In just 15 minutes, this show-stopping, family-friendly recipe for Carnitas Quesadillas is ready to eat!
For this easy, one-pan recipe, you can use leftovers for the meat of the quesadillas and choose your own toppings. Some suggestions include sour cream, salsa, guacamole, shredded cheese, beans, and scallions. Any time I can recreate a new dish using last night’s leftovers and the kids are not groaning with boredom is a win for me. My favorite meat to use for this recipe is shredded pork, but you can use shredded rotisserie chicken, ground beef or ground turkey. I’m a big fan of mixing textures, so the hot shredded meat and melted cheese bundled up inside the pan-warmed tortilla, topped with the cool, smooth sour cream and fresh salsa, is as close to a perfect meal as one can get.
You can use small tortillas and make each quesadilla individually, or use the larger burrito tortillas and fold them over while cooking to turn them into a half-moon-sized entree. Also, when you are reheating your meat, to add back in some much needed moisture, you can use chicken broth or beer for an extraordinary kick. This recipe will transport you and your family on a weeknight trip to Mexico. It combines great taste with healthy options: you have your vegetables, your protein, your carbohydrates and your dairy all folded into one adorable, easy-to-eat (even with your hands) dinner that embraces Mexican cuisine. You can even use it to replace Taco Tuesday!
Family Quesadilla Night
Just like the ingredients used for this recipe, the cooking method is up to you. You can choose to use a regular frying pan or you can kick it up a notch and use a panini maker. Be careful not to overfill the tortilla. The panini option melts the cheese nicely and binds all the ingredients together tightly to create a flatter, crispier option. My kids love to use the panini press and are always awed by its speed. However you choose to heat your tortillas, I recommend eating them while they are fresh and hot; they tend to be a little soggy when reheated.
You can also explain to your kids that, in a true Mexican quesadilla, the cheese used is queso Oaxaca, which is a type of special Mexican cheese similar in consistency to Italian mozzarella cheese. Oaxaca has a stringy texture when melted, which makes it a perfect ingredient for this authentic dish.
How do I prep and store these quesadillas?
A freezer-friendly recipe, these quesadillas are easy to make ahead of time. Just prepare whatever meat you choose to use, season it, and fully cook it. Freeze for up to three months. You can prepare entire quesadillas ahead of time. They will stay in the refrigerator for up to five days. The trick is to quickly place them in the frying pan to heat them up and give them a crunchy texture.
Should you use butter or oil to make the quesadillas?
Using oil instead of butter will promote browning and create that crispy exterior you are looking for; however, butter can be used in a pinch. Be careful though, butter tends to burn more quickly than oil.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is meant to be quick and easy and that’s just what it is. Serve it on a weeknight when the kids have practice or make it as a fun Friday night tradition instead of pizza. You can pair it up with this delicious cornbread recipe, which is easy to make ahead of time. It also goes well with this baked rice recipe. Whatever you choose to put in, on, or beside your quesadillas, they promise to be fun, fast, family favorites that everyone will look forward to preparing and eating.
Carnitas Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups cooked shredded pork
- 2 large flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, warm the shredded pork until it's slightly crisped, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside. Reduce heat to medium.
- Melt half the butter in the skillet, swirling to coat the surface. Place one tortilla in the skillet and sprinkle half the cheese over it.
- Add half the black beans and half the crisped pork on top of the cheese. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is golden brown.
- Fold the tortilla in half to form the quesadilla. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining ingredients for the second quesadilla.
- Cut each quesadilla in half and serve hot with optional sides like sour cream, guacamole, Pico de Gallo, shredded lettuce, or corn salsa.
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