pulled pork has heated through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the pulled pork to a plate. Set aside. Wipe out the pan because it'll be used shortly to pan fry the quesadillas.
- In a small bowl, mix together the refried beans and salsa. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, mix together the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Set aside.
- To assemble the pulled pork quesadillas: Divide half of the shredded cheese mixture (1 cup) among one half of each flour tortilla. Then divide the refried bean mixture (about 1.5 tablespoons per tortilla) over top of the cheese, spreading out (don't worry if the cheese moves around a little, that's okay). Top the refried beans with the pulled pork mixture (about ⅓ cup per tortilla), then divide the remaining 1 cup of the cheese mixture over top. Drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup of barbecue sauce. Fold over each quesadilla so it's a half-moon shape.Tip: If you like spice, feel free to sprinkle over some ground cayenne pepper or drizzle with your favourite hot sauce (you can add when you add the barbecue sauce).
- To pan fry the quesadillas: Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in the frying pan over medium-low heat and gently swirl the oil around the pan to coat. Place two quesadillas in the pan and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until the outside is golden brown and crispy and the cheese has melted inside (watch carefully because they can burn quickly). Remove the quesadillas from the pan. Repeat the process to cook the remaining quesadillas.
- Once all the quesadillas are done, cut each in half so you have 12 pieces. Serve and enjoy!
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Michelle
Gotta love a pulled pork quesadilla! The green chilies and taco seasoning give it so much more flavour, yum!
David @ Spiced
Oooo…refried beans are a great idea here! We always keep extra pulled pork in the freezer, and quesadillas are one of our favorite ways to use it. But we’ve never put refried beans in those ‘dillas. This is going on the list ASAP!