This Birria Quesadillas recipe is made of flavorful shredded beef and gooey cheese sandwiched between two crisp, buttery golden tortillas. Dip the quesabirra in rich, savory, smokey birria consommé for a mouthwatering meal!
If you enjoy this, you must try my Cheese Quesadilla recipe and Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas next!
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Firstly, I have to give a huge thanks to Mexican cuisine for giving us this delicious recipe! If you've never had birria, you are in for a treat! It has bold flavors, tender beef, and when placed on a tortilla with melted monterey jack cheese and cheddar cheeses - it's HEAVEN. The first time I had birria wasat our local Mexican restaurant and it was incredible. I totally get why it went viral on tiktok!
The process of making a Beef Birria Quesadilla, or Birria de Res, can be a bit lengthy, but I will walk you through how to make it stove top, in the oven, in the slow cooker, and even in an instant pot (the fastest way).
You make think it's a complex preparation, but I promise, at first bite, you'll understand why this classic favorite is worth all of the work!
You start by preparing a stew of dried chiles, beef stock, seasonings, and herbs. Chuck roast is steeped in this flavorful soup for a couple of hours and the final result is juicy tender beef.
And all that leftover stew, or consommé, becomes the best dipping sauce for the quesadillas. Even once the quesadillas are gone, you'll be slurping up that broth. No doubt, preparing these cheesy Birria Quesadillas is a labor of love but you will be SO happy you did it!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's the perfect meal for serving a crowd. Prepare it for game day appetizers or the main course for a family dinner.
- You can repurpose the leftover birria to make more tasty creations like birria tacos, birria fries, birria ramen, or birria nachos!
- The artful blend of chilis, especially the guajillo peppers, adds SO much flavor to the dish.
- This birria recipe is perfect for movie nights, weeknight meals, Sunday dinner and even events like birthdays or holiday dinners!
What is birria?
Although birria has grown popular in recent years through L.A. food truck culture and viral TikTok videos, birria originated in Jalisco, Mexico. It's a traditional Mexican stew that is typically made with goat or lamb meat. It is cooked low and slow to form a flavorful consomé and super tender and juicy meat. I'm talking cut it with a spoon type of tender! For this recipe, birria de res (
This Birria Quesadilla recipe uses chuck roast instead of goat meat because it's easier to find and has a similar flavor and texture. The birria meat is marinated in that saucy stock until it is fork tender.
Ingredients Notes
Birria quesadillas with consommé are addictive! Although there are many ingredients, these can all be found in your local grocery store very easily.
- The cut of beef that I used are chuck roast because it's easy to find and has the perfect amount of fat to carry the flavor and yield tender meat. You can also add short ribs too!
- I seasoned the chuck roast with a delicious combination of cumin, chili powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, salt, and pepper.
The consume for this recipe is full of standard birria flavors! The ingredients below are KEY to the best birria ever!!
- Chiles: I used chile de arbol, ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, and canned chipotle peppers in adobo. This combination is smoky, and sweet, with just a bit of spiciness.
- Aromatics: Onion, garlic, bay leaves, cloves - this gives the birria a deep complex flavor.
- Cinnamon Stick - this adds so much flavor and richness!
- Can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and Tomato paste - for a rich taste that goes so well with the seasonings and aromatics!
- Beef stock - The liquid base of your broth and the foundation of the beef flavor.
Tips and Variations
- If you don't want to use flour tortillas, you can use corn instead.
- If tortillas feel a little stiff, warm flour tortillas in the microwave in a damp paper towel.
- Instead of using a Mexican blend and mozzarella, you can use Oaxaca cheese.
- I previously mentioned that I used chuck roast because it is readily available but feel free to use this recipe with goat, lamb, veal, or mutton.
- To save time, make the birria a day or two ahead so then you can just make the quesadillas and warm up the broth for dipping.
How to Make Birria Quesadilla
Season the Meat
Cut the chuck roast into chunks and add cumin, chili powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Rehydrate the Chiles
Bring about 8 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
On a cutting board, cut chiles and remove the seeds. Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat and toast the chiles for 3-4 minutes, until slightly charred. Then place the chiles in the boiling water until softened, about 10 minutes.
Make the Consomé
Add an additional tablespoon of oil to the frying pan and add sliced onions. Cook until softened and fragrant, then add peppercorns, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, cumin ginger, and a cinnamon stick.
Continue to cook for 4 minutes then add tomato paste and stir until paste forms then remove from heat and add everything in the pan into a blender along with softened boiled chilies (don't worry about draining the peppers completely), Chipotle Peppers in Adobo, Garlic, Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes, and Apple Cider Vinegar.
Blend together until smooth and thick. It should have a reddish tinge - the bright red hue of the birria is so pretty!
