This cheesy ground beef quesadilla with chipotle seasoning is a quick Mexican-inspired game-day food or the perfect late-night snack. It’s served with mixed bell peppers and corn, also Mexican cheese on tortilla.
Today, I am going to show you how to make an easy ground beef quesadilla with few ingredients. The homemade quesadilla seasoning from ingredients that you could easily find in your pantry.
I chose ground beef as a quesadilla filling over steak because it's inexpensive and cooks up fast. The left over meat (browned, un-seasoned) can be used in many recipes such as chili, pasta, lasagna, hamburgers, meatloaf, etc. This would make a perfect game-day food on a budget.
Mexican party food can be prepared in so many ways, whether traditional Mexican food or a Mexican inspired dish like this one or this delicious Shrimp Ceviche With Avocado. The well-seasoned ground beef would also be great for casserole, burrito bowl, tostadas or tacos. If you decide to make ground beef quesadilla casserole, simply place ½ portion of browned and seasoned ground beef on a 13 inch baking tray, top with 3 flour tortilla, repeat the process once then finish up with some cheese of your choice (such as Mexican Cheese or Cheddar Cheese).
Ground Beef Quesadilla Seasoning and Ingredients:
Ground Beef Quesadilla Seasoning and Ingredients:Let's talk about the ground beef quesadilla ingredients. I used browned ground beef and seasoned it with homemade chipotle seasoning, a mix of bell peppers and corn, mixed Mexican cheese, all atop a 10-inch soft flour tortila.
To make the homemade quesadilla seasoning, I used a canned Chipotle sauce in medium heat, cumin, tomato sauce, garlic, onion powder, dried oregano, ancho chili powder, and olive oil.
I added about 4 tablespoons of chipotle sauce to the 1.5 pounds of ground beef. Surprisingly, both of my kids didn't even notice the heat on those quesadillas. I would highly recommend this chipotle sauce over chipotle pepper in canned because you have more control to adjust the spiciness during cooking. If Chipotle pepper in adobo sauce is the only option you have, you can use about 1-2 peppers for this recipe.
CHECK OUT MORE DELICIOUS MEXICAN-INSPIRED RECIPES:
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- SHRIMP AVOCADO MANGO SALAD
- INSTANT POT CARNITAS (TENDER AND CRISPY)
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To brown the ground beef for a crispier and juicier protein, add the meat to a lightly oiled skillet pan and leave it for about 2 minutes before break it up. That way the meat will have enough time to gain some texture. You will also need to season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Once the ground beef is fully browned, it's time to remove the juice and grease. You can do this by carefully tilting the pan so you can remove the liquid (then use a paper towel to absorb the remaining fat).
📖 Recipe
Ground Beef Quesadilla
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds ground beef
- 4 tablespoon olive oil, (divided)
Seasoning:
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, (minced)
- 1½ tablespoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 tablespoon chipotle sauce medium, (add more according to your liking)
- ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder, (add more according to your liking)
- salt and pepper , (to taste)
Toppings:
- 1 red bell pepper, (diced)
- 1 green bell pepper, (diced)
- ½ cup frozen roasted corn or fresh corn
- 10-inch soft flour tortillas
- 2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese or Cheddar Cheese, (use less or more according to your liking)
- fresh Avocado or Guacamole
- jalapeños
Instructions
- In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until the meat is brown inside and no longer red or pink. Transfer to a plate and remove excess grease if necessary.
- In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the remaining seasoning ingredients and cook for 1 minute. Add ground beef and keep stirring until the meat is well-coated. Taste and season with salt/pepper if needed. Set aside.
- In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat and cook the red bell pepper and green bell pepper for about 3-4 minutes. Add roasted corn and cook for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt/pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Add one piece of tortilla on a lightly buttered skillet and layer with a generous amount of cheese on the bottom of the tortilla. Add seasoned ground beef, mixed bell peppers, and corn. Finish up with some cheese and top with a second tortilla. Cook the tortilla until it is golden on the other side and repeat this process on the second side until both sides of tortilla are crips and golden and the cheese inside is melted. Serve with fresh avocado or guac and jalapeno.
Notes
Nutrition
Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh says
These are loaded with yumminess! We love making quesadillas at home, and I love all the flavors you've added to yours.
Ching says
FUNNY I only go to super bowl parties for the food! They had nachos at the party I went to but would have loved this!
Sarah Bailey says
Oh my goodness how delicious do these look! Just packed with some delicious ingredients and I bet they taste even better than they look!
Pam says
This looks super tasty. I love any kind of Mexican inspired food, so this would be right up my alley.
Heather says
I'm not eating meat anymore, but these look so good! We are huge fans of Mexicans.
Heather says
That looks amazing! I really need to try it with beef. I've done them with chicken, but I think after seeing and reading this, beef is better!
Anosa Malanga says
Oh I love how colourful it was prepared. I guess this is a great menu to add for Valentines day. Thanks for this, I will just add a valentines related design to add more colors and art to it.
Nikka Shae says
This looks very tasty! I will make me a meatless option for sure!
Sandy N Vyjay says
The seasoning especially looks so great and colourful. Will use it for a vegetarian variant and it should be great.
Penelope says
This was so easy and really tasty. I was too scared to use the skillet for toasting the quesadillas as I know I would be a clumsy flipper so I used my sandwich press instead! Worked really well!
Rika Livingston says
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Penelope! I am glad that the ground beef quesadilla recipe turned out well!