My Steak Quesadilla Recipe combines sautéed skirt steak with peppers, onions, a black bean mixture, cheese, and tortillas. Serve these with chunky guacamole and cilantro lime rice for a complete Tex-Mex dinner!
We are all about our Tex-Mex, and I’m convinced that you can have your own little fiesta in the comforts of your home, for far less cost. These steak quesadillas? They are SO many things.
- Full of steak fajita meat
- Bursting with peppers and onions
- Perfectly cheesy
- With a slight kick from the beans and chipotle peppers
Make your own quesadillas, and maybe a little extra (adjust recipe size via the serving size in the recipe below) so you can eat leftovers all week long. 😀
Ingredients needed for Steak Quesadillas:
- Steak – You’ll need a nice skirt steak for these quesadillas. You can choose to slice it before sautéing, or afterward. Flank steak can also be used in this recipe.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, cumin, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper PLUS olive oil – are needed to sauté the steak.
- Veggies – Go with yellow onion, green bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper for the veggie sauté. Other options would be to use mushrooms, zucchini, or even some frozen corn.
- Black Bean Mixture – You’ll need a can of black beans, two chipotle peppers (in adobe sauce), and some prepared salsa. This recipe includes the seeds (I promise it won’t make these too spicy..), but you could also leave them out.
- Shredded Cheese – Any kind of cheese works, but I prefer Mexican cheese or Pepper jack.
- Tortillas – I used six lower carb (taco-size) flour tortillas for my quesadillas. You could use whatever you have on hand.
How to make Steak Quesadillas:
For the steak:
- Take the skirt steak, and slice thinly (but not too thin) against the grain. Season with the garlic powder, cumin, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. You can also cook the entire steak and slice after it’s cooked. Just make sure you let it rest before slicing.
- Heat up a cast iron skillet
over medium high heat. Add olive oil and when it’s hot, add the sliced steak. Brown the steak on all sides, careful to avoid over-cooking. When done, remove from skillet and let rest.
For the peppers and onions:
- Thinly slice the peppers and onions. Wipe the skillet clean, and heat another tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.
- Add peppers and onions, a little bit of salt and pepper, and cook until softened. This should take approximately 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat.
For the beans:
- Rinse the beans and drain them in a colander. Pour them into a mixing bowl, and add the diced chipotle peppers and a couple tablespoons of prepared salsa. The seeds from the chipotle peppers aren’t all that spicy, but you could definitely leave them out by cutting the peppers in half and spooning out the seeds.
- Mash everything together with a fork or a potato masher
, and stir to combine.
To assemble and cook:
- Take a flour tortilla, spread about 1/3 of the bean mixture on top, smoothing out to almost the edges. Then add 1/3 of the sautéed steak and 1/3 of the cooked peppers and onions, distributing them evenly over the beans. Add some shredded cheese, and top with another tortilla. Repeat this for the remaining two quesadillas.
- To cook, heat up the cast iron skillet
with a little more olive oil. Then carefully add one of the quesadillas and cook until one side is browned. Carefully flip to cook the other side, and then remove from skillet. Repeat this for the remaining two quesadillas.
- Serve steak fajita quesadillas with some chunky guacamole and a side of cilantro lime rice.
Have a busy work week ahead?
Prep ahead by slicing the steak and veggies in advance, and making the bean mixture up. Store everything in bowls in the refrigerator, and then dinner is a snap!
Besides the chunky guac and the cilantro lime rice, there are a couple of other sides you could make that go well with these quesadillas.
Also, you can’t have Tex-Mex without a good margarita!
FAQ
What kind of steak is best for Steak Quesadillas?
Skirt steak is most commonly used for steak quesadillas, but you could use flank steak as well.
How do I cut skirt steak?
Since skirt steak has a lot of tough fibers running throughout and is fairly lean, cut it against the grain for maximum tenderness.
Make this pumpkin recipe next: Texas Sheet Cake Brownies
Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.
xoxo ~Sue
Steak Quesadilla Recipe
Ingredients
For the steak:
- 3/4 pound skirt steak – sliced into strips against the grain
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoons olive oil
For the onions and peppers:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion – sliced thin
- 1/2 medium green bell pepper – sliced thin
- 1/2 medium yellow bell pepper – sliced thin
For the beans:
- 15 oz. black beans – rinsed and drained
- 2 whole chipotle peppers – diced
- 2 Tablespoons salsa
To assemble and cook:
- 4 oz. shredded Mexican cheese
- 6 taco sized tortillas – I use carb balance
Serve with:
- chunky guacamole
- cilantro lime rice
Instructions
For the steak:
- Slice the skirt steak into thin strips, against the grain. Season with garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- In a large cast iron skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the steak, and cook until cooked to your desired doneness, moving the steak around in the skillet occasionally. Remove from heat and let rest.
For the peppers and onions:
- Wipe the skillet clean, and add another tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and peppers, and cook until softened, approximately 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat.
For the beans:
- Rinse and drain the beans in a colander. Pour them in a mixing bowl, and add the diced chipotle peppers and a couple tablespoons of prepared salsa. Mash with a fork (or a potato masher) until everything is well combined.
To assemble and cook:
- Take a tortilla, spread about 1/3 of the bean mixture over top, smoothing out to all areas. Add about 1/3 of the steak and 1/3 of the peppers and onions. Then add some shredded cheese on top, and cover with another tortilla. Repeat for the remaining two quesadillas.
- Heat up a cast iron skillet (or other) to medium heat. Add some oil, and one of the quesadillas, being careful to not let any ingredients fall out. Cook until browned on one side, and then carefully flip to the other. Repeat with remaining two quesadillas.
- Serve quesadillas with chunky guacamole and cilangro lime rice (from my blog)! Enjoy!
Family hit. Easy to make and taste delicious ?.
Hi Lori! I’m SO glad you enjoyed the quesadillas! We love our Tex-Mex. 🙂 Thanks for your feedback, as always!
I love this recipe for lunch or dinner. Tastes amazing every time. Easy meal prep when taking lunch to work!