These boozy beef steak quesadillas are essentially mojito quesadillas – the steak is actually cooked in the ingredients for the classic cocktail! They’re easy, cheesy and really full of delicious lime flavours.
No matter the time of year, these beef quesadillas are the perfect dinner – if it’s Summer then the lime makes them light, fresh and perfect for sunny evenings. However, if it isn’t Summer then they’re the perfect treat to remind you of those sorts of evenings!
I, for one, love being reminded of Summer – hence cooking the steak in gorgeous fresh limes and mint! The flavours are just gorgeous – and they really pack a punch! Plus, if you’re essentially making a mojito to cook the steak in then you just might as well make an extra glass or two to enjoy at the same time! After all, why waste that nice bottle of rum?
Even just looking at these photos again makes me hungry! The flavours of the rum and lime are delicious with the chilli and red onion. This recipe is a gorgeous, fresh take on classic Mexican quesadillas!
What do I need to make these boozy beef quesadillas with lime?
None of the ingredients are too unusual – the unusual part here is cooking your steak in a cocktail! The only expensive ingredient is the rum, although you don’t need much so you could even just buy an individual can of white rum to keep costs down.
But then, what would you do about dinner drinks? You can’t have a nice Summer dinner without a nice Summer cocktail, so you might as well just buy a big bottle of rum and make sure to drink the rest (although possibly over the course of several evenings!)
Anyway, for these lime quesadillas, you’ll need:
- Sliced sirloin steak. I like sirloin as it’s a leaner cut that still has plenty of flavour, but if you prefer ribeye then that works well too!
- Limes – after all, you can’t have a mojito without lime the same way that you can’t have a mojito quesadilla without limes!
- White rum – a fairly low amount, but the flavour it brings is very important in this dish so while I often make alcohol optional for my recipes, this one just wouldn’t be the same without it!
- Water – to stretch the alcohol further so that you have enough liquid without the white rum flavour overwhelming everything else.
- Mint leaves – and quite a few of them! Once again, you can’t have a mojito without mint so I’d recommend making sure that you use fresh mint. You can usually find bags of it at the supermarket so it’s readily available even if you don’t grow your own.
- Granulated sugar helps the steak to caramelise in the pan, giving it a lovely, gently sweet flavour that’s subtle yet perfectly counteracts the acidity of the limes
- A red onion is another fairly important flavour, although you could use a regular yellow or brown onion here if you prefer. I find that all the best quesadillas have to have onion in order for the flavours to be well-rounded.
- A handful of tomatoes – ideally small tomatoes like cherry or baby plum varieties, although you could use one or two larger tomatoes and simply cut them smaller if you only have large tomatoes.
- Cheddar cheese – because you have to have cheese for a quesadilla (that’s what the queso part means – cheese!). Plus, it’s a British variety so good old classic cheddar it is!
- Large tortilla wraps to contain all of your ingredients – much like the bread of a sandwich!
See? No super weird or expensive ingredients. The only slightly more expensive ingredients are the steak and rum, which I’m afraid are unavoidable for this recipe.
How do I make easy steak quesadillas?
I like to make my quesadillas in a sandwich press because it’s easy. You don’t need to flip the quesadilla as you would in a pan, which can save a lot of mess depending on how bad you are at flipping them!
- Heat up the sandwich press and grate the cheese, chop the tomato and onion, and set aside.
- Thinly slice the sirloin steak and add it to a hot pan with the rum, water, half the mint leaves and the sugar.
- Once cooked to your liking, remove from the pan and divide between the tortillas.
- Top with the cheese, remaining mint, tomatoes and onion. You can also add fresh chilli, chilli flakes or an extra squeeze of lime at this stage.
- Cook in the sandwich press until golden-brown and serve hot. I like to serve mine with guacamole and salsa, although they’re still absolutely delicious on their own
Can I use any ingredient substitutions for these lime quesadillas?
Yes! You can try several different adaptations, such as:
- Use corn tortillas for a gluten-free version
- Swap the tomatoes and red onion for a store-bought chunky salsa
- Use ribeye or another similar steak instead of sirloin if you prefer a fattier cut.
… and many more! Really, you can customise this recipe in any way that you like!
Boozy Beef Steak Quesadillas with Lime
Ingredients
- 400 g sirloin steak sliced
- 4 limes
- 175 ml white rum
- 50 ml water
- approximately 20-30 large mint leaves
- 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- half a red onion
- handful of tomatoes
- 200 g cheddar cheese
- 4 large tortilla wraps
Instructions
- Heat up the sandwich press.
- Grate the cheese, chop the tomato and onion and set aside
- Thinly slice the beef and add to a hot pan with the rum, water, half the mint leaves and the sugar.
- Once cooked removed from the pan and divide between the tortillas.
- Add the cheese, extra mint, tomatoes and onion to taste. Plus any fresh chilli or chilli sauce. I love adding an extra squeeze of lime.
- Cook in the sandwich press until golden brown and serve while hot. Adding extra guacamole and salsa is also a delicious way to top the meal.
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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