Remaking Leftovers: Quick Beef Quesadillas from Leftover Meatloaf

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. 

Leftover meatloaf is versatile! I'll make sure it's not wasted by remaking it into something new and delicious - quesadillas! #TexasHomesteader

(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!)

Pink ribbon breast cancer survivor. #TexasHomesteader

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! ) Repurposed denim made into a cute dish carrier to bring restaurant leftovers home. #TexasHomesteader

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.

Leftover meatloaf is versatile! I'll make sure it's not wasted by remaking it into something new and delicious - quesadillas! #TexasHomesteader

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.

Leftover meatloaf is versatile! I'll make sure it's not wasted by remaking it into something new and delicious - quesadillas! #TexasHomesteader

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!

Leftover meatloaf is versatile! I'll make sure it's not wasted by remaking it into something new and delicious - quesadillas! #TexasHomesteader

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! 

It's easy to use these tips to save money. #TexasHomesteader

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:

Fresh minced cilantro and fresh lime for cilantro-lime rice side dish. #TexasHomesteader

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

~TxH~

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13 thoughts on “Remaking Leftovers: Quick Beef Quesadillas from Leftover Meatloaf

  1. JES

    This is exactly how we survive around these parts by remaking our leftovers! You always provide such practical meal inspiration. Thank you for sharing with us on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth each week! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Katy SkipTheBag

    I wouldn’t have thought about using meatloaf in a quesadilla, but that looks AMAZING. Thanks for sharing at the #WasteLessWednesday blog hop!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      For us, meatloaf is the perfect thing to use in quesadillas – it’s already perfectly seasoned & cooked which makes whipping up quesadillas lightening fast! ~TxH~

      Reply
  3. Lori

    HI Tammy! Man that is right up my alley! Meatloaf quesadillas, YUM! Hubby would love those!

    Reply
  4. Michelle

    My husband has been asking for meatloaf. I have been putting it off in fear of the leftovers! Ha ha
    Here’s the solution!
    My hubby will thank you for making his request a reality!
    Michelle

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Meatloaf is one of our faves Michelle, and we use leftover meatloaf in many different ways – crumbled for spaghetti sauce or pizza toppings or quesadilla filling. Depending upon the prevalent flavor in my meatloaf I can also crumble leftovers into chili, homemade ravioli or taco filling. It always gets used and since it’s already cooked/seasoned it makes the remake menu super quick! ~TxH~

      Reply
  5. Texas Homesteader Post author

    Dinner plans are often made by glancing in the fridge and seeing what needed to be used up, Edye. I just hate wasted food. Thankfully RancherMan is pretty open to me remaking leftovers or heck even eating them as they were served the night before. His comment has always been “that supper last night was delicious, and it’s bound to be just as delicious tonight!” Sure makes using up leftovers easier! ~TxH~

    Reply
  6. Jennifer Dunn

    This is just the inspiration I needed for supper tonight! Thanks so much for sharing! Sometimes I just can’t seem to come up with good ideas to use my left overs. 🙂 Hope you have a great day!

    Reply
  7. Quirky Homemaker

    Oh my gosh! What a great idea to take a glass reusable to-go container. The quesadillas look yummy!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I truly HATE styrofoam on so many different levels so that’s my main driving force, but I even have restaurant servers comment that they love the glass dish for leftovers idea. Hopefully I’m planting a seed… ~TxH~

      Reply
  8. Christina

    Meatloaf into quesadillas — that’s just brilliant! 😀
    Leftovers are the best, but boy does it inspire a person to get creative. There can never be enough ideas for remaking leftovers.

    Thanks for posting!
    God Bless,
    Christina

    Reply
  9. Kailyn Shippee

    I love using up leftovers! Most of the time I purposely cook enough to have leftovers for our lunches or for busy evenings. One of my favorite things to make is “leftover soup” where I throw just about anything into my soup pot along with some broth and call it supper.

    Reply
  10. Patti

    Tammy, I have that same griddle and LOVE it! We rarely have leftovers with 3 men in the house but when I do it’s all thrown into a casserole of some sort to stretch another meal our way. The cheesecake factory has wonderful cheesecake, seems a road trip is in my future very soon. Have a wonderful weekend! Patti

    Reply

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