We love tacos so much. We love quesadillas so much. You see where we’re going here, right?
These babies are wonderful on so many levels. First and foremost, they are unbelievably delicious. But in addition to this, they are so easy to prepare and are perfect for a busy weeknight meal. The kids will flip for them, and so will the adults. Serve with our easy restaurant-quality salsa!
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How To Make Taco Quesadillas
These delicious tacos are quick and easy to make.
They are so adaptable to you and your family’s tastes. Make them big, make them small…however you like!
Once each taco quesadilla is crispy and lightly browned on the outside, simply place them on a baking pan lined with a rack in a low-temp warm to keep them warm.
The Perfect Filling
We love making a super flavorful ground beef taco filling from scratch.
The recipe is not difficult and can easily be made, and even frozen, in advance.
However, there is nothing wrong at all going with your favorite taco seasoning packet from the supermarket.
HEALTHY TIP: To make these tacos healthier, go with ground turkey or chicken. You could also crisp them up in an air-fryer or in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
The Process for Making Taco Quesadillas
First, we recommend grabbing a non-stick skillet. If you don’t have one, no worries, they just make flipping the tacos a little easier, but really, any skillet will do.
Just make sure it’s big enough to hold the full tortilla.
We add about 3 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the hot pan. Add the tortilla, and then on one side, add a layer of grated cheese, a good helping of the taco meat, and then another heap of cheese.
Fold to form a taco. As the taco starts to crisp up, use two forks to carefully flip the taco over.
We love tacos, no doubt. In fact, check out these classic taco recipes:
TexMex Beef Tacos
HomemadeCheesy Gordita Crunch
Carnitas (Pork) Tacos
Mahi Mahi Tacos
Baha Fish Tacos
But, folks, we are crazy in love with quesadillas, too. Quesadillas have as much culinary history as tacos do.
One of our most favorite things in the world to prepare are our chicken quesadillas.
Here is what our chicken quesadilla looks like. It’s as delicious as it is gorgeous!
What to Serve With
Because these tacos are such a quick dish to prepare, you can make it easy on yourself and heat up canned refried beans and a box of quality Mexican rice.
If you have a little extra time and want to make the meal spectacular, go ahead and make it all from scratch with these classic recipes:
Homemade flour tortillas
Authentic refried beans
Best-ever Mexican rice
Restaurant-quality salsa
EXPERT TIP: We find the best accompaniments for the tacos is salsa and sour cream. Place them on a large platter and let your family or guests build their own tacos.
Taco quesadillas have become somewhat of a rage recently, even going viral on TikTok.
We have been making our version for so many years.
It has always been one of these items that we would make when we needed to cheer ourselves up. They are really that yummy.
Ready to make a platter full of deliciousness that your family will be requesting time and time again? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of them, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Taco Quesadillas
Video
Equipment
- Large skillet, preferably non-stick
Ingredients
For the Taco Meat
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno cored and seeded, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground beef 85% lean
- 2 tomatoes chopped, Romas work well
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin ground
- 1½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper ground
- 1 cup dark beer
For the Quesadilla Tacos
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 8 flour tortillas fajita or soft-taco size
- 3 cups cheddar cheese shredded, or Mexican blend
- sour cream for garnish
- homemade salsa for garnish
Instructions
Make the Taco Meat (Can be done in advance)
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and peppers and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Spoon off excess rendered grease and safely discard.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper, with the heat still on. Cook, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes, until the tomatoes have begun to break down somewhat.
- Slowly pour in the beer and cook until the mixture thickens a bit and most of the liquid is gone. Don't let it get too dry. If it looks dry, add a little more beer. Set aside.
Make the Taco Quesadillas
- In a large skillet, preferably non-stick, heat 3 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is shimmering, carefully lay a tortilla into the skillet flat. On one side of the tortilla, add a small handful of the cheese. Spoon on enough of the taco meat to cover the cheese. Add another handful of cheese on top of the meat. Use a couple of forks to pull the other side of the tortilla over the meat and cheese.
