Copycat Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger
Published 3/3/2023
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Enjoy this Copycat Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger made easily in your own kitchen. Tastes even better than the real thing!
Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger at Home
You don’t need to head to Applebee’s to enjoy a quesadilla burger! That’s right, we’re teaching you how to make an amazing copycat Applebee’s quesadilla burger in your own kitchen in a few simple steps.
why you’ll love it
Tastes just like the real thing only more flavorful!
Fun way to jazz up a traditional taco dinner!
Easily doubled or tripled to feed a crowd.
Quesadilla Burger Ingredients
- 6-inch tortillas: the fajita size! Anything larger will be too big for your burger patty.
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Ground beef: we used 85/15.
- Pepper jack cheese
- Shredded lettuce
- Pico de gallo
- Cooked bacon
- Ranch dressing
- Salsa: use your favorite! Anything will work.
- Taco seasoning: we used homemade but you can use store bought, too.
- Avocado oil
- Salt & pepper
try it!
Copycat Crunchwrap Supreme
Looking for more copycat recipes? Skip the drive thru and make our copycat crunchwrap supreme!
How to Make Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger
Prep tortillas
Preheat the oven to 400ºF, and brush 3 tablespoons of avocado oil onto 2 cookie sheets and lay 4 tortillas onto each sheet.
Sprinkle about ¼ cup of shredded cheddar onto each tortilla. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 3 to 4 minutes. The cheese should be bubbling and the bottoms of the tortillas should be golden brown and crispy.
Make Burger Patties
Prepare the burger patties. Separate the ground beef up into 4 balls. Press each ground beef ball into thin patties that are about 5-inches round.
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the burger patties to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Place pepper jack on each burger patty and cover to allow the cheese to melt.
Make Mexi-ranch sauce
Next, mix together the ranch, salsa, and taco seasoning in a small bowl.
Assemble Quesadilla Burgers
Layer the following in this order:
- 1 tortilla, cheese side up
- ¼ cup of the shredded lettuce
- 2 tablespoons of pico
- 1 burger patty
- 2 slices of bacon
- 2 more tablespoons of pico.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of Mexi-ranch
- Top with another tortilla
Serve & Enjoy!
Serve immediately with your favorite sides (we’re making some recommendations below!). Enjoy!
What to Serve with Quesadilla Burgers
- Mexican Corn Salad
- Tortilla chips and salsa or taco dip
- Queso fresco dip
- Elote Queso
Top Tips for Quesadilla Burgers
Not all taco seasoning is created equal: we LOVE Fit Foodie Finds homemade taco seasoning because the flavor can’t be beat. Make a large batch to keep on hand!
Use 6-inch flour tortillas: corn tortillas will have a difficult time keeping all your quesadilla burger ingredients in place. We recommend using flour tortillas, and making sure they’re 6-inch tortilla for the perfect pairing for your burger patty.
Make it your own! don’t love pepper jack cheese? Use cheddar! Want to use turkey burgers? Go for it! Make these Applebee’s quesadilla burgers your own for the perfect taco night.
Storage
While we recommend eating your Applebee’s quesadilla burger fresh, you can absolutely save it for later.
Transfer your leftover quesadilla burger into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Copycat Applebees Quesadilla Burger
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
- 8 6-inch tortillas, fajita size
- 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, (~2 cups)
- 1 lb. ground beef, we used 85/15
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 slices pepper jack cheese
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 cup fresh pico de gallo
- 8 slices cooked bacon
- ½ cup ranch dressing
- 3 tablespoons of your favorite salsa
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, we used homemade but you can use store bought, too
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Brush 3 tablespoons of avocado oil onto 2 cookie sheets and lay 4 tortillas onto each sheet.
- Sprinkle about ¼ cup of shredded cheddar onto each tortilla. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 3 to 4 minutes. The cheese should be bubbling and the bottoms of the tortillas should be golden brown and crispy. Set aside for later.
- Prepare the burger patties. Separate the ground beef up into 4 balls. Press each ground beef ball into thin patties that are about 5-inches round. Season each patty with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the burger patties to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Place 2 slices of pepper jack on each burger patty and cover for 30 seconds to allow the cheese to melt. Remove the patties from the skillet and keep them warm.
- Place already cooked pieces of bacon into the skillet a minute before you are ready to assemble to make sure they are warm.
- Next, in a small bowl, mix together the ranch, salsa, and taco seasoning. Set aside.
- To assemble, lay one tortilla crispy-side down. Add ¼ cup of the shredded lettuce and 2 tablespoons of pico on top of the melted cheddar. Then, add a burger patty and 2 slices of bacon onto the lettuce. Top with 2 more tablespoons of pico. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of Mexi-ranch on top of the burger, then top with another tortilla.
- Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes
- This recipe is surprisingly quick to make. A fun twist for taco Tuesday!
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #cheeseknees, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
I need to say this was very tasty and as you can see I already had eaten the other half. Thanks for thiscopy cat recipe. I love it
Yum!
Made this for my husband and he loved it!
So happy to hear it, Alyssa!
This TRULY is better than the original! Love love love that you guys created this copycat recipe.