Every so often I get a hankering for a Taco Bell specialty. Ok, I confess, when I see the commercials and I’m hungry, LOL. When that mood strikes I’m often too lazy to hop in the car to make a run over to the border…LOL. Sometimes it’s just too much trouble to change out of my jammies, and put on shoes. Fess up! I know I’m not the only one! Once you see how easy it is to make these at home you can stay in your jammies and whip them up any time the mood strikes. Plus you can make them as beefy and cheesy as you please.
Once you have the rice going on the stove its super easy to get these cooked up and into your belly! If you’re looking for an easy stove top method for How To Cook Rice you can learn all about how to do it here.
Start by making the Cilantro-Lime Rice:
Cook the rice. When rice is cooked add lime juice and cilantro.
Use a fork to combine the ingredients and fluff the rice. Cover, set aside and keep warm.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the beef filling:
Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika.
Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking until beef is no longer pink and is nicely browned. Give it a taste and add more seasonings to suite your tastes.
Remove from heat and spoon off any excess fat. Cover, set aside and keep warm.
Left-over Make-over: If you have left-over taco meat and Spanish rice use that for the filling. This is a great way to use up some of those leftovers hanging out in the fridge. Just heat it up for a few seconds in the microwave.
Make the cheese quesadillas:
Heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a tortilla to the dry hot pan. Sprinkle the the tortilla with a layer of cheddar cheese.
Top with a second flour tortilla and cook until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes per side. Goal is a soft tortilla that you can easily roll up, not a crunchy tortilla. Cook just until the the cheese melts. The melted cheese acts as a glue to hold everything together.
Remove from skillet and set quesadilla aside. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and cheddar cheese.
Assemble & cook the Quesaritos:
Working on a flat surface, top the center of one quesadilla with about a 1/2 cup of Cilantro Lime rice, 1/2 cup of seasoned ground beef, and pickled Jalapeño slices.
Top with a 1/4 cup of nacho cheese sauce and 1/4 cup of sour cream.
Tasty additions: Add chopped onion, diced tomatoes and/or sliced black olives to the filling. You can’t go wrong adding a sprinkle of Tajin too.
Carefully roll up into a burrito folding in the sides as you roll to keep the filling enclosed in the center.
Set seam side down while you assemble more quesaritos using up the remaining ingredients.
Reheat the cast iron pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons butter. When butter has melted add a quesarito seam side down in the skillet.
Cook until filling is heated through and the outside is cooked to a crunchy golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
If it starts to come apart, use a pair of tongs to hold the quesarito together as it cooks.
Serve immediately. Cut in half and serve with a side of salsa if desired.
Serving suggestion: Heat extra cheese sauce and serve Quesaritos with a side of nachos; tortilla chips drizzled with hot cheese sauce. Top nacho’s with pickled Jalapeño slices if desired.
Not only are these easy to make they are much better than what you can order and pick up from the drive thru! Make them as beefy and cheesy as you please. Just be sure you are good and hungry. These puppies are HUGH! I promise they will fill your belly and make your tastebuds really happy!!!
Taco Bell Quesarito Copy Cat Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cilantro-Lime Rice:
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
For the beef filling:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the Quesarito:
- 8 large burrito size flour tortillas
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup sliced pickled Jalapeños, optional
- ½ cup nacho cheese sauce
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
Make Cilantro-Lime Rice:
- Cook rice. When rice is cooked add lime juice and cilantro. Use a fork to combine the ingredients and fluff the rice. Cover, set aside and keep warm.
Prepare Beef Filling:
- While the rice is cooking prepare the beef. Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
- Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking until beef is no longer pink and is nicely browned.
- Remove from heat and spoon off any excess fat. Cover, set aside and keep warm.
Make Cheese Quesadillas:
- Heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a tortilla to the dry hot pan.
- Sprinkle tortilla with a layer of cheddar cheese.
- Top with a second flour tortilla and cook until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes per side. Goal is a soft tortilla that you can easily roll up, not a crunchy tortilla.
- Remove from skillet and set quesadilla aside. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and cheddar cheese.
Assemble & Cook Quesaritos:
- Working on a flat surface, top the center of one quesadilla with about a 1/2 cup of Cilantro Lime rice, 1/2 cup of seasoned ground beef, pickled Jalapeño slices, 1/4 cup of nacho cheese sauce and 1/4 cup of sour cream.
- Carefully roll up into a burrito folding in the sides as you roll to keep the filling enclosed in the center. Set seam side down on a platter while you assemble more quesaritos using up the remaining ingredients.
- Reheat the cast iron pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons butter.
- When butter has melted add a quesarito seam side down. Cook until filling is heated through and the outside is cooked to a crunchy golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Use a pair of tongs to hold the quesarito together as it cooks.
- Serve immediately. Cut in half and serve with a side of salsa if desired.
Notes
Did You Make These?
Snap a pic and hashtag it #naturewayblog — I love to see your creations! Don’t forget to comment and leave a review, or tag me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER!
May I ask a small favor? If you enjoyed this blogpost would you be so kind and like the page? It lets me know what you are enjoying the most. It also helps me focus my attention on creating content that will be most meaningful and beneficial for you, my readers. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so you never miss out on all the latest that’s happening here at Nature Way. Thank you!
The Lord our God is one Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!