Birria Quesadillas combine tender, flavorful beef birria with melted cheese in a crispy flour tortilla. The tortilla is dipped in rich birria consommé before cooking, giving it incredible flavor and a beautiful golden-red color.
If you have leftover Birria de Res , this is one of my favorite ways to use it. And don’t forget the consommé for dipping!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe ❤️
- Big flavor: The tortilla is dipped in birria consommé before cooking.
- Easy: A delicious way to use leftover birria.
- Crispy and cheesy: Tender beef, melted cheese, and a golden tortilla.
- Perfect for dipping: Serve with warm consommé, lime, onion, and cilantro.
-Maggie
🥩 Ingredients
- Beef Birria
- Flour Tortillas
- Cheese
- Onion
- Cilantro
Use large, burrito-size flour tortillas.
Equipment Needed
- Instant pot
- Blender
- Griddle / Skillet
- Tongs
- Measuring cups
- Spoons and forks
Instructions
Making the Sauce
- Rehydrate the chiles.
- Blend the chiles until smooth.
- Set aside until ready to use.
Many people will toast the chiles to enhance their flavor. It’s recommended but not required.
The red chile sauce for this birria recipe is not spicy but very flavorful. If you’re afraid of spice, add a tomato.
No more than two, or it will change the flavor of the sauce.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Heat olive oil in the pot and sear the beef on all sides.
- Remove the beef.
- Strain the sauce into the pot.
- Return the beef to the pot.
Chop up the beef into smaller pieces. That way the beef will sear well.
Don’t skip the straining. Straining the sauce will remove any bits of dried chiles that didn’t fully blend.
Other Cooking Methods
Soft, tender meat requires a long cook time if not done in an instant pot.
- Slow Cooker Birria Instructions: Add the seared beef to the pot. Strain sauce over the beef. Cover and set the timer for 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high.
- Stove Top Birria Instructions: Sear the beef. Strain the sauce over the beef. Cover and cook for 2 ½ hours. Halfway through, add 2 cups of beef broth. You can also use a Dutch oven.
- Remove the beef.
- Shred the beef.
- Do not return the beef to the pot.
- Set aside, leaving the consommé in the pot.
This does not make a lot of consommé, or the traditional warm birria broth.
Without the beef, this makes a flavorful drink for the winter season. Add some beef bones to make a tasty bone broth.
How to Make More Consommé
To make more of the savory broth, or consommé, remove the beef once it is cooked. Cover the meat with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add 2 cups of beef broth to the pot. Put the lid back on. Select High Pressure and set the timer for 10 minutes. Quick release.
Assembling Birria Quesadillas
- Take the flour tortilla and dip one side into the consommé.
- Place it on a hot skillet at medium heat.
- Add cheese and birria to one side and cook for 1 minute.
- Cover with the other side to create a half-moon shape.
- Flip and cook for 2 more minutes until golden brown.
The quesadillas are ready when you see the melted Monterey Jack cheese.
🙋🏻♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Birria quesadillas are flour tortillas filled with shredded beef birria and melted cheese. The tortilla is dipped in consommé before cooking and served with more consommé for dipping.
No. Birria quesadillas use flour tortillas, while quesabirria tacos traditionally use corn tortillas.
I use Monterey Jack because it melts well and has a mild flavor. Oaxaca, mozzarella, or cheddar also work.
Dip just one side of the tortilla briefly in the consommé. Don’t soak it, and cook the quesadilla over medium heat until crisp.
🍴 Birria Variations
Birria has become incredibly versatile, and there are so many delicious ways to enjoy it. Here are a few of my favorites:
Birria Pizza – A fun twist on pizza made with flavorful birria. Some versions use pizza dough, while others are made with stacked birria quesadillas.
Instant Pot Birria Tacos – Also known as quesabirria tacos, these are made with tender birria and cheese tucked into corn tortillas, then cooked until crispy and served with consommé for dipping.
Birria Ramen – Tender birria is combined with ramen noodles and rich consommé for a flavorful, comforting meal.
Birria Tamales – Tender birria is tucked into masa, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed until perfectly cooked. Serve them with consommé for dipping.
Birria Sauce – Make a flavorful batch of birria sauce, or consommé, to use for dipping, cooking, and more.
Serve With
- Arroz Mexicano
- Frijoles Refritos
- Pico de Gallo
- Mexican Pickled Carrots
- Frijoles Puercos
- Ensalada de Nopales
These Birria Quesadillas are crispy, cheesy, and packed with tender beef and rich birria flavor. They’re a great way to use leftover birria, but they’re so good you may want to make birria just to make them!
