The Ultimate Meat and Cheese Quesarito Recipe (Taco Bell Copycat)

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Last updated on November 21st, 2022 at 11:22 am

This recipe is for when you can’t decide between a quesadilla and a burrito. Just have them both, together! And that’s how the ultimate meat and cheese quesarito recipe is born.

Though not invented by Taco Bell, the quesarito was certainly made famous when they released it back in 2014. And it really just makes sense. Instead of just making a burrito with a plain tortilla, make a burrito using a quesadilla as the delicious cheesy vessel to roll everything up.

This copycat Taco Bell recipe is surprisingly simple to make. There are a few ways you can customize the recipe. But it’s not as hard as you might think to recreate the meal you are used to getting from the drive-thru.

This is my recipe for the ultimate meat and cheese quesarito, which you can enjoy for dinner whenever you’d like. Here’s how to make it at home.

Prep the Quesarito Recipe Fillings

We’re going to make our copycat quesarito recipe using a few other recipes from the site to help us out. If you have another favorite recipe for some of these fillings, then feel free to make those instead.

But, of course, I feel like mine are pretty darn good.

Starting with the ground beef. This was my sort of copycat recipe of Taco Bell’s ground beef. Though it is very much a homemade version. So what better recipe to use than this simple ground beef taco meat?

Next, make some Mexican rice. I made this recipe for Mexican rice in the rice cooker. That way it is very simple to prepare and takes a little less babysitting than traditional rice cooking. But it still packs a ton of flavor.

For a bit of sauce and flavor, prepare some chipotle crema using mostly sour cream and canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

I’ve not included them in my recipe, but pan-fried potato bites could also make a wonderful addition. Just chop, parboil, and then pan-fry them up with some seasonings for another tasty filling.

So, once you’ve got the beef, rice, and sauce ready to go, it’s time to make the quesadilla. 

Build the Quesadilla Shell

Now, we’re going to build our quesadilla.

Start with a large, hot skillet and the biggest tortillas you can get your hands on. The huge tortillas will make a large quesadilla that will be easier to roll and fold up all your fillings.

Toss one tortilla into the pan. Then add an even layer of shredded cheese and a layer of nacho cheese. Note that I just kind of plopped the nacho cheese around. Then when I put the other tortilla on top, I figured that would spread things around evenly.

For the cheese, I suggest choosing one of the following high-moisture melting cheeses: Oaxaca, asadero, queso quesadilla, Monterey Jack, and Colby Jack. However, you can use whatever cheese you prefer to make this. You can even use a mix of different cheeses. I used a mix of Monterey Jack, cheddar, asadero, and queso quesadilla cheese.

Also, know that shredding your own cheese straight off the block is better than pre-shredded cheese in most cases. Pre-shredded stuff usually has added anti-caking things in it that make it a little more difficult to get that perfect melt. But, it definitely isn’t a make-or-break, especially for this recipe. It is more important for cheese sauces like making homemade mac and cheese.

But, perfectly melting cheese is what we aim for in a quesadilla.

Assemble Your Quesarito Recipe

Once the quesadilla is made, gather all of the other ingredients around so we can get to assembling our copycat recipe.

With the quesadilla laid out flat on a plate, start filling it with meat, beans, rice, sour cream, nacho cheese, and chipotle crema. I just kind of randomly piled the fillings in and tried to mix them around a bit so that I don’t get one pocket of a single filling.

Place the ingredients a few inches in from the outer edge. And group the filling on one side of an imaginary diameter of the quesadilla. This will all make it easier to fold and roll the burrito.

Do not overfill the tortilla! That is typically the biggest issue when it gets time to fold it all up. I know all of the ingredients are delicious and so it can be hard to use restraint. But fight the urge to overfill and it will be better in the end. In my opinion, the tortilla looks a little bit empty still when there’s enough room to properly fold it.

Once filled, it’s time to actually roll up your quesarito properly to make sure nothing falls out. Use this guide on how to fold your burrito. It’s one of my most popular pages on the site because it really is a pretty simple step-by-step guide.

Garnish and Serve Your Quesarito

You don’t have to limit yourself just to what goes inside the copycat quesarito recipe. Add some toppings or garnishes to lend even more flavor to this dish.

Use lettuce, sour cream, crema, guacamole, salsa, hot sauce, cilantro, and fresh lime wedges to top it off. You can also drizzle the chipotle crema over top, or try adding some pickled red onions to the mix for a bright, vinegary flavor. Have some beans, rice, street corn, or frijoles charros on the side to complete the meal.

In the end, it’s really about making this your own and deciding what you’d love most inside, on top, and on the side.

And there you have it! You’ve just made the ultimate meat and cheese quesarito recipe.

If you’re feeling like it, try making some Mexican desserts for when you’ve finished your meal. Fried ice cream, churros with dipping sauces, homemade flan, or tres leches cake would each make a delicious dessert.

If you’re looking for something similar to this recipe, check out these other burritos:

• Fully Loaded Breakfast Burrito
• Fried Baja Shrimp Burrito

Whatever you make, enjoy your next meal and let me know how it went.

How did yours turn out?

I’d love to hear when you try making a quesarito at home! Take a pic of your food and share your success with me by adding it to your Instagram stories or feed, and tagging me @doyouroux, or by using #doyouroux.

Plus, leave a rating to let me know how you liked the recipe. It helps me out a lot to know how things worked out… or didn’t.

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