The Ultimate Cheeseburger Quesadillas: Your New Weeknight Hero
A fusion dish that packs the classic flavors of a cheeseburger into a crispy quesadilla. Seasoned ground beef and shredded cheddar cheese are layered into a flour tortilla, along with optional dill pickle chips, and then pan-fried until golden brown and melted. The quesadillas are served with a homemade ‘special sauce’ and a simple iceberg wedge salad on the side.
- Prep Time: 18 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Pan-Frying
- Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients
- For the special sauce:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the quesadillas:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 24 dill pickle chips (optional)
- For the wedge salads:
- 1 head Iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 4 wedges
- 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the Special Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle juice, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste (the recipe suggests ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Set aside.
- Cook the Beef: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef until browned and cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the fat from the skillet well.
- Assemble and Cook the Quesadillas: Wipe out the skillet, coat it with nonstick spray, and heat over medium heat.
- Working with one tortilla at a time, place it in the skillet. On one half of the tortilla, layer ½ cup of cheese and ¼ of the cooked beef. Top with pickle slices, if using.
- Sprinkle the other half of the tortilla with another ½ cup of cheese.
- Fold the tortilla in half and cook for about 2 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the bottom is golden brown.
- Flip the quesadilla and continue cooking until the second side is golden brown and all the cheese has melted.
- Transfer the cooked quesadilla to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and fillings.
- Serve: Cut each quesadilla in half. To serve, place two halves on each of four plates. Add one wedge of iceberg lettuce to each plate and top the salads with chopped shallots and tomatoes. Drizzle both the quesadillas and the salads with the special sauce. Serve with extra sauce on the side if desired.
Notes
- The recipe notes that the full text contains additional information regarding the ground beef (note 1), pickles (note 2), and lettuce (note 3).
- Draining the cooked ground beef well is important to prevent greasy quesadillas.
- Wiping out the skillet after cooking the beef ensures the quesadillas don’t burn from leftover browned bits.
Find it online: https://cookupjoy.com/cheeseburger-quesadillas/