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These cheesy sheet pan quesadillas, baked in the oven, are loaded with ground beef in a tasty hidden veggie sauce. No need to individually assembled and flip quesadillas when it can all be baked on one sheet pan in just 30 minutes.
By baking these quesadillas, you ensure a perfectly golden and crunchy exterior without all the extra hassle of cooking on the stove. The blended butternut squash and carrots mix with cheese for a gooey spiced sauce that’s a great alternative to the usual tomato-based sauce.
These sheet pan beef quesadillas are an easy crowd pleaser for a healthy family dinner, and will pair great with mozzarella queso and Spanish brown rice.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Oven Baked Quesadillas
As a mom of young toddlers, if I make one kid a quesadilla first, the other one completely loses it. I had to find a better way to do this instead of an assembly line – enter the baked sheet pan quesadilla!
These are filled with spiced ground beef that’s tossed in a spiced hidden veggie sauce that is tomato-free. It’s so delicious, cheesy, and crispy on the outside. You’ll love this recipe because:
- Healthy quesadilla option – Carrots and butternut squash are blended into a sauce that packs in some extra nutrients without anyone noticing.
- Perfect for busy weeknights – Baked all on one sheet pan, these quesadillas are great for a family or crowd and come out perfectly crisp every time.
- Versatile – Ingredients can be easily substituted to appeal to everyone. This recipe is also tomato-free, gluten free friendly, heal your headache migraine diet compliant, and fits a Mediterranean diet.
Ingredients
Here are just a few ingredients needed for this recipe, but the full recipe card is below.
- Ground beef – Any type of ground beef will work, but 85/15 is my preference for best flavor because of a higher fat content. You could also choose ground bison, ground chicken, or ground turkey.
- Beef or Vegetable Broth – I like to use Trader Joe’s Hearty Vegetable Broth or Butcher’s Beef Broth. Gourmend is great for those with onion sensitivities.
- Vegetables – This recipe uses butternut squash and carrots that will be blended into a smooth sauce. You can use pre-chopped squash and baby carrots to make everything easier.
- Spices – You will need cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder and chili powder. For chili powder I like Frontier spices or Morton & Bassett.
- Mozzarella – Mozzarella is a great cheese for making gooey quesadillas. You could also use oaxaca cheese, Monterey jack, or good quality American cheese like Boar’s Head.
- Mild green chilis – Just a 4oz can. These do not make it spicy, but add a great flavor. If you don’t do well with chilis you can also omit them.
- Tortillas – I love to buy freshly made tortillas from HEB/Central Market, but TortillaLand and Tortilla Fresca are good and sold at Costco. They do need to be cooked before using. Margarita’s is another good brand. These are all usually sold in refrigerated sections unless they’re made fresh.
Substitutions
- Butternut squash and carrots – These can be substituted with sweet potatoes.
- Hidden veggie sauce – For a faster recipe, you can omit the hidden veggie sauce. This won’t be as flavorful, but will give you a basic quesadilla recipe.
- Mozzarella – Sub with a cheese that melts well. Suggestions just above!
- Gluten free – Use gluten free tortillas like Siete or corn tortillas.
How to Make Sheet Pan Quesadillas
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a medium sized saucepan, add the butternut squash, carrots, broth and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cover. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Step 2: Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the beef over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking into crumbles with a wood spoon. Add the cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir until the meat is fully coated in the spices, about 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat.
- Step 3: Once the hidden veggie mixture has cooked and cooled for at least 5 minutes, transfer the vegetable mixture to a blender. Pulse until fully combined, about 30 seconds.
- Step 4: Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the blended vegetable mixture and green chilies to the taco meat. Mix well and simmer for 5 minutes until the flavors have melded and the mixture has reduced a bit. Remove from heat.
- Step 5: To each tortilla-half, add 1/3 of the beef mixture leaving about ½” perimeter on the edges, so the filling doesn’t spill over. Top the beef mixture with ½ cup of shredded mozzarella per tortilla. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling and very lightly press down to secure each quesadilla.
- Step 6: Spray or brush the outside of the tortillas lightly with oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the tops of the tortillas are golden and the cheese is melty.
Kitchen Tools
- Sheet pan – I recommend a large sheet pan around 17 x 11″ at least.
- Parchment paper – These unbleached parchment sheets are amazing and save so much time and effort being pre-cut!
Serving Suggestions
This can be easily paired with sour cream and guacamole, creamy white queso, salsa, or an easy apple slaw for a family dinner. For HYH, use this blended cottage cheese recipe.
