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These birria quesadillas are a simple way to use up extra birria meat. All you need are flour tortillas and cheese, though I highly recommend pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream to top it all off!
One of the questions I most often see in my inbox is: How do I use up leftover birria meat from your quesabirra tacos recipe? There are tons of ways to use the extras. But today we are going to talk about making quesadillas, which if you ask me, are the ultimate vehicle for leftovers.
As I’ve mentioned before, growing up my mother would save even the smallest bits of leftovers to use later. We didn’t have a lot during my childhood, but we always had tortillas and boy did my mom know how to use them. We made all sorts of things into quesadillas, tacos, and burritos!
Often quesadillas are made with one flour tortilla folded in half, but because I wanted these to be a meal in and of themselves I used two flour tortillas to make big and filling quesadillas.
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make these birria quesadillas. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.
- Birria stew meat – You are just going to use the meat, not leftover consumme. So strain the meat so that it isn’t too liquidy. You can sub birria meat for other meaty leftovers too, like extra pot roast meat or roast chicken. Quesadillas aren’t finnicky.
- Flour tortillas – I used 2 tortillas per quesadilla, but you could also use one tortilla. Just place your fillings one side, then fold the tortilla in half to cook.
- Monterrey Jack or Cheddar cheese – Feel free to sub your favorite melty cheese and to use more or less, according to your preferences. To be honest, I am always in favor of more cheese.
- Pico de Gallo – This is a quick homemade salsa. You can also use your favorite storebought salsa if you prefer.
- Guacamole – Homemade or storebought.
- Sour cream – Not 100% neccessary, but super tasty and highly recommended.
How to Make Birria Quesadillas
Ok, are you ready to make quesadillas? This simple recipe makes 2 large quesadillas:
- Heat a griddle or large pan over medium-high heat.
- For each quesadilla, you will need about 3/4 cup cheese and 1/3 – 1/2 cup stew meat. Make sure the meat is not soupy, you just want to use the meat from your birria stew. Feel free to adjust the amounts according to your preferences.
- Assemble the quesadillas. Place a flour tortilla on the griddle. Add half of the cheese, then the birra meat, then the remaining half of the cheese. Spread it all around a bit so that the entire tortilla is covered. Add another tortilla on top. If you want your quesadilla to be extra cheesy feel free to add more cheese.
- Cook the quesadillas. Cook until the cheese has melted on the bottom layer, and the bottom of the quesadilla is a bit golden and crispy. Flip over with a spatula and cook on the other side until the cheese has melted and the tortilla is crispy.
- Cut into triangles. Remove to a plate and cut each quesadilla into 4 triangles by just running a pizza cutter or knife down the middle of each quesadilla length-wise and width-wise.
- Serve! Top with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.
What Goes with Quesadillas?
You don’t really need to serve anything with these quesadillas. Between the size of each quesadilla and the toppings, it’s definitely a full meal! But if you wanted to make something to serve on the side, this Instant Pot Mexican Rice or this Not So Dirty Rice would be tasty picks.
Now drinks, that is a different story because I’m always in favor of mixing up a quick sip to treat yourself. If you’re looking for something boozy, I recommend this apple cider margarita or this pineapple margarita. For the kids or if you just don’t want anything with alcohol, I love this easy Mango Lemonade.
Can I Save Extras for Later?
You can save leftover quesadillas for later provided you haven’t added the toppings directly onto the quesadillas. The guacamole will brown and the pico de gallo will make the quesadilla soggy, so I don’t store extra quesadillas with fixings. But if you have leftovers that don’t have any toppings on them you can definitely save them for later.
To store extras, let the quesadillas cool to room temperature then place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can store full quesadillas or leftover quesadilla triangles this way.
Reheating Quesadillas
When you’re ready to reheat your quesadillas, I recommend placing each one on a griddle or skillet and heating it over medium-low heat until warmed through. You can also use the microwave, but the tortilla will soften a lot so I still recommend finishing the reheating process on the stovetop to recapture some of that fresh quesadilla crispiness.
PrintBirria Quesadillas
These birria quesadillas are a simple way to use up extra birria meat. All you need are flour tortillas and cheese, though I highly recommend pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream to top it all off!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 2/3 – 1 cup leftover birria stew meat
- 4 Flour tortillas (2 tortillas per quesadilla)
- 1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack or Cheddar cheese, you can use more to taste
- Pico de gallo salsa, for serving
- Guacamole, for serving
- Sour cream, for serving
Instructions
Prep your tools. Heat a griddle or large pan over medium-high heat.
Assemble your ingredients. For each quesadilla, you will need about 3/4 cup cheese and 1/3 – 1/2 cup stew meat. Make sure the meat is not soupy, you just want to use the meat from your birria stew. Feel free to adjust the amounts according to your preferences.
Assemble the quesadillas. Place a flour tortilla on the griddle. Add half of the cheese, then the birra meat, then the remaining half of the cheese. Spread it all around a bit so that the entire tortilla is covered. Add another tortilla on top. If you want your quesadilla to be extra cheesy feel free to add more cheese.
Cook the quesadillas. Cook until the cheese has melted on the bottom layer, and the bottom of the quesadilla is a bit golden and crispy. Flip over with a spatula and cook on the other side until the cheese has melted and the tortilla is crispy.
Cut into triangles. Remove to a plate and cut each quesadilla into 4 triangles by just running a pizza cutter or knife down the middle of each quesadilla length-wise and width-wise.
Serve! Top with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.
Last Step:
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