by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Leftover meatloaf can be so versatile. I turned plain leftover meatloaf into something new and delicious – beef quesadillas! 

It made a lot – enough for supper and lunches the next day too. And since I was using leftover food, it was almost free. 

(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)

Bringing Home Restaurant Leftovers

One day RancherMan & I celebrated a special occasion by going to the Cheesecake Factory. (I was 5 Years Cancer Free, y’all!)

But this restaurant always serves so much food that we decided to split the entrée so we would still be able to enjoy a piece of super-decadent chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

After all, it was supposed to be a celebration, y’all!

Oh we got the cheesecake alright, but even splitting the entrée there was no way we could eat it all and still enjoy cheesecake too.

And that specialty cheesecake is the reason we picked THIS restaurant to celebrate in the first place.

So RancherMan suggested we put half our entrée in a to-go container to take home.

(thankfully I always bring my own GLASS reusable to-go container in a denim carrier – I HATE those styrofoam monstrosities! )

With the remaining portion of our meal bundled up we were free to move on to the special celebration dessert right then. So we got to enjoy that cheesecake!

But I’m going to make sure these meatloaf leftovers are not wasted. I’ll remake that meatloaf into something new and delicious.

Leftover Meatloaf Into Easy Beef Quesadillas

Using that leftover meatloaf I decided make quesadillas! RancherMan & I love Tex-Mex food.

You can see all our Tex-Mex favorites by pressing this button:

Making beef quesadillas from leftover meatloaf will be fast since the main ingredient is already seasoned & cooked.

So I gathered up the ingredients I’d need for my leftover meatloaf quesadillas:

Leftover meatloaf, chopped (about 2 cups)

1/2 onion, chopped

1/4 bell pepper, chopped (both leftover from the Salisbury steaks I made earlier in the week)

Diced jalapeno 

Shredded Mexican-style cheese

The quantity of ingredients will obviously depend upon how much meatloaf you have to be used. I had about 2 cups of leftover meatloaf to work with.

How To Make Leftover Meatloaf Beef Quesadillas

I chopped up the leftover onion & pepper from the fridge and put a little olive oil on my *2-burner cast-iron griddle (dang I <3 that thing!)

Then I cooked the vegetables until the onions were translucent. When they were ready I scooped them all up and mixed them with the chopped meatloaf.

A little more olive oil on the griddle and I tossed a flour tortilla down, added a sprinkling of shredded cheese and spooned on some of the meat mixture, spreading it evenly over the tortilla surface.

I finished with another sprinkling of shredded cheese. This will anchor the meat filling between layers of cheese.

Finally, I topped the whole shebangie with another tortilla. By then everything was all melty and heated.

So I flipped the quesadillas and let them cook just long enough to turn lightly brown on the other side. Then BOOM! Supper in a flash!

Quesadillas Made With Meatloaf Still Makes A LOT!

I served those quesadillas with a side of salsa verde, a few of those sliced jalapenos and a dollop of my homemade yogurt (a low-fat sour cream substitute for me)

Supper was fast, delicious and since we were using leftovers it was dang near free! 

And since leftover onions/peppers/cheese were added, those two leftover slices of meatloaf were made into four very filling quesadillas. So we had plenty for lunch the next day as well. YEA! 

What Sides Go With Beef Quesadillas?

There are many delicious sides we can choose to go with our leftover meatloaf beef quesadillas. I love Tex-Mex options such as:

• • Quick Instant Pot Pinto Beans (with my favorite Pinto Bean Seasoning)

  • Ranch-Style Beans (I always have these in the freezer for speedy eating)

  • Tex-Mex Style Spanish Rice

  • Cilantro Lime Rice – I always have Leftover Plain Rice to season however I like.

Whatever you like goes here! So… What are your favorite ways to remake leftovers?

~TxH~

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