Everyone loves Mexican food and I’m no exception. You’ve probably noticed how many Latin American recipes have featured on my blog already! But one thing you might not know about me is that I’m thrifty. I hate to waste food, and there’s little I love more than a delicious recipe that uses up leftovers. Let’s put those two loves together in my Steak Quesadilla, designed to use up leftover steak from last night’s BBQ.
What is a Quesadilla?
A quesadilla is a classic Mexican recipe featuring two tortillas sandwiched together and fried with a filling inside them. The only required ingredient for the filling is cheese (hence QUESAdilla). When frying the tortillas, the cheese melts, sticking the two tortillas together.
The rest of the ingredients are up to you! That makes quesadillas a fantastic vehicle for using up leftovers. You can fill them with grilled meat, cooked ground meat, vegetables, add some herbs or spices – the only limit is your imagination. And cheese, of course. It has to go well with cheese.
How to Make Steak Quesadilla
You could make a steak quesadilla with just cheese and steak as the filling. But why not make it more interesting? This recipe actually first came about when I had two sets of leftovers in the fridge – grilled steak from a barbecue and a mess of spicy onions and bell peppers leftover from when I had made vegetarian fajitas. I put them together and created one of the most satisfying leftover meals ever! So then, I thought about how to make it quickly for whenever we have leftover grilled steak…
The Secret…
It’s not a very big secret, but the key to getting this recipe right is to make sure that your filling is not too wet. Anything very juicy is going to leak out those juices into the pan and make your quesadilla soggy. And you want the outside of the tortillas to be crisp. So, whatever you’re using, you want to cook it off first to get rid of excess liquid. I did this by sautéing the vegetables in a large pan, browning the onions slightly and letting the bell peppers soften.
Once you’ve cooked the vegetables and got rid of any moisture, turn off the heat and add the sliced leftover steak. Now it’s time to season it. You’ll want salt and pepper, of course, but also some spiciness. I use Tabasco sauce. And let me tell you about a recent discovery of mine: Tabasco Chipotle. It’s got all the vinegary goodness of regular Tabasco sauce, with the addition of that wonderful smoky heat that comes from chipotle peppers. Regular Tabasco is fine to use – or any other Mexican chili sauce – but if you can find Tabasco Chipotle, I definitely recommend using that.
Frying a Steak Quesadilla
This is super easy, even flipping it over. Start off by placing a tortilla in a dry, cold pan. Then you can distribute the filling on the tortilla and scatter the cheese evenly over. Add the second tortilla on top and only then place the pan over medium heat.
It will take 3-4 minutes for the bottom tortilla to brown and the cheese to melt, sticking the tortillas together. You can check this by gently lifting the top tortilla to see if it’s stuck to the filling and the base. Then just flip it over and cook for another few on the reverse side.
What to Eat with Quesadillas
Quesadillas are filling enough that you don’t really need a side dish. But I do recommend serving a couple of sauces alongside. Guacamole is great and I like sour cream as well. But you can use whatever sauces you enjoy. Maybe shake over a little extra of that Tabasco Chipotle as well!
And more…
Looking for more beef recipes? Try out one of these:
Conclusion
Next time you’ve got leftover steak, you know what to do with it! Get the pan heating up and put a Steak Quesadilla on to cook. It’s really one of the quickest easy dinners I know, and if you’ve got leftovers from fajitas, it makes it even quicker… Let me know in the comments how you decided to fill your quesadilla.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion peeled and sliced
- 1 cup red bell peppers sliced
- 1 cup yellow bell peppers sliced
- 1 cup green bell peppers sliced
- 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
- 4 oz leftover grilled steak sliced
- 2 oz cheddar cheese grated
- 4 wheat tortillas
- 1/2 lime quartered
- guacamole to serve
- sour cream to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and fry until softened and slightly browned in places, about 5 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers and continue frying for another 8-10 minutes, until the vegetables are completely softened. Drain off any excess liquid, if necessary. Add the steak strips and season to taste with salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce.
- Place one tortilla in a large dry frying pan. Add half the steak mixture and half the cheese, spreading both out to the edges.
- Place another tortilla over the top and start frying over medium heat, until the cheese has melted and the tortilla is brown underneath.
- Carefully flip and fry on the reverse side for another 2 minutes or so.
- Turn out of the pan and repeat with the other 2 tortillas and remaining streak mix and cheese
- Cut the quesadillas into wedges. Serve hot with guacamole and sour cream on the side.
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