If using for appetizers or a game day menu, I recommend serving with these ground beef nachos, air fryer chicken taquitos, or baked chicken flautas.
Storage Recommendations
Quesadillas store really well in an air-tight storage container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will also freeze for up to 3-4 months. Defrost before cooking, unless reheating in an air fryer.
To reheat – I recommend using an air fryer if you have one on hand. Reheat at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 minutes, till warmed through. You can also do this in the oven, it just takes a little longer, about 10 minutes. Another option is to heat in a skillet over medium low heat for about 2-3 minutes per side.
Baked Quesadilla FAQ
I prefer to use a pan for single servings, but when you’re cooking for a family, baking quesadillas on a sheet pan is the easiest way to get a large amount nice and crispy, all at the same time.
Using a proper amount of oil on the tortilla will help to get it brown and crispy. Sometimes an oil spray makes this easier to do, but brushing oil on the outside will also work. You also want to flip the quesadilla half way through baking.
Simply omit the steps for the vegetable sauce. You may need to add a little more cheese, but the ground beef will remain flavorful for a great easy quesadilla!
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Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Baked Sheet Pan Beef Quesadillas
Ingredients
Hidden veggie sauce
- 1 ½ cup butternut squash, ½” diced
- 1 cup carrots, ½” diced
- 1 ½ cup beef or vegetable broth
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Meat mixture:
- 1 pound ground beef, 85/15
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 oz canned mild green chilies
Quesadillas
- Avocado oil for brushing or avocado oil spray
- 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3-4 burrito sized tortillas
- cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a medium sized saucepan, add the butternut squash, carrots, broth and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cover. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once the hidden veggie mixture has cooked and cooled for at least 5 minutes, transfer the vegetable mixture to a blender. Pulse until fully combined, about 30 seconds.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the beef over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking into crumbles with a wood spoon. Add the cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir until the meat is fully coated in the spices, about 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat.
- Return the skillet with the beef to medium-high heat and add the blended vegetable mixture and green chilies to the taco meat. Mix well and simmer for 5 minutes until the flavors have combined and the mixture has reduced a bit. Remove from heat.
- Add 1/3 of the beef mixture to each tortilla leaving about ½” perimeter on the edges, so the filling doesn’t spill over. Top the beef mixture with ½ cup of shredded mozzarella per tortilla. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling and very lightly press down to secure each quesadilla.
- Spray or brush the outside of the tortillas lightly with oil. Bake at 425F for 12-15 minutes, flipping the tortillas half way through, until the tops of the tortillas are golden and the cheese is melty. Garnish with cilantro, slice and serve warm!
Notes
- Ground turkey or chicken can be substituted for ground beef. Add 1 tablespoon of oil in step 3 if substituting ground turkey or chicken.
- Monterey jack, oaxaca or good quality American cheese will all work for this recipe.
- If you’re looking for a simple beef quesadilla, the veggie sauce can be omitted, but they won’t be as flavorful and juicy!
- While mild green chilis can be omitted, they add a great flavor to this dish so I highly recommend.
- Use 85/15 lean ground beef for the best flavor.
- For easy slicing, use a pizza cutter.
- For gluten free, use gluten free or corn tortillas. This recipe fits an HYH migraine diet (use compliant broth suggestions) and Mediterranean diet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I think you forgot to include tortillas in your ingredients list.
Hey – it’s at the bottom where it says burrito sized tortillas….can you see it?
Very easy to make and will be quick now that I’ve done it once. I hand-mashed the boiled carrots/squash with a potato masher because too lazy to wash the food processor. This blend was surprisingly good considering no tomato sauce. Everyone in my family really liked these! And nice not to have to worry about migraine triggers. Thank you for this!
These were AMAZING! My husband loved them and was SHOCKED the sauce was made from vegetables! Highly recommend!
I have made this twice now. Very tasty! Works well for an easy dinner or lunch (if there are leftovers)
Thank you, Katie!
I’m a bit confused, is this recipe using fresh mozzarella, I thought grated (aged) mozzarella was not HYH.
You can grate fresh mozzarella for this if you want. Both are technically ok for the HYH diet because even low moisture/block form is aged less than 30 days.
I made this recipe yesterday and it tasted so good and easy that I took one quesadilla to work for lunch today. Next time I will add more cheese though because it is so good!
Hey more cheese is always a good idea!! 🙂
This was SO GOOD. I wasn’t sure about the sauce at first but you really can’t taste the veggies. It turns into a very saucy spiced beef that works so well with the cheese and crispy tortillas. Will make again and again!