Patty Melt Quesadilla
A smashed-beef, oniony, melty mashup that eats like a patty melt you can fold in half.
Prep: 10 · Cook: 15 · Total: 25 · Serves: 4 · Difficulty: Easy · Rating: 4.7/5 (198 reviews)
INSPIRED BY
A patty melt meets a quesadilla, inspired by diner griddles and road-trip cravings.
Story
Picture a roadside joint with a flat-top that never cools down. Now take that patty melt vibe and fold it into a tortilla, boom, crispy, smashed, stacked. You get beef with real crust, onions that go sweet, and cheese that pulls like a champ. Slide in with a plate of wedges and tell me this is not the best kind of messy.
By Theo
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Swiss or provolone
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
Instructions
- Mix mayo, ketchup, and mustard in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and cook the onions with a pinch of salt until soft and golden, about 8 minutes.
- Push onions to the side. Crank heat to medium-high, add beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned and a little crispy.
- Lay one tortilla in the skillet. Sprinkle cheese, then add beef, onions, and a drizzle of the sauce.
- Top with more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side until the tortilla is crisp and the cheese is melted.
- Slice into wedges and serve hot. Extra sauce on the side is the move.
Chef Tips
- Let the beef brown hard, that crust is where the diner flavor lives.
- Swiss is classic patty melt energy, but provolone gets nice and stretchy.
- If your skillet is small, build one quesadilla at a time and keep the first warm in a low oven.
Cook's Notes
- **Heat:** Use medium-high for the beef so it browns, not steams.
- **Onions:** Golden is enough, you do not need a full 30-minute caramelize.
- **Sauce:** Mix it first so it is ready when the skillet is hot.