The Best Cheeseburger Quesadillas
Your high-protein dinner never tasted so good! Try these quick and easy cheeseburger quesadillas for a healthy dinner the family will love.
Imagine biting into a satisfying cheeseburger… Except this one is easier, healthier, and in the form of a crispy quesadilla.
That’s exactly what you’re getting in these nourishing cheeseburger quesadillas. They’ve got all the flavor and satisfaction of your favorite fast food burger but with a little more nutrition. You’ll love this quick and easy meal for a healthy, high-protein dinner you can make on busy weeknights.
Learn how to prepare these delicious cheeseburger quesadillas and read for expert tips, swaps, and notes to make this your best meal yet.
Why you’ll love cheeseburger quesadillas
High protein: Each quesadilla contains an impressive 38 grams of protein to keep you full, support your muscles, and aid in weight loss.
Easy: These crisp and golden quesadillas can be made in 15-minutes.
Customizable: I’ve included detailed notes so you can swap and add ingredients to suit your health goals and preferences.
Actually tasty: Me and my picky husband loved this nourishing weeknight meal.
Great for meal prep: You can make all four quesadillas in advance and reheat daily, or you can prep ingredients to assemble fresh each day.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these healthy cheeseburger quesadillas:
- Cooked ground beef — cook this with salt and pepper in advance, and make sure you’ve absorbed any excess liquid/fat with a paper towel
- Ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard — you’ll mix these with the beef, and you can add any amount or ratio of these condiments as you want
- Cooking spray — this is optional for adding a nice crisp to your quesadillas
- Whole wheat tortillas — or sub with any high fiber tortilla you enjoy
- Shredded sharp cheddar — swap with other cheese if desired
- White onion — chop this small
- Dill pickle — chop this small, too!
Additional toppings
Try these extra toppings in your cheeseburger quesadillas:
- Shredded lettuce
- Special sauce
- Diced tomato
- Caramelized onion
- Chopped bacon
- Buffalo sauce
- Diced jalapeno
- Sautéed mushrooms
Step-by-step instructions
Add cooked beef to a large mixing bowl with ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. Mix until beef is well coated and adjust condiments to taste. You’ll want the meat to be well-coated, but not too wet.
Heat a large non-stick pan to medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add your tortilla to the pan. On one half, add a sprinkle of shredded cheese, and 1/4 of the meat mixture, onion, and pickles. Top with additional cheese and fold the tortilla.
Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown, and flip. Cook the second side for an additional 2-3 minutes or until both sides are golden and crisp. Remove from pan and repeat for all quesadillas.
Slice your tortillas into triangles and serve immediately. See notes for meal prep instructions.
Dietary restrictions
Gluten-free: Use a gluten-free tortilla.
High fiber: Add a can of drained and rinsed canned lentils to your ground beef mixture.
Lower fat: Use reduced fat cheese, 95% lean ground beef, and light mayonnaise.
Lactose-free: Use lactose-free cheese.
Dairy-free: Use dairy-free cheese.
Vegetarian: Swap ground beef for veggie ground round.
What to serve with cheeseburger quesadillas
For balanced and nutritious meal, serve with veggies and/or fruit. Here are some examples:
- Oven baked fries or wedges
- Homemade sweet potato fries
- Air fried green beans
- Roasted carrot fries
- Baby carrots
- Sliced apples
- Sliced celery and cucumber
- Sugar snap peas
- Cherry tomatoes
Tips for success
- Use a paper towel to absorb excess fat when your ground beef is done cooking
- Add enough ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard so your ground beef is coated, but don’t add so much that it’s sopping wet
- Let your quesadillas rest for 2-3 minutes before slicing
Meal prep instructions
You can meal prep these quesadillas in two ways.
Option one is to cook and store all quesadillas in advance. To do so, cook all quesadillas according to recipe instructions and cool on paper towels until they reach room temperature. Slice and store in individual food containers in the fridge. Don’t refrigerate until they’re fully cooled.
The other option is to prep ingredients and assemble the quesadillas fresh each day. To do so, prep your beef mixture and slice vegetables in advance. When you’re ready to enjoy a cheeseburger quesadilla, assemble and cook as normal.
How long will they stay good in the fridge?
These will stay good in the fridge for up to four days.
How to re-heat
Cooktop: Add your quesadilla to a pan on medium-low heat and cover. Cook for a few minutes each side until quesadilla is crisp and warmed through. Be careful not to burn.
Air fryer: Re-heat cheeseburger quesadillas in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes at 375 F, or until it’s heated through and crisp.
Microwave: Microwave for 45-60 seconds or until tortilla is warmed through.
You could also eat your cheeseburger quesadillas cold and right from the fridge!
Did you try this recipe?
Leave your rating and review below! And don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, and tag me @real.life.nutritionist.
The Best Cheeseburger Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 lb cooked extra lean ground beef, crumbled, drained, and seasoned with salt and pepper
- ketchup, to taste
- yellow mustard, to taste
- mayonnaise, to taste
- cooking spray
- 4 large whole wheat tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, or more as needed
- 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
- 2 dill pickles, finely chopped
Equipment
Instructions
- Mix beef and condiments: Add cooked beef to a large mixing bowl with ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. Mix until beef is well coated and adjust condiments to taste. You'll want the meat to be well-coated, but not too wet.
- Cook quesadillas: Heat a large non-stick pan to medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add your tortilla to the pan. On one half, add a sprinkle of shredded cheese, and 1/4 of the meat mixture, onion, and pickles. Top with additional cheese and fold the tortilla. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown, and flip. Cook the second side for an additional 2-3 minutes or until both sides are golden and crisp. Remove from pan and repeat for all quesadillas.
- Serve: Slice your tortillas into triangles and serve immediately. See notes for meal prep instructions.
So quick and easy for a weeknight! Simple and affordable ingredients are a bonus! Definitely adding to the recipe pool 🙂
Obsessed with this recipe! We have made this several times and it’s always a hit!