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Enjoy three restaurant copycat recipes in one 30-minute meal! Savor the flavors of a fast food cheeseburger in my easy Cheeseburger Quesadillas, then pair with a crisp wedge salad drizzled with special sauce.
If you ask me what my favorite food is, I will reply “Cheeseburgers” immediately and without hesitation. So when my VIP reader Dave sent me a suggestion to whip up this mash-up meal, I couldn’t wait to dive in.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Ground beef: I prefer 80/20 ground beef rather than a leaner variety for more flavor. To keep your quesadillas from being too greasy, drain the cooked ground beef crumbles on a plate lined with paper towels or in a colander.
- Pickle chips: These are optional, so feel free to omit if you’re not a pickle fan. My family loves them for the complete cheeseburger experience (Claussen Kosher Dill Pickle Chips are my favorite, and I always serve more on the side).
- Iceberg lettuce: Another mild leafy green such as romaine, Bibb, Boston, leaf, or little gem would also work well.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, , and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Set aside. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef until browned and cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
- Wipe out skillet, coat with nonstick spray, and heat over medium heat. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, add to skillet. Top half the quesadilla with ½ cup cheese, ¼ of the cooked beef. Top with pickle slices, if using,
- Sprinkle top half with ½ cup cheese. Fold in half and cook until cheese is melted and the tortilla is golden brown on one side, about 2 minutes. Flip quesadilla and continue cooking until all the cheese is melted and the second side is golden brown. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese, beef, and pickles.
- Cut each quesadilla in half, and stack 2 halves on each of the 4 plates. Add one wedge of Iceberg to each plate and top with shallots and tomatoes. Drizzle the quesadillas and salad with sauce. Serve more sauce on the side if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 (1/4-pound) burger-stuffed, single-tortilla quesadillas and 4 wedge salads.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The special sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead.
- Double up on Special Sauce: I always make a double batch to use as a condiment for other salads and sandwiches throughout the week. Try it on a reuben, a Maid-Rite sandwich, or this easy garden salad.
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Cheeseburger Quesadillas
Enjoy three restaurant copycat recipes in one 30-minute meal! Savor the flavors of a fast food cheeseburger in my easy Cheeseburger Quesadillas, then pair with a crisp wedge salad drizzled with special sauce.
Ingredients
For the special sauce:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice
- 1 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the quesadillas:
- 1 pound ground beef (see note 1)
- 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 24 dill pickle chips optional (see note 2)
For the wedge salads:
- 1 head Iceberg lettuce cored and cut into 4 wedges (see note 3)
- 8 cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1 shallot finely chopped
Instructions
- To make the special sauce, in a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Set aside.
- To make the quesadillas, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef until browned and cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
- Wipe out skillet, coat with nonstick spray, and heat over medium heat. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, add to skillet. Top half the quesadilla with ½ cup cheese, ¼ of the cooked beef. Top with pickle slices, if using,
- Sprinkle top half with ½ cup cheese. Fold in half and cook until cheese is melted and the tortilla is golden brown on one side, about 2 minutes.
- Flip quesadilla and continue cooking until all the cheese is melted and the second side is golden brown. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese, beef, and pickles. Cut each quesadilla in half, and stack 2 halves on each of the 4 plates.
- To make the wedge salads, add one wedge of Iceberg to each plate and top with shallots and tomatoes. Drizzle the quesadillas and salad with sauce. Serve more sauce on the side if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Ground beef: I prefer 80/20 ground beef rather than a leaner variety for more flavor. To keep your quesadillas from being too greasy, drain the cooked ground beef crumbles on a plate lined with paper towels or in a colander.
- Pickle chips: These are optional, so feel free to omit if you’re not a pickle fan. My family loves them for the complete cheeseburger experience (Claussen Kosher Dill Pickle Chips are my favorite, and I always serve more on the side).
- Iceberg lettuce: Another mild leafy green such as romaine, Bibb, Boston, leaf, or little gem would also work well.
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 (1/4-pound) burger-stuffed, single-tortilla quesadillas and 4 wedge salads.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The special sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead.
- Double up on Special Sauce: I always make a double batch to use as a condiment for other salads and sandwiches throughout the week. Try it on a reuben, a Maid-Rite sandwich, or this easy garden salad.
Nutrition
Serving: 1quesadilla+saladCalories: 936kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 50gFat: 75gSaturated Fat: 35gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 207mgSodium: 1638mgPotassium: 826mgFiber: 3gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 2171IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 893mgIron: 4mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
So good! Thank you
You’re welcome, TJ! Take care! – Meggan
LOVE!!! The simplicity of this was perfect and just what we needed for an easy, delicious Friday night dinner. I followed the recipe and was shocked that I didn’t ruin this meal.
We used the wide shredded mild cheddar cheese and it melted like perfection and I added crumbled bleu cheese on top of the bibb lettuce salad.
Thank you for the recipe. Will be adding this to our collection!
You’re so welcome, Alanna! Sounds absolutely delicious! – Meggan
This was good except I added sliced onion, salt and pepper before adding the last top of cheese. Dipped them in Special Sauce. Will br making again!
Sounds delicious Patty, thanks! – Meggan
This is a recipe that I keep coming back to. We love it so much. It’s also fun to make for friends!!!
I made this last night for dinner and it was so good!! I added onions to the ground beef as it cooked then stirred in a few tsp of Worcestershire, some ketchup and mustard at the end. Next time I’ll dice my pickles up to sprinkle in. Served with a side salad of chopped romaine, diced tomatoes, diced avocados with ranch dressing drizzled over. Can’t wait to have the leftovers!
Was great but I think crumbled bacon and either onions or mushrooms or both will elevate to the next level… Will try it next time.
I mixed the sauce into the hamburger so the sauce was throughout as well as the pickles. DELICIOUS!!!