Pulled Pork Quesadilla

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
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Full of melty cheese and caramelized onions, this Pulled Pork Quesadilla is a great way to use up leftover pork and make it into a whole new dinner! These are also a great game day appetizer!

Easy Recipe for Leftover Pulled Pork

These pulled pork quesadillas are loaded with melty cheese, caramelized onions, BBQ sauce, and shredded pork. While it may sound intimidating to make, this recipe is far from complicated! In fact, it’s all about the leftovers!

With the fillings sandwiched in between two flour tortillas, this quesadilla is cooked until the exterior is nice and crispy for a lovely crunch. The pepper Jack cheese also adds a bit of sharpness to balance out the sweetness from the onions.

I promise you, nothing will deduct points from flavor or textureโ€” even if you use the panini press to make them. Drizzled with your favorite BBQ or hot sauce for a spicy variation, biting into these pulled pork quesadillas will put all other quick dinners to shame.

Ingredients for pulled pork quesadilla.

What You’ll Need

Although these aren’t your average quesadillas, you’ll be glad to know they’re perfect for using up leftovers in the fridge. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full ingredient amounts.

  • Butter: Salted or unsalted is okay.
  • Olive Oil: Vegetable, corn, and canola oil work too.
  • Yellow Onion: This is the best onion for the recipe because of its sweetness, but you can also use white onion.
  • Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will do.
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Flour Tortillas: I thought this out with flour tortillas, but feel free to use corn tortillas.
  • Pulled Pork: Time to use up all your leftovers! Here is my pulled pork recipe, which is what I used to make these quesadillas. It’s super easy and made in your crock pot.
  • Pepper Jack Cheese: Sharp cheddar, Monterey, and Muenster cheese all work.
  • BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite bbq sauce, I love Sweet Baby Rays original.
Pulling apart a pulled pork quesadilla.

How to Make Pulled Pork Quesadillas

For such an elevated quesadilla, 4 steps aren’t that much more complicated than regular ones. Here’s how to make the best pulled pork quesadillas in no time:

  • Cook the onions. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and onions. Cook them for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown and caramelized. Add a pinch of brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and set it aside.
  • Assemble the quesadillas. Lay 4 tortillas out on a flat surface. Evenly sprinkle them with cheese. Add caramelized onions and pulled pork to taste. Top with the remaining tortillas.
  • Crisp them. Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in the pan over medium heat. Add the assembled quesadillas. Let them cook for 2-4 minutes on each side or until crispy. You may have to work in batches.
  • Serve. Remove the quesadillas from the heat and slice them into quarters. Drizzle with BBQ sauce to taste, serve and enjoy.

Tips & Variation Ideass

These tips and variations will keep you rolling out unique pulled pork quesadillas every week:

  • Use rotisserie chicken. Leftover rotisserie chicken is a great way to take a break from pulled pork but still enjoy a yummy lunch.
  • Use the panini press. When you’re in a rush, popping the quesadillas into the panini press for 1-3 minutes will give you a crispy exterior on both sides in one go.
  • Use store-bought crepes. This recipe works just as well with store-bought crepes, just let them crisp up too.
  • Add hot sauce. To switch things up, change the BBQ sauce for hot sauce.
  • Use leftover cheese. Shred all your leftover bits of cheese to make your own cheese blend.
  • Use buffalo chicken wings. Chop them up and add them to the quesadillas instead of the pork. You won’t believe how good they are!
Picking up a slice of pulled pork quesadilla.

What to Serve with Pork Quesadillas

If you’re having them for lunch or dinner, try them with some refried beans and guacamole! Sour cream and a drizzle of bbq sauce are always welcome additions too.

How to Store Leftovers

Refrigerate any cooled leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

More Recipes Pork Recipes

Recipe card photo for pulled pork quesadilla.
4.6 from 8 votes
Print Pin Recipe
Yield: 4 quesadillas

Pulled Pork and Caramelized Onion Quesadillas

With caramelized onions and lots of BBQ sauce, this pulled pork quesadilla recipe will be your new breakfast go-to.ย 
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, sliced
  • pinch of brown sugar
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 8 small tortillas
  • 2 cups cooked pulled pork
  • 2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese
  • bbq sauce, for garnish/dipping

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Instructions 

  • Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat.
  • Once melted, add the olive oil and onions, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized โ€“ about 30 minutes. Add a pinch of brown sugar and season well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Lay 4 tortillas flat and divide the cheese evenly on all four tortillas. Top with caramelized onions and pulled pork. Top with a second tortilla.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the pan and let melt. Add quesadilla and cook for about 2-4 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Carefully but swiftly flip the quesadilla, and cook for another 2-4 minutes on the other side, or until the cheese is melted.
  • Repeat the process until all 4 quesadillas have been cooked. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges and serve with a drizzle of bbq sauce.

Video

Notes

Storage: Refrigerate any cooled leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 763kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 35g, Fat: 41g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 115mg, Sodium: 1091mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 5g

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Love your recipe and LOVE your commentary! Dang yankees, always pickin fun at the Southern Belles. Thank you for the ideas and the laughs. ๐Ÿ™‚

Yankee from New York here… I don’t get the whole Y’all thing either, but I really like the way you write and seem to be so genuine. I am going to be a fan of this site for sure. Thanks for the recipe, looking to do more with my butts and this sounds pretty tasty. thanks again.

Excellent!!! Made this tonight.

WOW!! I just made these for lunch for me and my toddler and they were DEVOURED! Seriously, so, so good. I put the BBQ sauce (sweet baby rays) inside the quesadilla instead of on top. So much flavor yet SO simple. Those are usually the best recipes!! Thank you for this!

I just made this recipe! Awesome, I added some spices and roasted bell pepper! Thank You so much, your recipe made my night easier and tastier!

As a MN girl, I remember my cousins (from CO) asking me to say certain words when I was younger and then laughing at my accent. What can I say, we love our long “oooo” sounds! The majoring of Minnesotans talk “normal,” but every once in a while, you will stumble across someone who has a full-on “Fargo” accent and it’s pretty amusing!

Made these last night as written Very delicious!!

Oh my goodness, this is amazing! I absolutely love pulled pork and quesadillas, this is perfect ๐Ÿ™‚

I love pulled pork in the crock pot, too. It’s so easy yet delicious. Food styling is fabulous. Send a quesadilla my way . They look so good.

I love pulled pork..Ive been makin it like crazy lately, and definitely aren’t getting sick of it! These quesadillas sound perfect!
And yes, movies are fact.

These look a-mazing! You had me at caramelized onions!

These are beautiful! Dohnโ€™tcha knohw? ๐Ÿ™‚

Yum! Love everything on this plate and can’t wait to try it ๐Ÿ™‚

This looks amazing and totally our kind of meal ๐Ÿ™‚

Ohhh yes. We make quesadillas out of everything but haven’t done it with pulled pork yet. Love this!

Gosh are these quesadillas amazing. And I LOVE New In Town! In fact, these would be the perfect thing to put in my face while watching my copy again tonight. Wait, movies aren’t facts?!? Does not compute…

This is a great way to use leftover pulled pork, and the caramelized onions sound like a great addition!

In LOVE with these quesadillas!! And if my husband was in Minnesota, I’d totally do the same thing. I love practicing other accents ๐Ÿ˜‰

Leftover pork quesadillas, I know they were bursting with lots of flavor! I know in South Dakota they talk like that my manger always says words like that it is so cute… However when I went to new york they thought I was from the south, even though I was born and raised in socal…

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Jessica
For the past 15 years, Jorge & Jessica have loved getting to share their families' favorite recipes with all of you. They live in Florida with their 3 kids.