Easy Italian Quesadillas
These Easy Italian Quesadillas are stuffed with ground meat, basil pesto, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and cheese. They’re simple to make in less than 30 minutes and PACKED with big flavor and meatiness. The whole family will LOVE this weeknight-friendly recipe.
Servings: 6 quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground venison or lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup basil pesto
- 2 (4-ounce) jars or cans of sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and diced
- 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- ¾ cup Italian cheese blend or Mozzarella, shredded
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or canola oil for frying
- ½ cup jarred pizza sauce or marinara sauce, for dipping
Instructions
- In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat, and season with salt and pepper. Let it sizzle in a single piece for 2 minutes (getting a little crust on the bottom makes it easier to break up), then with a wooden spoon or spatula or sturdy heatproof spatula, break it into small pieces.
- Stir in basil pesto continuing to break the meat into small pieces. Continue cooking until the meat is browned and cooked through, 2 minutes.
- Stir in mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in roasted red peppers and remove from the heat.
- For each quesadilla, spread ¼ cup of the cooked meat mixture over half of each tortilla, leaving ½-inch border at edge.
- Top with 2 Tablespoons of shredded cheese.
- Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and line with a piece of parchment paper or a single layer of paper towels.
- Heat ¼ cup oil in now-empty skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Carefully place two quesadillas in skillet, pressing into pan with thin spatula, and cook until browned on both sides and cheese has melted, 1½ minutes per side. Transfer to prepared rack. Repeat with remaining quesadillas.
- Cut into wedges and serve with pizza sauce or marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
