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This easy Steak Quesadilla Recipe made with leftover steak, melted cheese, onions and peppers on a crispy tortilla is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner! Skip takeout and save money when you make quesadillas at home.
My family loves having quesadillas made with steak for a quick lunch or easy weeknight dinner. But these are not your average cheese quesadillas. These are hearty beef quesadillas made with tender steak, peppers, onions and lots of melty cheese.
We almost always have some steak left over after grilling. On its own, leftover steak is not enough to make a whole meal for a family. But when you add plenty of cheese and serve it on crispy tortillas, it is! So, this easy recipe for steak quesadillas is a budget friendly way to stretch out leftover steak to feed the whole family and enjoy the best steak quesadillas ever!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
What goes in a steak quesadilla? You only need a few simple ingredients for this leftover steak quesadilla recipe. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- Cooked steak — We prefer New York or ribeye steak. You need about a cup to 2 cups steak.
- Cheese — I prefer a blend of cheese. Mexican Blend cheese, cheddar cheese, Colby Jack cheese and Monterey Jack cheese work well. Sometimes, I’ll add some queso fresco if I have it on hand. Grate your own if you have time, but you can use a package of shredded cheese in a pinch.
- Onion — yellow onion or white onion for flavor
- Bell pepper — either a red bell pepper or yellow bell pepper to add flavor, color and crunch
- Jalapeño pepper — optional, but adds spice
- Taco seasoning — I use homemade taco seasoning but a packet of taco seasoning will do
- Large flour tortillas — They work better for quesadillas than corn tortillas. You can also use two smaller tortillas and sandwich the fillings between them.
How to Make Steak Quesadillas
First, cut the steak into bite-sized pieces. Then, chop your onion, pepper and jalapeño pepper, if using. Time saving tip — Keep chopped onions in the freezer for easy prep!
Next, sauté the onion, jalapeño pepper and bell pepper in a large skillet on medium heat until slightly soft. Then, add the steak and taco seasoning, and cook until the steak is just heated through. You don’t need to add more liquid since too much liquid in the steak mixture will make the quesadilla soggy.
Set the meat mixture aside. Then, heat a griddle or skillet with a little bit of olive oil, avocado oil or vegetable oil. Rub a little oil over the surface with paper towels — you only need a little bit!
Place a tortilla on the skillet for a few seconds. Then, flip over. This helps the cheese melt faster. Add about a half cup cheese to half of the tortilla. Spoon about a third of the meat mixture over the cheese. Then, top with a little more cheese.
Next, carefully fold one side of the tortilla over so that the ends meet. Gently press down with a spatula to help the cheese melt. Flip the folded tortilla over to crisp up the second side.
When both sides of the quesadilla are brown and crisp and the cheese is melted, remove it to a plate and serve immediately or place in oven to keep warm. Repeat the process twice more with the remaining tortillas and meat mixture. You should have enough for 3 quesadillas. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to slice the quesadillas. You can cut them into thirds or fourths.
Quesadilla Toppings
These beef quesadillas are delicious on their own. But, they’re even better with delicious toppings. We like homemade salsa, homemade guacamole, pico de gallo, homemade queso and sour cream. Yum!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store leftover steak quesadillas in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze leftover quesadillas for up to 3 months. The best way to reheat a quesadilla so it stays crispy is to warm it up in a pan on the stove. If you aren’t picky about the texture, you can reheat the leftover quesadilla in your microwave.
Variations and Tips
Use your favorite kind of steak in this steak quesadilla recipe. Flank steak and skirt steak are great options if you don’t have leftover steak. Just cut the meat into thin strips and cook the steak strips in a large skillet. You can also cook steak on an indoor grill if you have one.
To stretch steak leftovers even further, add black beans, corn and more fresh veggies to this steak and cheese quesadilla.
Season the steak with garlic powder, black pepper, salt and ground cumin if you don’t have prepared taco seasoning.
FAQ
Cut leftover steak into small bite sized pieces. 1-inch pieces are perfect for reheating steak for quesadillas quickly.
You don’t have to. You can add rub small amount of oil on the skillet before cooking the quesadilla to make it extra crispy and get a gorgeous golden brown crust.
The best way to keep quesadillas warm after cooking is to place them uncovered in a single layer on a baking sheet in the oven at 275 to 300 degrees. They don’t stay as crispy, so it’s best to eat them right after cooking if you can.
More Quesadilla Recipes
Try these chicken quesadillas, BBQ chicken quesadillas, Caprese chicken quesadillas or chicken and black bean quesadillas. You can even make sausage quesadillas or ham quesadillas.
Steak Quesadilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper seeded and finely chopped
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 1 cup cooked steak cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- 3 cups shredded cheese Mexican blend
- 3 large tortillas burrito size
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet on medium heat, and sauté peppers and onion until just soft. Add steak and taco seasoning, and heat until warm. Set aside
- Heat tortilla in a skillet or griddle on 1 side until just warm. Flip over, and add some of the cheese, and spoon about ⅓ of the meat mixture on half of the tortilla. Add more cheese over the chicken
- Fold the tortilla over the meat mixture, and press down with spatula to flatten. Flip over if needed, and heat until tortilla is golden brown and crisp on both sides. Remove to a plate and cut. Repeat 2 more times with remaining ingredients
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope you enjoy these delicious steak quesadillas as much as we do. My whole family is crazy about them!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and/or star rating.
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Tried these with our leftover steak. The family loved them and the kids can’t wait until we have leftover steak again.
I always have left over steaks from BBQing Tried this today and they are awesome! Cheese with my steak, what could be any better!
Made these last night. They were great and a simple idea for the leftover steak whichis hard to eat as a leftover by itself. Kids loved it too!
Thanks a bunch, Jim. Glad you liked the quesadillas!
What a great idea for leftover steak! Now, I would cook steak just for this, My family keeps asking for more!
Thanks for the wonderful review, Mae. Glad you liked the quesadillas!
I tried these the other night and they were amazing!! Everyone loved them!! Can’t wait to make them again! 🙂
This was a huge hit at my house!
Thank you so much, Sandra! Glad you liked the quesadillas!
I am drooling over this quesadilla! My family will love it!
Oh my, these Steak Quesadillas look incredible! I bet they taste amazing!
These were the perfect dinner! Thanks for the easy recipe!
This Steak Quesadilla needs to happen at my house very soon!!