With peppers, onions, and plenty of melty cheese, easy Chorizo Quesadillas are deliciously spicy and savory; perfect for warming everyone up on a cold New England day! Make the quesadillas for dinner or as a snack.
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Cheesy, melty, gooey, spicy—there's a lot to love about Chorizo Quesadillas! My family love these with dinner, but they're also tasty to set out as a game day snack or a casual weekend lunch with a cold beer.
The quesadillas are made with peppers, onions, and spicy Mexican chorizo. And the good news is that the quesadillas can be made fairly quickly. Ground chorizo cooks up fast for the filling. After that, just assemble the quesadillas and cook them for a couple of minutes on each side.
In a nutshell... 🐿️
- What this is: These are spicy and savory quesadillas filled with Mexican chorizo, peppers, onions, and lots of melty cheese; perfect for warming you up on chilly Northeastern nights!
- You'll love this part: They're wonderfully quick to pull together for a family dinner, a game day snack, or a casual weekend lunch.
- How it's made: Saute veggies and chorizo, layer the mixture with cheese and sour cream in tortillas, then pan-fry them until golden-brown and melted.
Jump to:
What are the different types of chorizo?
Visit the meat department at your local store and you'll probably see more than one product labeled as chorizo, or even as chouriço. What's the difference between these different products?
Bon Appétit shares that chorizo (pronounced "cho-REE-zo") falls under two categories: fresh or dried. Fresh chorizo is uncooked; it's a blend of pork, vinegar, and spices, including a paste of Mexican chiles. It's sometimes referred to as Mexican chorizo. Dried chorizo, also called Spanish chorizo, is sold as smoked and cured sausages. The sausages can be sliced and eaten as charcuterie.
And then there's chouriço. New England food writer David Leite writes that chouriço (pronounced "sho-REE-so" or "sho-REES") is a smoked Portuguese sausage that's available in both fully cooked and partially cooked varieties. It's also made with pork, as well as ingredients like red wine, paprika, and ground chile peppers. It has smokier flavor than Spanish chorizo.
For these Chorizo Quesadillas, look for packages of fresh chorizo: uncooked, ground chorizo sausage. It's traditionally made with ground pork, but you may also see ground beef varieties—either type are delicious in this recipe.
Pair it with...
Haley's Garlic and Lime Guacamole
Don't forget the tortilla chips!
Why you'll love this recipe
Quesadillas de chorizo are easy to make and they're so full of flavor! Soft tortillas are loaded with browned chorizo, sautéed peppers, onions, and plenty of melted Jack cheese. For more flavor, make the quesadillas with sharp Vermont cheddar or a blend of Jack and cheddar.
I like to make chorizo quesadillas for dinner with sides of Mexican rice and black beans, and serve them with sour cream and salsa on the side. If you love cilantro, add some of the fresh herb to the quesadilla wedges.
Chorizo quesadillas are also tasty for a snack or to set out as an appetizer at Super Bowl parties or when friends are coming over for drinks and games.
🔪 How to make Chorizo Quesadillas
Ingredients:
- Chorizo Sausage: Look for packages of spicy ground chorizo sausage. Traditional chorizo is made with pork, though beef chorizo is also sometimes available.
- Flour Tortillas: Pick up 8-inch tortillas, which are sometimes labeled as soft taco size.
- Red bell pepper: For a cup of finely chopped pepper, pick up one large or two small fresh, red bell peppers.
- Onion: A half-cup of diced yellow or white onion adds lots of flavor to the quesadilla filling. You can use fresh or frozen diced onion.
- Garlic: You can easily mince fresh garlic cloves with a ribbon grater or a good, sharp kitchen knife.
- Sour Cream: Spread inside the quesadillas before cooking, sour cream creates an extra rich filling.
- Oil: Use a neutral-flavored oil like avocado oil or sunflower. It's used to sauté the vegetables and to cook the quesadillas.
- Shredded Cheese: I use shredded Jack cheese because it melts so well; a Mexican blend or sharp Vermont cheddar are also good choices. For the smoothest melt, grate your own cheese instead of buying preshredded.
- Salt: Just a pinch of salt is all you need to bring up the flavor of the quesadillas.
- Optional cilantro: If you love cilantro, add it to the inside of the quesadillas or scatter chopped cilantro over the top after slicing.
Cook the veggies and meat
Saute the diced peppers and onions, then add in the ground chorizo. Cook until the meat is completely cooked through, and then add the garlic.
