Birria Quesadillas (Quesotacos) Made Easy
Crispy, cheesy, saucy perfection. These birria quesadillas are loaded with tender shredded beef, gooey melted cheese, and tortillas fried to golden greatness in that rich, savory consommé. Totally dunkable, ridiculously delicious, and 100% worth making on repeat.
What Is Birria?
Birria is a traditional Mexican stew from Jalisco, originally made with goat but now often with beef or lamb, simmered with chili peppers, garlic, cumin, bay leaves, and thyme, and finished with onion, cilantro, and lime. Perfect for dipping and sharing, it’s also known as quesabirria, quesotacos, or quesadilla de birria.
Ingredients For Birria Quesadillas Recipe
For the Birria Stew: Beef (or goat, for a traditional touch) simmers low and slow with dried chilies, garlic, cumin, thyme, and bay leaves until tender and full of flavor.
For the Quesadillas: Tortillas are brushed with consommé, then filled with shredded birria meat, melty cheese like Oaxaca or mozzarella, and fresh toppings like onion and cilantro.
How to Make Birria Quesadillas
Season and brown the meat until tender, then blend chilies, garlic, cumin, and thyme into a rich sauce. Dip tortillas in the sauce, fill with shredded meat and cheese, and fold. Toast on a skillet until crispy and melty, then serve with onions, cilantro, lime, and extra birria broth for dipping.
Keesha’s Tips & Tricks
- How to Thicken Birria Sauce: Simmer the leftover sauce over medium heat to reduce it. The longer it cooks, the thicker and richer it becomes.
- Pick the Right Meat: Beef chuck or short ribs are perfect for tenderness, but goat or lamb give a traditional flavor.
- Cheese Options for Quesadillas: Mozzarella, Oaxaca, or Cotija are great melty options. You can also go with other types like Havarti, Fontina, Gouda, or Cheddar.
- Strain the Consommé: For dipping or brushing, strain out any bits for a smooth, velvety sauce that soaks into the tortilla just right.
How to Store Birria Quesadillas
Store leftover birria quesadillas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet until crispy or microwave for a quick fix. To freeze, let them cool, wrap well, and store for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
FAQs about Birria Quesadillas
More Delicious Recipes
Love Mexican comfort food? Try this cozy Sopa de Albóndigas con Fideo, hearty Bistec con Papas, or creamy Sopa Fría de Coditos next!
Birria Quesadillas with Juicy Beef
Ingredients
- Olive oil,for frying
- 1 1/2 pound chuck roast
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshlyground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-2 Tbsp chili powder of your choice (see tips)
- 3/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 cup boiling water
- 4 tsp white vinegar
QuesadillaTacos
- 1 1/2 –2 cups stretch cheese, shredded
- Spring onions, for garnish
- Spring onions, for garnish
- Fresh cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare your meat and marinade
- To start, heat some olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, season the chuck roast with ground salt and black pepper.
- Add the chuck roast to the pan and fry it on each side for about 2 minutes, or until it becomes beautifully browned. Remove it from the heat and set it aside.
- Next, lower the heat of the pan to medium. Add more oil if needed. Then, add the onions and sweat them for 2 minutes.
- Then, add the minced garlic and spices to the onions. Give these ingredients a good stir while they fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of water and vinegar to the ingredients. Mix them well and allow the mixture to come to a simmer.
- Remove the base from the heat and add it to a blender. Blend the ingredients together at alow speed. This will be your marinade.
Cook the Birria stew
- Cut your browned chuck roast into a couple of big pieces. Then, add it into your instant pot with the marinade. Ensure that all the meat is covered well with the spicy mixture.
- Put the instant pot or your regular pot at a high and cook your meat for 45 minutes. After the time has elapsed, allow the steam to release slowly over 10-15 minutes. During this time, the meat will continue cooking.
- Once the pot is ready to be opened, remove the meat from the concentrated sauce and set it aside.
- Shred the meat into chunky pieces and place it inside a bowl.
Assemble the Birria quesadillas
- Dip each corn tortilla into the concentrated beef sauce in the instant pot.
- Then, take a big scoop of shredded Birria meat and place it inside a folded tortilla. Top it with the shredded cheese of your choice.
- Finally, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Then, place the folded and filled tortilla inside the pan. Allow the tortilla to toast for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt.
- Serve your quesadilla Birria immediately with come extra Birria sauce on the side. You can garnish each with more sliced spring onions and fresh cilantro.
Delicious recipe! Love that we can make this as spicy as we like!
Thank you very much for the nice feedback, I’m glad you like it!