This steak quesadilla recipe is a delicious combination of lightly-spiced steak and melty cheese layers wrapped up in a crispy flour tortilla. Serve up the steak quesadillas with plenty of fresh toppings and creamy jalapeño sauce for a colorful, filling, nutritious, and easy meal that the whole family will love. Try refried black beans or elote in a cup for a flavorful side.
We absolutely adore quesadillas at our house and I’m always looking for new and fresh ideas on how to make new versions. If you love them as much as we do, be sure to try my chicken fajita quesadillas, shrimp quesadillas, ground beef quesadillas, and buffalo chicken quesadillas next time!
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
- What You'll Love About Steak Quesadillas
- Steak Quesadillas VIDEO
- Ingredients
- How to Make Steak Quesadillas
- Toppings for Steak Quesadillas
- FAQs
- What do you eat with steak quesadillas?
- Storage Instructions
- What to Serve with Steak and Cheese Quesadillas
- How to Feed a Steak Quesadilla to the Whole Family
- Want More?
- More Quesadilla Recipes
- Let me Meal Plan for you!
What You’ll Love About Steak Quesadillas
- Deliciously flavorful meal
- Satisfying and nutritious
- High in protein
- Made with simple ingredients
- Easy to make
- Just 10 minutes prep time
- Just 15 minutes cook time
Steak Quesadillas VIDEO
Ingredients
This steak and cheese quesadilla recipe is made with basic ingredients:
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, ground cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, sea salt
- Steak – I have used flank steak, but you have a lot of steak options! You can use many cuts of steak for these quesadillas. See the FAQ section below for a more comprehensive list.
- Oil – You’ll want to use a vegetable oil with a high smoke point for cooking the steak. Avocado or canola oil work well.
- Tortillas – Use large, burrito-sized flour tortillas (white or wheat flour). You could also use corn tortillas, if you prefer their flavor, you’ll just need to make a few batches.
- Cheese – I recommend using a Mexican cheese like queso asadero or queso Oaxaca for the best flavor. You could also use shredded Mexican blend, cheddar, even mozzarella or anything that melts well.
How to Make Steak Quesadillas
This is an overview on how to make steak quesadillas, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.
Toppings for Steak Quesadillas
What makes this the best steak quesadilla recipe?! TOPPINGS! They add great flavor and crunch, choose a few (or all!) to add!
- Corn Salsa (Chipotle Copycat)
- Thinly sliced lettuce
- Sliced grape tomatoes
- Chopped red onion
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Pickled jalapeño peppers
- Creamy Quesadilla Sauce
- Pico de gallo
- Sour cream
- Diced avocado
- Guacamole
- Lime juice
FAQs
What kind of steak for quesadillas?
You have many options for steak quesadillas. In my opinion, the best steak for quesadillas is flank steak as it is easy to cook, ends up being really tender, and is a pretty affordable cut. Shaved steak (actually what I originally made this recipe with) is incredibly easy and cooks very quickly. You can also use skirt steak, ribeye, or even leftover steak that’s thinly sliced.
What is the best cheese for quesadillas?
You can use many different cheeses for quesadillas. The most important thing is that you choose a cheese that will melt well. After a trip to Mexico, I started using more authentic Mexican cheeses like queso asadero or queso Oaxaca and I think they add a superior flavor. 🙂 Many grocery stores carry these cheeses, but you can also use a Mexican blend, cheddar cheese, or Monterey jack cheese. I prefer to buy cheese already shredded, but you can also shred your own. Up to you, just make sure to use plenty of cheese!
Do I grease the pan for quesadilla?
Some people grease the pan with butter, oil, or cooking spray before cooking these steak and cheese quesadillas, but I never do as I don’t think it’s necessary and cooking the tortillas right on the pan will get them crispy without oil. Use a nonstick or cast iron skillet. So it’s up to you. 🙂
What do you eat with steak quesadillas?
I like to turn these quesadillas into a full meal by serving them with a ton of toppings, which is usually enough.
