Steak Quesadillas (Printable)
Grilled steak and melted cheese in crispy golden tortillas, ready in 35 minutes.
# What You'll Need:
→ Meat
01 - 12 oz flank steak or sirloin, trimmed
02 - 1 tbsp olive oil
03 - 1 tsp chili powder
04 - 1/2 tsp ground cumin
05 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Vegetables
06 - 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
07 - 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
08 - 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced (optional)
→ Cheese
09 - 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
→ Tortillas
10 - 4 large (10-inch) flour tortillas
→ To Serve
11 - Sour cream
12 - Salsa
13 - Fresh cilantro, chopped
14 - Lime wedges
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Rub the steak with olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Grill for 3–4 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until desired doneness. Transfer to a cutting board and rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.
02 - In the same pan, add the sliced bell pepper, onion, and jalapeño. Sauté over medium-high heat until softened and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
03 - Lay each flour tortilla flat. On one half, layer sliced steak, sautéed vegetables, and shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla in half to enclose the filling.
04 - Wipe the pan clean and return to medium heat. Cook each quesadilla for 2–3 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until the tortilla is golden brown and the cheese is fully melted.
05 - Transfer quesadillas to a cutting board and cut into wedges. Serve immediately with sour cream, salsa, chopped cilantro, and lime wedges.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The char on the steak paired with gooey melted cheese creates a texture contrast that keeps every bite interesting.
- Everything cooks in one pan, which means cleanup is almost nonexistent and you get those concentrated flavors building on each other.
- They are endlessly adaptable, so you can tweak the heat level, swap proteins, or raid the fridge for whatever vegetables need using up.
02 -
- Slicing against the grain is not a suggestion with flank steak, it is the difference between chewy and tender, so look at the lines running through the meat and cut perpendicular to them.
- Wiping the pan between the vegetable sauté and quesadilla toasting prevents burnt pepper bits from sticking to your tortillas and making them bitter.
03 -
- Let the cheese come to room temperature before assembling so it melts faster and more evenly inside the quesadilla.
- Press down gently with your spatula while the first side cooks because it helps the layers bond together and prevents the filling from sliding out when you flip.