Pulled Beef Quesadillas – Great Leftover Pulled Beef Recipe

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If you have leftover shredded beef and are looking for a great recipe idea, then you’re going to love these pulled beef quesadillas! It’s going to be your new go to recipe for leftover beef. The most important part of making the best beef quesadilla is to start with amazingly flavored pulled beef. We’ve got you covered there!

Beef Quesadillas sliced up and on a cutting board.
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Beef Chuck Roast is hands down the best cut of beef to make shredded or pulled beef with. The intramuscular connective tissues, when cooked low and slow, become easy to pull into tender shredded juicy morsels. Any time we smoke chuck roast we plan to use it for this beef quesadilla recipe.

Ingredients for Pulled Beef Quesadillas

The ingredients are pretty simple. Feel free to adjust and add your favorite quesadilla ingredients to jazz it up to your liking.

  • Shredded Beef – We use the shredded beef from our shredded beef taco recipe. It’s moist, tender, and frankly outstanding!
  • Large Flour Tortillas – You can substitute with corn as well, but we like how the flour tortillas crisp up and yet remain a little soft on the interior.
  • Red Bell Pepper – We thinly slice the bell peppers to add a little sweet and some crunch with the pulled beef. Also, veggies!
  • Onion – Use whatever you have on hand. We lean towards red onions for this.
  • Cheddar Cheese – It melts easy and has a nice tangy flavor. You can sub with any cheese, but we prefer a mild sharp cheddar.
  • Jalapeños – The touch of spice is a nice addition, this is optional if you like spicy.

Then after it’s done go crazy with your favorite toppings. I like a little sour cream, blender salsa, and some guacamole on my quesadillas.

See recipe card for quantities.

Equipment and Preparation

A griddle or plancha is the best for an even sear on the flour tortilla. If you have cast iron big enough to fit the tortilla in that works well too. Also a sturdy spatula similiar to one you may use for smash burgers is ideal as well.

Pre-slice the peppers, onions, and jalapeños before starting to make them.

How to Make Beef Quesadillas

This recipe is for one quesadilla, multiply the recipe if making more.

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Soften the vegetables before assembling the quesadillas. Just heat them all up together in in a skillet for about 5 minutes to soften.

  1. Preheat your grill pan or plancha to medium heat (around 350 degrees if you used an IR thermometer to measure the temp).
  2. Take the flour tortilla and place shredded beef on one half of the tortilla (like a half moon). On top of the shredded beef add the sliced pepper, onion, and jalapeño evenly. Then add the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla in half.
  3. Place a small amount of butter on the hot pan and move it around to coat the pan as it melts. Then add the quesadilla and cook one side for about 5 minutes and then flip and cook other side for approximately 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the outer edges of the tortilla are browned and crispy.
  4. Remove, slice into wedges and serve with your favorite toppings. Repeat if making more than one taking note to add fresh butter or oil between each beef quesadilla.
Smoked Pulled Beef Quesadillas on a cutting board.

Top tip

This is a great easy and quick weekday dinner idea after smoking up shredded beef on the weekend. Save a portion of the pulled beef for these shredded beef quesadillas.

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In addition to beef quesadillas you can also make the following:

Holding beef quesadillas before eating.

About Vindulge

Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.

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Shredded Beef Quesadilla on a cutting board.
5 from 1 vote

Pulled Beef Quesadillas Recipe

Smoked pulled beef combined with cheddar cheese and cooked on a plancha or grill pan until crispy. Top these incredible pulled beef quesadillas your favorite ingredients like guacamole and sour cream.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Servings: 1 quesadilla
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Ingredients 

  • 1 large flour tortilla
  • 1 cup shredded beef
  • ½ bell pepper, chopped
  • ¼ cup sliced red onions
  • 2 tablespoons sliced jalapeños
  • ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Topping Ideas

Instructions 

  • Preheat your grill pan or plancha to medium heat (around 350 degrees if you used an IR thermometer to measure the temp).
  • Fill: Take the flour tortilla and place shredded beef on one half of the tortilla (like a half moon). On top of the shredded beef add the sliced pepper, onion, and jalapeño evenly. Then add the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla in half.
  • Grill: Place a small amount of butter on the hot pan and move it around to coat the pan as it melts. Then add the quesadilla and cook one side for 5 minutes and then flip and cook other side for approximately 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the outer edges of the tortilla are browned and crispy.
  • Serve: Remove, slice into wedges and serve with your favorite toppings. Repeat if making more than one taking note to add fresh butter or oil between each beef quesadilla.

Notes

Preparation Note: Pre-slice the peppers, onions, and jalapeños before starting to make them.
Optional: If you want softer onion and peppers versus the crispier bite, then saute the peppers and onions in a small pan first. In a small pan over medium heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then the onions and peppers. Stir until soft.

Nutrition

Calories: 1034kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 56g | Fat: 78g | Saturated Fat: 36g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 246mg | Sodium: 747mg | Potassium: 950mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 3103IU | Vitamin C: 115mg | Calcium: 504mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Entree
Cuisine: Mexican American, Tex-mex
Servings: 1 quesadilla
Calories: 1034
Keyword: beef quesadillas, beef quesadillas recipe, leftover pulled beef recipe
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About Mary


I'm Mary, a wine/food/travel writer, Certified Sommelier, mom of twins, former vegetarian turned BBQ fanatic, runner, founder of Vindulge, and author of Fire + Wine cookbook. Thanks for stopping by!

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