Sear the Chuck Roast
Add 4 tbsps of vegetable oil to a large pot and allow it to warm. Add beef chunks and sear on all sides until browned and crisp (Be sure not to overcrowd the pot, cook in batches if needed).
Slow Cook the Birria de Res
Pour blended tomato/chili puree into the pot on top of the beef and add beef stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 ½-3 hours, until beef is fork tender.
Taste for salt and add as needed then remove the beef and shred with a fork. Save the juices to dip the quesadillas into!
Prepare the Quesadillas
Melt butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Dip the tortilla into the reserved juices from the pot and place it into the pan. Add ½ cup Mexican Blend Cheese Mixture and ½ cup Mozzarella (more if you'd like). Then add about 1 cup of the shredded beef on top of the cheese and place the second tortilla on top.
Flip over in the pan and allow the second side to crisp. Finally, remove from pan and enjoy with accompanying traditional warm birria broth!
What to serve with Birria Quesadillas
The quesadilla toppings are my favorite! Whether you're using corn tortillas or flour tortillas (my preference), I like to top them with sour cream, pico de gallo, and a few lime wedges. You can also serve these with:
- Mexican Spaghetti
- refried beans
- tortillas chips
- freshly chopped cilantro
Recipe FAQs
Birria quesadillas are warm tortillas filled with beef and cheese.
The inclusion of chiles makes these birria quesadillas spicy but not overwhelming, so the whole family can enjoy them!
The quesadillas and consommé should be more than enough but if you want other add-ons, consider yellow rice, roasted veggies, or guacamole.
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Birria Quesadilla
Equipment
- Medium Saucepan
- Large Fry Pan
- Large Pot/ Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chuck roast
- 2 tsps Cumin
- 2 tsp Chili powder
- 1 tbsp Onion powder
- ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp Ground coriander
- Salt and Pepper
Consume
- 2 Chile de Arbol
- 3 Ancho Chiles
- 4 Gaujillo Chiles
- 4 tbsps Vegetable Oil
- 1 Onion sliced
- 4 Garlic cloves diced
- 1 tsp Peppercorns
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 3 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- ½ tsp Cloves ground
- 1 tsp Ginger ground
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 6 oz Tomato paste
- 2 cans Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- 28 oz Can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- ⅓ cup Apple cider vinegar
- 6 cups Beef stock
Quesabirria
- 2 tbsps Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 12 Flour tortillas burrito size
- ½ cup Mexican blend cheese
- ½ cup Mozzarella cheese
- Cilantro
Directions
- Add cumin, chili powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, salt, and pepper to the chuck roast. Salt liberally and cut into large chunks. Set aside.
- Bring about 8 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- On a cutting board, cut chiles and remove the seeds. Add oil to a frying pan and toast the chiles for 3-4 minutes, until slightly charred. Then place the chiles in the boiling water until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add an additional tablespoon of oil to the frying pan and add sliced onions. Cook until softened and fragrant, then add peppercorns, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, cumin ginger, and a cinnamon stick.
- Continue to cook for 4 minutes then add tomato paste and stir until paste forms then remove from heat and take out the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Add everything left in the pan into a blender along with softened boiled chilies (don't worry about draining the peppers completely), Garlic, Chipotle Peppers in Adobo, Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes, and Apple Cider Vinegar. Blend together until smooth and thick.
- Add 4 tbsps of vegetable oil to a large pot and allow it to warm. Add beef chunks and sear on all sides until browned and crisp (Be sure not to overcrowd the pot, cook in batches if needed).
- Pour blended tomato/chili puree into the pot on top of the beef and add beef stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 ½-3 hours, until beef is fork tender.
- Taste for salt and add as needed then remove the beef and shred with a fork. Save the juices to dip the quesadilla into!
Birria Quesadillas
- Melt butter and olive oil in a pan. Dip the tortilla into the reserved juices from the pot and place into the pan. Add ½ cup Mexican Blend Cheese Mixture and ½ cup Mozzarella (more if you'd like). Then add about 1 cup of the shredded beef on top of the cheese and place the second tortilla on top.
- Flip over in the pan and allow the second side to crisp. Remove from pan and enjoy.
Notes
- If you don't want to use flour tortillas, you can use corn instead.
- If tortillas feel a little stiff, warm flour tortillas in the microwave in a damp paper towel.
- Instead of using a Mexican blend and mozzarella, you can use Oaxaca cheese.
- I previously mentioned that I used chuck roast because it is readily available but feel free to use this recipe with goat, lamb, veal, or mutton.
- To save time, make the birria a day or two ahead so then you can just make the quesadillas and warm up the broth for dipping.
It took a while to make this but it was really delicious.
Thanks!