Recipe: Taco-Bell Style Quesadillas

This is a recipe for cooking Taco-Bell style cheese quesadillas, specifically including cooking instructions for using induction cooking.

Part of the trick here is the sauce, and part of it is in how you cook it. I myself used my new induction cooker, which is perfect for this sort of thing as it can cook things very quickly and evenly, which is what we're trying to emulate here. It should work fine on a normal stove too though.


The sauce recipe is an amalgamation of a few recipes from across the web, some guessing based on the ingredients list at Taco-Bell's website, and my own assumptions and variations. It turned out really good!


I know there are several recipes on the web for this already. I decided to post my own variation because the other recipes are for chicken quesadillas, and being vegetarian myself I wanted a recipe for the cheese quesadillas; because the other recipes online use American cheese, and I'm not exactly partial to the processed cheeses myself; and because I felt I could add something by changing a few ingredients, and specifying more clearly the exact cooking procedure needed to get the same crisp, evenly cooked outside, which is a large part of making a quesadilla similar to Taco-Bell's.

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The instructions specified here should work fine with any 10 power setting, 1800 watt induction cooker (I used a Max Burton 6000). Normal heat settings are specified as well, in case you're using a normal stove. Be aware that cook times might be significantly longer on a normal stove.

Makes: 2 half quesadillas (with leftover sauce)

What You'll Need:

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup ranch dip OR mayonnaise (either will work fine, and you can even use 1/8 cup of each)         ---vegenaise also works fine
• 2 tsp chopped pickled chilies or jalapenos
• 2 tsp pickled chili or jalapeno juice
• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• Optional: 1/4 tsp chipotle powder
• Salt to taste

Quesadillas: 

• 2 wheat tortillas
• 1/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup finely shredded fresh parmesan, asiago, or romano cheese (I can't vouch for how good the canned powdery stuff will taste)
• Cooking oil (I used olive)

Instructions:

Assembly:

     1. Stir all sauce ingredients together until well mixed and smooth.

     2. Mix cheddar and monterey jack cheeses together.

     3. Spread about 1-1/2 Tbsp sauce on half of a tortilla (a good even layer).

     4. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cheese mix on top of sauce (again, a good even layer).

     5. Sprinkle 1/8 cup parmesan, asiago, or romano cheese on top of other ingredients, and fold to close.

Cooking:

The trick for cooking these right, so that they're just crispy on the outside, and just melted on the inside, is to cook them just how Taco-Bell does it themselves: for a very short time on a very high-heat, lightly oiled grill. Induction is perfect for this, as it replicates the high power and efficiency of commercial grills, and cooks very evenly. Normal stoves should work just fine as well though.

1. Using a folded piece of paper towel, lightly grease a 12 inch skillet (cast iron works great).
2. Preheat skillet to power level 5 (medium high on a normal stove), until oil begins to bead.
3. Turn to power level 3 (high side of medium), and place folded quesadilla in pan.
4. Turn as soon as quesadilla begins to brown (about 30 sec).
5. Once other side is brown (30 sec again), use a spatula to bring the uncooked edge of the quesadilla to the center of the pan, and hold for about 20 sec. Repeat on other three sides, so that quesadilla is evenly cooked all around.

     6. Remove, cut with a pizza cutter, sharp spatula, or knife and enjoy!

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For another great induction cooked Taco-Bell imitation recipe, go here.

For more info on induction cooking, and a recommendation for a specific unit that's best as an intro to this new method of cooking, check out my post here.


I love hearing from you. If this was helpful to you in any way, please leave a quick comment letting me know!