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This cheeseburger quesadilla recipe is a weeknight staple in our house. Crispy tortillas, melty cheese, and savory ground beef all packed into one bite! Includes a recipe for my simple 3-ingredient dipping sauce. Ready in under 30 minutes! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Easy Cheeseburger Quesadillas
I’ve been making this cheeseburger quesadilla recipe for months and thought it was about time I shared it here. It’s so easy and one of Zach’s favorites, especially when we use my super soft homemade flour tortillas!
So what exactly is a cheeseburger quesadilla? It’s a golden and crisp flour tortilla folded around a cheesy, beefy cheeseburger filling. Like a burger, but crispier, cheesier, and made for dipping. We serve ours with a dipping sauce (recipe included here!), and the combination has quickly become a weeknight staple for us.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Minimal ingredients (including the sauce!), and most will already be in your fridge.
- Weeknight-friendly crowd-favorite. Just 15 minutes of EASY prep with minimal chopping! I also include suggestions for quick and easy sides, like my oven roasted potatoes, pasta salad, broccoli salad, or Mexican street corn salad.
- Leftovers reheat well in the air fryer (if you even have any leftovers, that is!).
- Includes a perfectly paired 3-ingredient dipping sauce that’s a slight variation of what I use in my smash burger recipe. It really completes the dish!
What You Need
Nothing too complicated here, mostly some burger basics and quesadilla essentials.
- Ground beef. I typically use 90/10. While a higher fat percentage does make for even more flavorful results, the meat is also a lot greasier and can make the quesadillas soggy.
- Chopped onion. I like onion on my cheeseburgers, so I include them in my quesadillas. If you don’t care for onion, simply omit it, no other recipe changes needed.
- Dill pickles. Finely chop these for both the filling and for the sauce. A dill pickle relish could also work instead of pickles!
- Ketchup, mustard, & mayo. For a sugar free/”clean” ketchup, use Primal Kitchen brand. I’ve made this recipe with both Heinz and Primal Kitchen and both work great.
- Cheese. I like to use a mild cheddar, the flavor works nicely against the beef and it melts more smoothly than a sharp cheddar. While I often shred my own (just like whem making my crispy chicken tacos), it’s not strictly necessary here. Adding some Monterey jack in with the cheddar will create a creamier experience, or you can use American cheese for even more creaminess.
- Flour tortillas. While we prefer using my homemade flour tortilla recipe (new recipe I just shared!, store-bought will certainly work and will make things faster and easier for busy weeknights.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Sam’s Tip
If you want to serve your cheeseburger quesadilla with lettuce and tomato, I suggest either adding them on top after cooking or pulling the finished quesadillas apart and sprinkling them inside. Don’t add them before cooking!
How to Make Cheeseburger Quesadillas (Step-by-Step)
- Make the sauce. Stir together the ketchup, mayo, and diced pickles. Cover and place in the fridge to let the flavors meld while you prepare your quesadillas.
- Cook the filling. Cook the onions until softened, then add the beef. Season and crumble the beef until browned, then drain any excess grease. Stir in the ketchup, mustard, and pickles until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Assemble. Grab your first tortilla and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese over half. Add a heaping ⅓ cup ground beef, then top with more cheese. Fold the tortilla over to cover the filling. Repeat with your remaining tortillas.
- Cook. Grease your skillet, and once hot, gently lower in a quesadilla or two, pressing down on top. Cook until the cheese is melty and each side is a nice golden brown color. Remove (I like to keep mine warm in the oven til I’m done cooking them all!), cut in half, and serve with your prepared dipping sauce.
Sam’s Tip
This recipe can make either 6 large (well stuffed!) or 8 smaller, not-so-stuffed quesadillas. If you are making 8, use less of the meat mixture per quesadilla (closer to ⅓ cup).
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer a mild cheddar, but American cheese (a classic burger pairing) or a blend of cheddar and Monterey jack would work just fine as well. Note that for the best melting, I do recommend shredding your own cheese (unless you are using American, which typically can’t be shredded).
I keep it easy and just fold my tortilla in half. I’ll add all of my ingredients to one half of the tortilla, then fold the rest of the tortilla overtop.
I make a dipping sauce similar to what you’d find on a smash burger or Big Mac; it’s a mixture of ketchup, mayo, and diced dill pickles. Feel free to use your favorite sauce though! Classic homemade ranch dressing, spicy ranch dressing, or even BBQ ranch would also be good here.
Serve Your Quesadillas With:
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Enjoy!
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Prepare the sauce first so the flavors have time to meld. Combine mayo, ketchup, and pickles, stir well, cover, and refrigerate while you prepare the quesadillas.
¼ cup (56 g) mayonnaise, 2 Tablespoons ketchup, 3 Tablespoons finely chopped dill pickles
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Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat and add oil. Once shimmering, add onion and cook until softened/translucent.
1 Tablespoon cooking oil, ⅓ cup (47 g) finely chopped yellow onion
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Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, crumbling, until browned. Drain excess grease well to prevent soggy tortillas.
1 lb (453 g) ground beef, Salt and pepper
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Add ketchup and mustard and stir until well incorporated.
3 Tablespoons ketchup, 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
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Stir in pickles. Remove from heat.
½ cup (98 g) finely chopped dill pickles
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Lay a flour tortilla flat and sprinkle one half of the tortilla with about 2 Tablespoons of cheese (this will give you 8 quesadillas, you can use a bit more if you’re only making 6 tortillas). Top with about ⅓ cup ground beef mixture (again, feel free to use a bit more if you’re making 6 quesadillas) and sprinkle with another 2 Tablespoons cheese. Fold the bare half of the tortilla over the cheese to cover the filling.
6-8 8” flour tortillas, 8 oz (g) mild shredded cheddar cheese
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Heat a clean 10” (or larger) skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add about a half teaspoon of oil or butter and spread evenly over the skillet.
Oil or butter
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Gently place quesadilla into heated skillet (if I use a 10” skillet I can usually cook 2 at a time) and gently press down. Cook for several minutes until golden brown (keep an eye on yours as stove temps vary and you don’t want to burn it!), then carefully flip and cook on the other side until cheese is melty and tortilla is golden brown.
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Remove to a plate, cut in half, and serve with the sauce (I serve it on the side for dipping, but you can drizzle it over the quesadillas or even pull one apart and spoon some inside!). Enjoy!
Yield
This recipe will make 8 smaller or 6 more hefty quesadillas. If making 6, I use about a heaping 1/3 cup of the meat mixture per tortilla.
Cheese
I usually use a mild cheddar, but a shredded Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, or even American cheese would work great here.
Keeping warm
Since I can typically only cook 2 quesadillas at a time, I like to have a way to keep them warm while the rest are cooking. I will preheat my oven to 200F (95C), set a wire rack on a baking sheet and place the quesadillas in an even layer on the rack so they stay crisp (don’t stack them or they’ll get soggy).
Storing/reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow them to cool completely before storing to help them from getting soggy. For bet results, reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through and the tortillas are crisp again.
You can also reheat in the oven (about 350F/175C) for about 10 minutes or in the air fryer for a few minutes.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 866mg | Potassium: 345mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 486IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 341mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.