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Carne Asada Quesadillas combine grilled flank steak with peppers, onions, the best refried beans, cheese, and tortillas. Serve these with chunky guacamole and cilantro lime rice for a complete Tex-Mex dinner!

Try my Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas next!

Side shot of a plate of two stacked quesadillas with rice.

Best Steak Quesadillas

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 carne asada
Bursting with peppers and onions
Perfectly cheesy
With a slight kick from the restaurant-style refried beans!

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. 😀

What is carne asada?

Carne asada is simply, grilled and sliced beef. You can use a variety of steak – flank steak (in this recipe), skirt steak, sirloin steak, tenderloin steak, or rib steak. It is usually cooked with a marinade and is seared to impart a charred flavor. You can serve carne asada as a main dish or use it as part of a recipe (like these quesadillas).

Overhead view of eight steak quesadillas.

Ingredients Notes:

Steak – You’ll need a nice flank steak for these quesadillas. We grill all year round here in Texas so that’s normally how we cook it.
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, bell peppers (any color), and jalapeno pepper for the veggie sauté. Other options would be to use mushrooms, zucchini, or even some frozen corn.
Restaurant Style Refried Beans – We eat these on the regular and you’ll be surprised how tasty they are. We also dip chips in this recipe!
Shredded Cheese – Any kind of cheese works, but I prefer Mexican cheese or Pepper Jack.
Tortillas – I used lower carb (taco-size) flour tortillas for my quesadillas. You could use whatever you have on hand.

Side shot of two plates of quesadillas and rice.

How to make Carne Asada Quesadillas:

Step 1
Make marinade. In a mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients – the olive oil, garlic powder, ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour marinade over the steak – in a storage bag or airtight container.

Step 2
Refrigerate. Place meat in refrigerator for a couple of hours. If you marinate overnight, don’t add the lime until a couple hours before grilling.

Step 3
Let meat come to almost room temp. Set the meat out an hour or so before grilling. You want the meat to be almost room temp.

Step 4
Grill. Light a grill to 400 degrees and place steak on grates. Cook until the meat reaches 140 degrees (via a digital thermometer). You decide if you want your meat to be more done or rare.

Step 5
Rest meat and slice. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes, and then slice ACROSS THE GRAIN.

NOTE: If you use leftover carne asada for quesadillas, I slice it thin and then warm up in a skillet.

A big green egg grill with a marinated flank steak.

Step 6
Sauté peppers and onions. Thinly slice the peppers and onions. Heat a 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.

A skillet of sautéed peppers and onions.

Step 7
Make refried beans. Saute the onion and jalapeños in a cast iron over medium high heat. When softened, add garlic, salt, pepper, and ground cumin. Cook for another minute and then add beans. Simmer until hot.

Add the bean mixture to a food processor. Add the butter and lime juice and pulse until very creamy. If needed, add more lime or water to thin.

A food processor of pinto beans, sautéed veggies, and butter.

A spoonful of refried beans in a bowl of beans.

Step 8
Assemble quesadillas. Take a flour tortilla, spread about a few tablespoons of the bean mixture on top, smoothing out on half of the tortilla. Then add some peppers and onions, strips of steak, and then cheese. Fold the tortilla over to form an envelope. Repeat this for the remaining quesadillas.

Step 9
Cook. Heat up a cast iron skillet to medium heat and add a little bit of oil. Add one or two quesadillas at a time (depending on how big your skillet is) and grill on both sides until nice and browned.

A board of the tortillas with toppings to make quesadillas.

Step 10
Serve. Slice quesadillas in half and serve with sides of your choice. See below for ideas!

Overhead shot of a plate of quesadillas, with guacamole and rice.

What to serve with Quesadillas

I have some delicious side dishes for you to pair with these Carne Asada Quesadillas!

Closeup on a bowl of guac and chips, with a spoon.

Overhead shot of a bowl of Mexican Street Corn salad, with a wooden spoon.

Best Margaritas to serve with Tex-Mex:

Side view of two frozen margaritas with limes.

Expert Tips

If making these with leftover flank steak, slice it thin and heat up quickly in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
You may not use all of the ingredients for eight medium-sized quesadillas, so either make more or eat the remainder in burrito bowls instead.
I recommend prepping the beans a day in advance for easier prep.
Instead of using carb balance tortillas, you can use any type you prefer. We like using a whole wheat tortilla too.

A board of just made carne asada quesadillas, with a plate of guacamole.

xoxo ~Sue