These steak quesadillas are loaded with marinated tri tip, sauteed onions and poblano peppers, and gooey cheese! Serve them topped with fresh cilantro, with salsa for dipping and some lime wedges. I like to make this recipe using uncooked tortillas - which are SO much better than standard grocery store tortillas. Check out the Key Tips section of this post for more info on them!
One of my favorite thing about these steak quesadillas is that the meat is SO freezer-friendly! When tri tip is on sale I'll buy a bunch, prepare the marinade, and pack the marinated meat up in the freezer. Then on a busy weekday I can defrost the meat in the morning, let it marinate all day, and have dinner on the table in about 30 minutes. There are more details about freezer-prepping this meal in the post and recipe! You can use the meat in this recipe or in my Tri Tip Tacos!
There are so many ways you can modify these steak quesadillas to suit your taste! I serve them up with avocado salsa, but you can also use sour cream, pico de gallo, hot sauce, or your favorite mexican dip! I usually make these with tri tip steak, but this marinade is perfect for skirt steak, flank steak, sirloin steak, or even filet mignon if you're feeling fancy!
Usuaully, I cook my steak in a cast iron skillet, but these are also great over the grill or just in a nonstick skillet. I load these up with sauteed peppers and white onions, opting for poblano peppers when I can find them but bell peppers, red onions and jalapano peppers are all great options as well. For the best melty cheese I use "quesadilla cheese" but low moisture mozzerella and monterey jack cheese also work well. If you want to strech the steak across more quesadillas, you can bulk them up with black beans, pinto beans, or refried beans.
How to Make Steak Quesadillas:
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
- Prepare the marinade:
- Combine all ingredients of the marinade (lime juice, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, salt, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper). Trim excess fat from the steaks if desired and place in a zip bag with the marinade. Marinate in fridge for at least 6 hours before cooking (preferably overnight).
- Cook the steak:
- When ready to cook, remove the steak from the bag and discard the rest of the marinade (shake off excess but do not pat the steaks dry). Grill steak to desired doneness, or cook in a cast iron pan with a swirl of oil. I cook in mine in a cast iron pan over high heat, turning every few minutes, until an internal temp of 135°F, about 8-10 minutes. (Note, the marinade may cause some additional charring on the outside, but this contributes to the flavor and isn't noticeable after slicing)
- Let the steak rest for a few minutes, then slice into bite-sized pieces as pictured. Toss the steak in the juices after cutting.
- Make the Quesadillas:
- As the steak cooks, warm a little oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted and just beginning to char, about 5 minutes. Season with a little bit of salt and black pepper if desired as they cook. Remove from heat.
- Divide the prepared steak, onions & peppers, and cheese into four portions, one for each quesadilla. Prepare each quesadilla by layering half of the tortilla with about half the shredded cheese, then onions & peppers, then the steak in a single layer, then the rest of the cheese. Fold the tortilla over. (Onion and pepper mixture may be a little bit more than you want to use)
- Cook the quesadillas in a pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray over medium-low heat. Once the first side is golden brown, flip and cook on the other side until both sides are golden, and the cheese is fully melted, about 2 minutes per side. Alternatively, press in a sandwich press until golden.
- Cut the finished quesadilla into 2 to 4 pieces. Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges and your favorite salsa or hot sauce (I use avocado salsa).
Key Tips - Steak Quesadillas
Prepare the steak in bulk and freeze for later!
- You can use this meat in this recipe, my Tri Tip Tacos, or sub it for the chicken in my Chicken Burritos with Cilantro Lime Rice.
- My favorite way to prepare this meal is prepping the meat in bulk (only takes a few minutes), and packing up 1 lb packages for the freezer. My grocery store occasionally runs sales on tri-tip steaks for anywhere between $4 - $7 a pound, so this recipe lets me take advantage of the sale and prep some future meals!
- To prepare from frozen, just thaw the package at least 6 hours before cooking, to give the meat time to marinate.
- I don't notice any loss in quality for the frozen steak compared to steak that is made the same or next day. In fact, the steak pictured in these photos is from a frozen batch!
Don't scrape the marinade off the steaks.
