Venison Quesadillas
Cheesy, meaty, and full of flavor! Venison quesadillas are a unique take on this Tex-Mex favorite. Best of all? They are so easy to make!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 948kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 small onion peeled and diced
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound shredded cheddar cheese
- Flour tortillas
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the diced bell pepper and onion, and sauté for about 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the ground venison to the skillet and cook until browned, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks.
- Stir in the chili powder, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne. Mix well to evenly distribute the spices. Remove the meat and vegetable mixture from the skillet and set aside.
- To assemble the quesadillas, melt a small amount of butter in the skillet. Place one tortilla in the pan and sprinkle an even layer of shredded cheese over the entire surface.
- Spoon the venison and sautéed veggie mixture over the cheese, then add another layer of cheese on top.
- Place a second tortilla over the filling and dot the top with a little butter. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and crispy, then carefully flip and cook the other side until crisp and the cheese is fully melted.
- Remove from the skillet, slice into wedges, and repeat with the remaining ingredients to make additional quesadillas.
Notes
- I recommend serving your quesadillas with a dipping sauce (or two), such as salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.
- How many quesadillas you can make with this recipe depends on the size of your tortillas and how much you fill them. I usually like to make one large quesadilla per person, then serve the slices family-style on a large platter.
- It can be a little tricky to get the skillet temperature just right. I recommend starting with medium heat and carefully increasing it as necessary. If the pan is too hot, the tortilla will brown before the cheese fully melts, so it's better to keep it in the medium-heat range.
- If you aren't serving the quesadillas right away, it's best not to cover them with foil to keep warm. This will cause steam to build up and soften the tortillas, taking away that delightful crispy texture we are after.
- If your tortillas are very large, the quesadilla can get difficult to flip. In that case, I like to make them by folding a single tortilla in half, making each quesadilla half the size and therefore much easier to flip.
- For a super easy meal prep, cook the pepper, onion, and venison mixture up ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. All you'll have to do to get dinner on the table is assemble the quesadillas and fry them up!