Carne Asada Quesadillas are filled with tender cuts of grilled carne asada steak, stretchy cheese, and smoky green chiles. It’s a delightfully easy Mexican-inspired meal.
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Whenever we’re in the mood for tex-mex at home, we make these delicious carne asada quesadillas. The outside of the tortilla gets super crispy, and the meat inside is so tender and juicy. These wonderful textures are only made better with a hefty helping of melted cheese!
These carne asada quesadillas use our homemade carne asada dry rub which has such a better flavor than the typical store-bought blend. It’s super flavorful, has just a touch of spice, and skips all the additives that most big-name brands use.
What is Carne Asada?
Carne Asada is actually a cooking method, rather than a specific dish. It literally means “grilled meats”. The steak, usually chuck steak, but you can also use skirt or flank steak – is typically marinated then grilled or seared to give it a charred flavor.
Carne asada can be served on its own or as an ingredient in other dishes. It’s one of the most common kinds of tacos you can get in Mexico. While there are typical seasonings associated with it, there’s no set recipe that must be followed.
Ingredients You Need
- Flank Steak – To make this recipe, we use flank or skirt steak, which is a nice thin cut of beef with a good texture that’s easy to chew. You don’t want to use any steak that’s difficult to cut through with your teeth – it’s just too annoying to eat.
- Carne Asada Rub – Our homemade rub includes typical Mexican seasonings like chili powder, ground cumin, ground celery seed, ground Mexican oregano, etc. See our recipe for the full ingredients list.
- Olive oil – The olive oil is drizzled onto the carne asada along with the rub to make a nice thick paste that infiltrates all the creviches of the steak.
- Flour Tortillas – White or whole wheat tortillas are what we use. If you want to keep the carbs down, you can use a Carb Balance tortilla.
- Monterey Jack Cheese – Grate your own cheese as pre-shredded cheese does not melt as well.
- Canned Diced Green Chiles – these chiles aren’t too spicy, so feel free to switch them out for a spicier pepper, if you want.
- Green Onions – Skip the regular onions and use green onions for a little onion flavor that’s not overpowering.
- Cilantro – Chopped cilantro adds flavor and can also be used as a garnish. It can be skipped for those that don’t like cilantro.
- Butter – We use butter to give the exterior of the quesadilla a bit more crunch and umami flavor. Use salted for the best flavor.
Tips & Suggestions
- Top the fresh carne asada quesadillas with some creamy guacamole or refreshing pico de gallo.
- Use a meat thermometer to check that the steak is fully cooked. For a medium rare steak, it should register at 135°F. You can remove it a few degrees before it reaches this point, as carry over cooking will bring it up to 135° as it rests.
- When flipping over the quesadillas, brush the tortilla with some extra butter to make it extra crispy on both sides.
How to Make Carne Asada Quesadillas
Step 1: Season the steak
Set aside 1/2 teaspoon of the rub for later. Season the flank steak with the remaining carne asada rub and a tablespoon of the olive oil. Rub it in with your hands to really coat the meat. Let it sit in the refrigerator covered for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours to really soak up that great flavor.
Step 2: Sear the meat
Heat a pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the remaining olive oil and sear the steak for 3 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches your desired level. I prefer 135 degrees F for a medium-rare steak. Transfer to a plate to rest for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Cook the quesadillas
Cut the carne asada into small pieces that will be easy to eat in the quesadilla without too much work.
You will have to make one quesadilla at a time, unless you have a really large flat grill, or more than one pan. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Brush one side of the tortilla with melted butter and place it buttered-side down on the grill. Top with equal amounts carne asada, cheese, green chilis, green onions and cilantro. Add the top tortilla.
Brush the top of the tortilla with remaining butter and cook the quesadilla for 4-5 minutes per side, until golden and heated through.
Top with sour cream and sprinkle with the reserved carne asada rub.
Equipment Needed
- Cast Iron Skillet or Flat Grill Pan – A cast iron skillet gives the best crunchy crust, but if you don’t have one any flat grill pan that the tortilla fits in will work.
- Basting brush – Use a basting brush to easily brush on the melted butter.
- Meat thermometer – Always use a meat thermometer when cooking meat to make sure it has reached the desired internal temperature. We cook our carne asada to 135° F internal temperature for medium-rare steak.
Substitutions & Variations
- For a different flavor profile, try making the quesadillas with canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. It’s spicier and smokier!
- Dice up a few jalapeños finely and add them to the quesadillas before toasting them in the pan. You can just add flavor by removing the seeds. Or leave the seeds in for a super spicy kick.
- Almost any cheese can be used in this recipe, but it’s best to stick with cheeses that melt well and don’t have a lot of liquid. We like to use a Mexican cheese blend and we sometimes add some cotija cheese as well. Shred the cheese yourself to get the best results.
What to serve it with
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Carne Asada Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound (226.8 g) flank steak
- 1/2 tablespoon (2 g) carne asada rub see our recipe
- 1 tablespoon (14.79 ml) olive oil divided
- 2 large flour tortillas
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) canned diced green chiles well drained
- 1 green onions thinly sliced
- 1/8 cup (2 g) cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter melted
Instructions
- Set aside 1/2 teaspoon of the rub for later. Season the flank steak with the remaining carne asada rub and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Rub it in with your hands to really coat the meat. Let sit in the refrigerator covered for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining olive oil. When hot, sear the steak for 3 minutes per side, or until your desired internal temperature. I do 135° F for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate to rest for 5 minutes.
- Cut the carne asada into small pieces.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Brush one side of the tortilla with melted butter and place it buttered-side down on the pan. Top with equal amounts carne asada, cheese, green chilis, green onions and cilantro. Add the top tortilla. Brush the top with melted butter.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, until browned and heated through.
- Top with sour cream, more green onion and cilantro and sprinkle with the reserved carne asada rub.
Notes
- Top the fresh carne asada quesadillas with some creamy guacamole or refreshing pico de gallo.
- Use a meat thermometer to check that the steak is fully cooked. For a medium rare steak, it should register at 135°F. You can remove it a few degrees before it reaches this point, as carry over cooking will bring it up to 135° as it rests.
- When flipping over the quesadillas, brush the tortilla with some extra butter to make it extra crispy on both sides.
- You can also cook the quesadillas in the oven at 450° F for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
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Laura is a home cook, with 25 years experience behind the stove, who spends an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen cooking. She loves making new recipes and finding wonderful new things to eat, both at home or abroad. She spends a lot of time researching, crafting, and perfecting her recipes and currently has a cookbook in development.