- When removing the steaks from the steak taco marinade, shake off the excess, but don't wipe them down. This will make the steaks a little more smoky when you cook them, and may result in some additional char, but it really helps keep the flavors from the marinade around.
- Don't worry too much about some extra char on the steaks, it's a very thin layer and once cubed isn't really noticeable.
After slicing, toss the steak pieces in the juices
- After cubing the steak, you'll likely have some juices on the cutting board. Toss the steak pieces in these to help keep more of that flavorful steak taco marinade with the meat.
I strongly suggest using uncooked tortillas!
- Uncooked tortillas are one of the best new products I've found in years! They are raw tortillas that come in the refrigerated section, and can be prepared in 1-2 minutes in a warm skillet. The result is an incredible, fresh tortilla that is SO much better than normal packaged tortillas. They aren't even more expensive than regular tortillas, so it's a great way to upgrade these burritos!
- The quality of the tortilla has a huge impact on the quality of a burrito, so this has made a huge difference for my burritos at home. It's like getting a fresh homemade tortilla, with pretty much none of the work!
Dietary Restrictions - Steak Quesadillas
Make it Gluten-Free:
- Serve on gluten-free tortillas.
A Note On Serving Sizes
Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. This recipe makes 4 small quesadillas. The photos show the quesadillas cut in half, with 3 pieces (1.5 quesadillas) per plate.
Steak Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 lb tri tip steaks or similar, such as skirt or flap steak
- 4 8" diameter flour tortillas uncooked tortillas strongly suggested, see notes
- 1 ½ cup white onion diced (~1 medium onion per batch)
- 1 cup diced poblano peppers about 1 large poblano, see notes
- 10 oz shredded "quesadilla cheese" see notes
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 lime sliced into wedges, for serving
- vegetable oil for cooking peppers & onions
- spray oil
For Marinade:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the marinade:
- Combine all ingredients of the marinade. Trim excess fat from the steaks if desired and place in a zip bag with the marinade. Marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours before cooking (preferably overnight).
Cook the steak:
- When ready to cook, remove the steak from the bag and discard the rest of the marinade (shake off excess but do not pat the steaks dry). Grill steak to desired doneness, or cook in a cast iron pan with a swirl of oil. I cook in mine in a cast iron pan over high heat, turning every few minutes, until an internal temp of 135°F, about 8-10 minutes. (Note, the marinade may cause some additional charring on the outside, but this contributes to the flavor and isn't noticeable after slicing)
- Let the steak rest for a few minutes, then slice into small pieces as pictured. Toss the steak in the juices after cutting.
Make the Quesadillas:
- As the steak cooks, warm a little bit of oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted and just beginning to char, about 5 minutes. Season with a little bit of salt and black pepper if desired as they cook. Remove from heat.
- Divide the prepared steak, onions & peppers, and cheese into four portions, one for each quesadilla. Prepare each quesadilla by layering half of the tortilla with about half the cheese, onions & peppers, then the steak, then the rest of the cheese. Fold the tortilla over. (Onion and pepper mixture may be a little bit more than you want to use)
- Cook the quesadillas in a pan that has been sprayed with oil over medium-low heat. Once the first side is golden, flip and cook on the other side until both sides are golden, and the cheese is fully melted, about 2 minutes per side. Alternatively, press in a sandwich press until golden.
- Cut the finished quesadilla into 2 to 4 pieces. Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges and your favorite salsa or hot sauce (I use avocado salsa).
To prepare the steak in bulk for freezer:
- Trim steaks and prepare appropriate quantity of marinade. Package steaks, in marinade, in a freezer safe zip bag or vacuum bag. Package size should be the quantity you will want to defrost at a time (I do 1 lb).
- Place marinated steak packs in the freezer directly after preparing.
To prepare from frozen:
- Defrost steak at least 6 hours before you plan to cook it, giving the steak time to marinate. I suggest moving from the freezer to fridge the night before.
- Follow the rest of the recipe as written, preparing the rest of the ingredients fresh.
Notes
Nutrition
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If you like this recipe, you might like my Tri Tip Tacos, Chicken Taco Marinade, Chorizo Breakfast Burritos, or Chicken Burritos!
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Laney says
These are AMAZING. I used jalapeno because I couldnt find pablano but I liked them a little more spicy anyway