- Cook until starting to brown on the bottom. Carefully use the forks (and a spatula, if you prefer) to flip the taco quesadilla over. Cook until both sides are nicely browned and slightly crispy all over. Place the taco on a baking pan lined with a baking rack and keep warm in a low-temp oven. Continue this process until all the meat has been used, adding more oil when needed. Serve warm with sour cream and salsa on the side.
Barbara Snedegar says
Amazing!! I used one jalapeño and half the amount of chili powder and cumin to keep the heat tolerable for me. The taste is off the chart!! I also made your jalapeño popper wontons. Both recipes are keepers, as are all your recipes. I try your recipes all the time. Keep ‘em coming!!!
Kris Longwell says
Hi Barbara! We LOVE that you made the taco quesadillas and made a few modifications to fit your likes! PERFECTION!!! And the jalapeño wontons, too! Woo ho!! Thank you so much for sharing and for the wonderful review! That means the world to us! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Jill says
These are amazing! I use turkey and they come out perfect every time. They have so much flavor with the spices, beer and peppers. Love all your recipes!
Kris Longwell says
Awesome! We make them with ground turkey, too! So so glad you enjoy them and our other recipes! Thank you so so much for sharing and for the AWESOME review! That means the world to us! Stay in touch!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Stephanie Lanzalotto says
I LOVE your recipes. Your amazing chicken salad got us through the lockdown – I made it a million times. These beef quesadillas were so incredible. I made them for my Foodie friends (I used red bell pepper rather than jalapeños because of a person who does not tolerate hot), but they were a huge hit, regardless. Everyone loved them. I serves with fixin’s like sour cream, cilantro, chopped red onion, etc. I made them for another crew three days later. LOVE them. Thank you!
Kris Longwell says
Hi Stephanie! We are so so happy you made the taco quesadillas and had such great success with them! These have been one of our favorite dishes to prepare since we were young! LOL!! And we’re thrilled you’re loving the chicken salad, too! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing and for the wonderful review. That means the world to us!!!! Take care! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Cindy says
Okay guys…just made these quesadillas with ground turkey, and even though I’ve lived all of my 65+ years only in the Northeast, I just have to say it – Y’all these were so delicious! My husband and I agree we wouldn’t find a better tasting version
anywhere. Thanks so much for your easy to follow recipes, videos and most of all your encouragement to try new recipes.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Cindy!! That is so so awesome! We make them with ground turkey all the time! We are so so happy you and your hubby loved them! Those tacos have been a favorite of ours for many, many years. It makes us so happy that you enjoyed them, too. And thank you so much for letting us know! That means the world to us! All the best, Kris & Wesley
kristy turner says
ok guys…(hope you don’t get tired of seeing my name, but y’all are officially my go to site now for new recipes…and life is too short not to try it all!!) yes, made another one this week, since it was one of the Loon’s fav…I had to do it…and OMG!!!! Seriously!! AH-MAZE-ING!!! Once again, the hubby was asking for 2nds and told me how delish these were! I even asked the next day what he thought and he said “oh I loved them and thought they were awesome!’ I’m having so much fun cooking these fabulous recipes! I’ve got my eye on the okra/tomato dish prolly this weekend…love okra and I’m from Texas 🙂 Another one out of the park Kris and Wesley!!
Kris Longwell says
Kristy! We LIVE for seeing your name! You have no idea how happy it makes us to hear the fun you are having in the kitchen!! You are AMAZING!!! Please keep on cookin’ and telling us all about it!! It is pure joy for us to hear all about it!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Mark Hall says
Easy breezy delicious Saturday night dinner. How about you guys try Pho. Would love to see your take on a delicious Vietnamese soup
Kris Longwell says
Hi Mark! So glad you loved the taco quesadillas! Easy and so yummy! We actually have a chicken pho on the blog. Here’s the link: . So good and comforting!!
Holly says
We loved these!
Kris Longwell says
Yay!!! We are so glad you made them and love them!! And thank you for letting us know and for the GREAT review! That means the world to us! Kris & Wesley