But if you’d like to stretch the meal, or serve them with a side, I would recommend refried black beans, elote in a cup, cauliflower Mexi rice, or my Tex-Mex side salad.
How many calories are in a steak quesadilla?
The full nutrition facts can be found below the recipe card, but each quesadilla has about 600 calories.
It’s a pretty filling meal, so you can serve it as a full meal with toppings, or serve 1/2 quesadillas with some sides, depending on appetites.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover quesadillas in the refrigerator for 2-3 minutes. It’s best to make the steak quesadillas fresh, so if you can make just what you need and store the components in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them.
Can you make quesadillas ahead of time?
You can, but quesadillas are best fresh. I would recommend prepping and cooking the components ahead a day or two, but cooking right before serving for the BEST steak quesadillas.
Can you reheat a quesadilla?
If you’re reheating a quesadilla, I recommend cooking in a nonstick skillet until heated through for best results.
If you microwave it, your quesadilla will end up soggy.
Can you freeze a quesadilla?
Yes, you can freeze quesadillas for 2-3 months. Store in a freezer or stasher bag or wrap in plastic wrap. Let thaw overnight and reheat in a hot pan for best results.
What to Serve with Steak and Cheese Quesadillas
I like to serve steak quesadilla recipes like this one with a simple veggie side:
- Black Bean & Corn Salad
- Refried Black Beans
- Fajita Bell Peppers & Onions
- Elote in a Cup
- Corn Salsa
- Frozen Corn – Heat in microwave or hot skillet
How to Feed a Steak Quesadilla to the Whole Family
I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in.
I would recommend serving the flank steak quesadilla deconstructed if they don’t want the steak and cheese together, which is a common occurrence at our house. Or let everyone build their own quesadillas and maybe they eat the components separately, but not together – that’s ok! Serve the meal with a few items you know your kids will eat, like fruit, milk, and/or bread and butter if they don’t do tortillas.
More Quesadilla Recipes
If you like this steak quesadilla recipe, you’ll love my other quesadilla recipes:
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Flank Steak Quesadillas Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Do you know how to make steak quesadillas? The whole family will love this SIMPLE steak quesadillas recipe that’s also loaded with veggies!
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- 1/8 tsp. paprika
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 lb. flank steak
- 1 Tbsp. avocado oil
- 4 flour tortillas (burrito size)
- 12 oz. shredded Mexican cheese (queso asadero or queso Oaxaca)
- fresh toppings (salsa, shredded lettuce, sour cream)
Instructions
- In a small pinch bowl, mix together sea salt, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
- Season steak by sprinkling spice mixture over both sides of the steak and lightly pat into steak.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or grill pan and add steak, cooking for about 4-6 minutes per side. (Because the thickness of steaks will vary, it’s best to use a meat thermometer and cook to 140 degrees F for medium doneness.) Set meat aside and let rest for 10 minutes until thinly slicing.
- Assemble quesadillas. In large skillet over medium heat, layer 1/3 cup shredded cheese on one half of the tortilla. Top with thinly sliced steak and another 1/3 cup shredded cheese.
- Fold over top and cook for about 2-3 minutes, and when cheese starts to melt, carefully flip over with large flipper and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat with remaining 3 quesadillas.
- Cut into wedges and serve with toppings.
Notes
- Topping ideas: shredded lettuce, sliced grape tomatoes, avocado, salsa, sour cream, hot sauce (see list above in post)
- Estimated nutrition facts do not include toppings.
Keywords: steak quesadillas, how to make steak quesadillas, steak and cheese quesadillas
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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sarah k @ the pajama chef
mmm, these look good! they actually remind me of fajita quesadillas with the veggies. i like to make those w/ fajita leftovers but i usually use chicken. 🙂
Emily
You are totally right and that didn’t even cross my mind! Definitely will be stuffing leftover fajitas into quesadillas from now on!
Linda
We also like to add a little shredded cheese as a topping!
★★★★★
Jan
We’ve made these with leftover steak too, super easy!
★★★★★