Air fryer beef quesadillas
Crisp, golden beef and cheese quesadillas for two with no flipping in a hot pan, just a few minutes in the air fryer.
- 25 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $2.97 a serving
- 650 calories
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 8 oz 85/15 ground beef
- 2 flour tortillas
- 1 cup Mexican blend cheese, divided
- 1 tbsp pickled jalapeños (optional)
- ½ cup salsa
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp olive oil
Each serving has about 650 calories, 39 g protein, 28 g carbs and 41 g fat, and costs about $2.97 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No flour tortillas? Whole wheat tortillas work.
- No Mexican blend cheese? Shredded cheddar or cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Cook the beef in a medium over medium-high 6 to 7 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left. Spoon off the fat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and water and cook 1 minute, until the beef is coated.
Medium heat
Heat the air fryer to 375°F for 3 minutes.
Scatter ¼ cup cheese over half of each tortilla, add the beef and jalapeños, top with the rest of the cheese, and fold closed.
Brush the outsides with the oil, lay them in the basket, and pin each one closed with a toothpick.
Dolly’s tip: The fan can flip the top open. A toothpick through the middle keeps it shut.Air fry 4 minutes, flip, and air fry 2 to 3 minutes more, until and crisp.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 6 min 30 sec
Pull out the toothpicks, let them 1 minute, and cut into wedges. Serve with salsa.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 1 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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30-minute dinners ›High-protein dinners ›What to make with ground beef and Mexican blend cheese ›