Ground Beef Quesadillas (with Black Beans)

close up two groun beef quesadillas with black beans.

5 from 3 votes

Ground Beef Quesadillas (with Black Beans)

Spicy ground beef quesadilla recipe with black beans, avocado, and cheese. Crispy tortillas stuffed with a cheesy, meaty filling; this dish will make anyone happy!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Meat Recipes

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings:

Calories: 859kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

Large skillet or non-stick pan

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 lb lean ground beef 450 g, Note 1
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon sweet paprika powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper more or less to taste
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
fine sea salt and pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup water 65 ml/ 2 oz, Note 2
2 cups cooked black beans 125 g/ 4.5 oz
1 large avocado
4 large tortillas Note 3
2 cups cheese grated, 200 g/ 7 oz, Note 4
1 lime
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro parsley, or chives
sour cream to serve Note 5

Instructions

Chop the onion and the garlic.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan. Cook the onion and the garlic for 2 minutes.
Cook beef: Add ground beef and brown well, breaking it up as it browns, 3-4 minutes until the onions are softened. Drain the excess grease if there is too much in the pan, but it shouldn’t be if the beef is lean.
Add the dried oregano, paprika powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, salt (½ to 1 teaspoon to taste), and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and the water (Note 2). Add the drained black beans.
Cook beef filling: Stir well and cook on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.
Chop the avocado in the meantime. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the avocado and herbs.
Wipe the pan clean or use another one. Heat the pan and brush it with some of the remaining olive (Note 6).
Fill quesadillas: Place one tortilla in the pan, and add some cheese to one half of it. Top with some of the beef mixture and add more grated cheese. Fold the other tortilla half over the filling.
Fry the quesadilla lightly on both sides until golden. Use a spatula to turn the quesadillas to the other side carefully.
Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
Serve immediately with tomatoes or tomato salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges.

Notes

Ground turkey works too.
You could replace the tomato paste and water with about 4-5 tablespoons of salsa of choice.
The tortillas available here are large, about 9 -10 inches / 24-26 cm in diameter. If your tortillas are smaller, you will need more than four for all the filling.
Cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack, Manchego, Mexican cheese. Any good melting cheese you like.
The nutrition is calculated without the sour cream.
Don’t use too much oil, or the quesadillas will be greasy and soggy.

Nutrition