Serve them with warm consommé, fresh onion, cilantro, and lime—and don’t forget to dunk every bite.
Birria Quesadillas
Ingredients
For the Chile Sauce:
- 3 chile guajillo
- 1 ancho chile
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 whole clove
- pinch ground cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon beef bouillon
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups water (for blending)
For the Beef:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ¾ lbs chuck roast
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tablespoon beef bouillon
- 1 cup water
For the Quesadillas:
- 12 burrito-size flour tortillas
- 6 cups Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)
- ½ cup diced onion
- chopped cilantro
- lime (for consommé)
Instructions
For the Chile Sauce:
- Remove the stems from the chiles.
- Open the chiles lengthwise and remove seeds and veins.
- Repeat until there are no more chiles left.
- Place in a stock pot and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil. Then, remove from heat.
- Put a lid on the pot, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Throw away the water.
- Add rehydrated chiles, cinnamon, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, cloves, and oregano to a blender.
- Add 2 cups water.
- Blend until smooth.
- Set aside until ready to use.
For the Beef:
- Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot.
- Add the olive oil.
- Heat for 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop up beef into large pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- Sear on all sides.
- Remove the beef from the instant pot.
- Place a strainer over the instant pot and strain the chile sauce.
- Add the bay leaf, bouillon, and water.
- Stir to combine and return the beef to the pot.
- Place the lid on the instant pot.
- Move the valve to Sealing.
- Press the Pressure Cook button.
- Set time to 45 minutes.
- Once the cycle is complete, move the valve to Venting.
- Remove the beef from the pot and chop it up.
For the Quesadillas:
- Dip one side of the flour tortilla in the broth.
- Place on a hot skillet, dipped side down.
- Add ½ cup cheese on one side of the tortilla.
- Add some of the chopped birria on top of the cheese.
- Sprinkle the beef with diced onion and cilantro.
- Cook for 1 minute.
- Fold over the other half of the tortilla.
- Flip the quesadilla to cook the other side.
- Cook for 1 more minute.
- Repeat until no tortillas are left.
What do you do with the lime juice? I’m not seeing any directions to make the consomme? Also where does the beef bouillon go from the chile sauce? I wish I’d read this more carefully before I started cooking. Lots of missing info.
Everything is in the recipe card. I had to double check just now to see if I had missed anything. lol. But no, it’s all there. Once you remove the meat, you are left with consome. That’s step no.15 on the recipe card. I added a note for lime in the ingredient list to add to the consome.
Question before I start. I do not understand why it takes long to cook in the pressure cooker (4-8 hours) than the stovetop (2 1/2 hours). I thought the advantage of pressure cooking was faster not slower cook times
. Are these times correct? I was going to cook in pressure cooker but now considering stovetop to save time.
Thanks,
Susan
I had to recheck my recipe. lol. The Instant Pot recipe says 2 1/2 hours. I’m not sure where you are seeing 4-8 hours. The searing adds time, but you can skip it. Just add the meat and the sauce. I’d also add another 5 minutes to the instant pot time because the searing helps cook the meat. So, total 50 minutes on high pressure. Hope this helps.
The 4-8 hour is in a slow cooker, it’s under the alternative methods of cooking part.
Yes, you can make the birria in the slow cooker, on the stove, or in the instant pot. If you are making A LOT of birria, I would suggest the stove just because you can use a larger pot. In the slow cooker is my favorite because you set it and forget. Here’s the recipe for the slow cooker https://inmamamaggieskitchen.com/slow-cooker-birria-de-res-mexican-beef-stew/
Yum! I love quesadillas! They are perfect when you have little time!
Yes. And they are sooooo good too.
Ooh…and the dipping sauce…YUM.
That’s the best part.
A perfect quesadilla!
I couldn’t agree more.
This is really an addictive quesadillas recipe… WoW, thanks!
Addictive, yes! I had to use that word. 🙂
Really delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you. It is very delicious.
This quesadillas look so good! I have to try
I hope you do. Seriously the best!
So much flavor, love it!!
Yes, tons of flavor.
These tacos are amazing! The flavours are exceptional and authentic.
Authentic Mexican food is my jam 🙂
These sound absolutely delicious and a real change from the classic steak sandwich! I don’t eat meat but I think I could use a good quality vegan beef-replacement and it would work!
Yes. I have seen birria made vegan using jackfruit, but I have yet to try it.
yum – thanks for the lovely recipe
You’re quite welcome!
I’m going to make these for my boyfriend this weekend. He loved your birria recipe so he’s going to love the quesadillas too.
Your boyfriend is going to love these quesadillas. Delicious!