Assemble the quesadillas
Spread sour cream inside the tortillas and layer in the shredded cheese and cooked chorizo mixture.
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Cook them up
Heat some oil in a large skillet and add in the assembled quesadillas, one at a time. Cook them until they're browned on both sides and melty on the inside.
Slice and eat!
Slice each quesadilla up into four wedges. Serve them while they're hot!
Salsa on the side!
Grilled Corn Salsa
Throw ears of corn, peppers, and tomatoes on the grill to make the best homemade salsa ever.
Chorizo Quesadillas FAQs
Yes, you can absolutely make these chorizo and cheese quesadillas with corn tortillas. Corn tortillas taste the best when they're cooked, so the frying step in this recipe is perfect to bring out their best flavor. Look for 8-inch corn tortillas, or adjust the filling amounts if you can only find smaller sizes.
I use Jack cheese in this quesadilla recipe because it has a mild flavor and melts beautifully. You can also use a shredded Mexican cheese blend (a mixture of Jack, cheddar, queso quesadilla, and asadero cheeses) or shredded cheddar.
First off, a good quesadilla should have plenty of melted cheese. That's why I layer the cheese as close to the tortillas as possible so it melts quickly during cooking. The tortillas should also have some crisp areas where they're browned. Finally, the fillings in the quesadilla can be abundant but not so much that it's overstuffed. These things are meant to be picked up and eaten out of hand; if all the filling falls out with the first bite, it defeats the purpose. That's another good reason to have plenty of melted cheese—it's the glue that holds the quesadilla together.
Tips:
- Chorizo is typically made with ground pork, but ground beef chorizo can also be used in this recipe.
- The diced red bell pepper and diced onion can be fresh or frozen.
The cheesy Chorizo Quesadilla recipe is below! And here are a few more meaty recipes you'll love:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Chorizo Quesadillas
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Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper (from 1 large or two small bell peppers)
- ½ cup diced onion (white or yellow)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 ounces spicy ground chorizo sausage
- 6 8-inch flour tortillas
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded Jack cheese
- Optional: fresh chopped cilantro, extra sour cream, salsa
Instructions
Cook the veggies and meat:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add in 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot and spread over the pan, add in the diced red pepper and onion.
- Stir and sauté the vegetables for about three minutes, until they've begun to soften.
- Then, crumble the ground chorizo into the pan. Cook the meat and vegetables, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large clumps, until the chorizo is cooked through—about 10 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir it in. Cook the mixture for another minute, and then remove the pan from the heat.
- A little bit of grease in the pan is okay; if there's excess grease, however, drain it off. Transfer the cooked mixture to a large bowl. Wipe out or wash the pan and hold it aside to cook the quesadillas.
Assemble the quesadillas:
- Lay the tortillas out on a work surface. Spread about 2 teaspoons of sour cream onto each tortilla.
- Sprinkle ⅓ cup of shredded Jack cheese evenly over three of the tortillas. Next, spread the cooked chorizo-vegetable mixture over the cheese, diving the mixture between the three tortillas.
- Top the chorizo with more shredded cheese, ⅓ cup over each one.
- Finally, lay the last three tortillas on top of each of the quesadillas, sour cream side down.
Cook the quesadillas:
- Place the large skillet back on the burner over medium heat. Have a plate or cutting board ready for the finished quesadillas.
- Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan and swirl the pan so that it coats the bottom. When the oil is hot, place one of the assembled quesadillas in the pan.
- Press down the top with a spatula as you cook it for about two minutes. When the bottom is lightly browned, carefully flip the quesadilla over. Cook it for another two minutes or so. It's done when both sides are lightly browned and the cheese inside is melty.
- Transfer the quesadilla to the plate or cutting board.
- Repeat these steps to cook the remaining two quesadillas, heating another tablespoon of oil in the pan for each one.
Slice and serve:
- Slice each quesadilla into fourths. Sprinkle optional chopped cilantro over the wedges. Serve the quesadillas while they're hot, along with sides of sour cream and salsa if you'd like.
- Makes about 4 servings.
Nutrition
Katie says
My family loved this!
Nancy Mock says
I'm so glad to hear this, Katie! Thanks for trying my recipe, I hope it's one you come back to often!
Christian says
Perfect any time!
Nancy Mock says
We love them for dinner, but you're right: they also make a tasty snack or app. Thanks for trying the recipe!
GiGi Eats Celebrities says
I can smell that deliciousness cooking from HERE!
Nancy Mock says
???? wish I could send you some!
Nancy Mock says
Yesss!????