Mouthwatering steak quesadillas made with seasoned flank steak or skirt steak, sauteed onions, and lots of cheese! Serve with a side of salsa, guacamole, and sour cream for the best lunch or dinner ever!
These are the best steak quesadillas you’ll ever make! Filled with lots of melted cheese, sauteed onions, and tender seasoned steak, you’ll be full, happy, and satisfied after eating one of these. What more could you ask for?
Serve everything with a side of shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for the ultimate restaurant experience at home.
Love Quesadillas?
Try these chicken quesadillas, cheese quesadillas, and breakfast quesadillas!
The best meat for steak quesadillas
Flank steak and skirt steak are my favorite cuts of beef for steak quesadillas. They’re easy to work with and fairly inexpensive. Whichever cut of beef you use, make sure to cut it as thinly as possible and against the grain to prevent it from being too chewy. You can also cut it into small bite-sized chunks for easy eating in the quesadillas.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Tortillas – You’ll need 10 (8-inch) medium flour tortillas, also known as “soft taco size.” Each quesadilla will use 2 tortillas. You could use smaller or larger tortillas if you have them, just know that you may need to adjust how many you’ll need in order to use up all the fillings.
Shredded Cheese – You’ll also need some shredded cheese. I used 2 types – mozzarella and Monterey jack – because I like the flavor combination of both, but you can use just one type if you prefer.
Steak – You’ll need about 1 pound of flank or skirt steak. I seasoned mine with a simple blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin.
Onions – I love the addition of sauteed onions to my quesadillas, but you can omit them if you’re not a fan.
How to Make Steak Quesadillas
- Cook the steak: Season the steak with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground cumin on both sides. Then cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 4-8 minutes per side until cooked to your preferred doneness.
- Cook the onions: In the same skillet, saute the onions until softened and translucent.
- Assemble quesadillas: Lay one tortilla flat and layer with shredded cheese, some steak, onions, and then more cheese. Top with one more tortilla and transfer to a skillet.
- Cook quesadillas: Cook the quesadillas over medium heat until the bottom of the tortilla is golden brown. Carefully and quickly flip the tortilla over with the help of a spatula, and cook the other side until the cheese is completely melted.
Tips and Substitutions
- Feel free to use any leftover steak you have in the fridge. Leftovers from steak fajitas or carne asada would be perfect!
- Love spicy food? Saute some sliced poblanos or jalapenos along with the onions to give each quesadilla a kick!
Recommended Tools
- Nonstick skillet. These are my personal favorites. They’re high-quality and worth every penny.
- Box grater. Great for shredding blocks of cheese. This one has a comfortable handle for ease of use.
- Plastic cutting board. My go-to cutting board when handling meats. It’s easy to clean and sanitize.
Storing and Reheating
To store, transfer the cooked tortillas to an airtight zip-top storage bag or container and refrigerate. They will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze, let the cooked quesadillas cool down completely. Then wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped quesadillas in a freezer-safe zip-top bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating them.
To reheat, heat the quesadillas on both sides in a skillet over medium heat until fully warmed through. You can also place them on a baking sheet and heat them in a 350ºF oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through.
Ingredients
For the quesadillas
- 1 lb flank or skirt steak
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 ½ cups shredded monterey jack cheese
- 10 medium (8-inch) flour tortillas
For serving (optional)
- salsa
- guacamole
- sour cream
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. While the skillet is heating up, pat steak dry on both sides with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, combine salt, onion powder, black pepper, cumin, and garlic powder.
- Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over both sides of the steak.
- Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and add the steak. Cook on each side for about 4-8 minutes, depending on how thick the steak is and how “done” you want it to be.
- Remove the steak from the skillet and transfer it to a cutting board to let it rest.
- While the meat is resting, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add the sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, until softened.
- Transfer the onions to a bowl and carefully wipe off the inside of the skillet with a few paper towels until clean. Set aside.
- Uncover the steak and slice it against the grain at an angle into thin slices or into bite-sized chunks.
- In a medium bowl, combine the shredded mozzarella and monterey jack cheeses.
- Assemble the quesadillas by adding 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the bottom of one tortilla, followed by some steak, then onions, and one more 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and then top everything with one more tortilla.
- Place the clean skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Using a spatula, carefully transfer the quesadilla to the skillet.
- Cook the quesadillas for 1-2 minutes, or until the bottom of the quesadilla is golden-brown. Quickly flip over the quesadilla and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until golden-brown and the cheese has fully melted.
- Assemble and cook the remaining quesadillas.
- Serve immediately as is, or cut the quesadillas into fourths. Serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.
Isabel’s Tips:
- Flour tortillas: I used 8-inch medium flour tortillas for this recipe which are commonly referred to as “soft-taco size” tortillas.
- Feel free to use any leftover steak you have in the fridge. Leftovers from steak fajitas or carne asada would be perfect!
- Love spicy food? Saute some sliced poblanos or jalapenos along with the onions to give each quesadilla a kick!
Nutrition Information
This was yummy! Adding the onions gave it a nice touch and my husband loved them too!
Simple recipe; loved it. I made it with leftover rotisserie chicken and grilled steak. Cut up and added thin strips of red pepper to add more veggies. I did add a drop of olive oil to pan and gave it a quick rub around with a paper towel. Also put a cover in pan to help keep in heat and melt cheese. Prepped everything day before so it all came together in just a few minutes. It’s a keeper.
Haven’t cooked yet,just made salsa, quesadillas next
Let us know how they turn out!
Another thing you can do is put butter on the pan before placing the tortilla in it, it helps with browning and makes it taste better
Hi John! Yes that’s a great tip, thanks for sharing!
Absolutely delicious, tried a few of these. Love them. Thank you. Even my kids eat what I have made so far.
Loved, i threw in a green pepper, it was great
Very delicious and easy to follow! I loved the sautéed onions!
I tried the recipe with sharp cheddar and the food cae out perfectly! Thank you!
Sounds delicious! Thanks Andrew!
Loved your recipe!