TikTok Birria Pizza Quesadilla Recipe

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This delicious birria pizza quesadilla is a dish that has become a TikTok sensation. It is made by stuffing tortillas or pizza dough with a filling of birria, cheese, and other ingredients. This quesadilla recipe is the perfect mix of Mexican and Italian cuisine. It's perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal!

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Birria Pizza Quesadilla
What Should I Serve With Birria Pizza?
Ingredients
Handy Kitchen Tools
How to Make a Birria Pizza
Frequently Asked Questions
More Easy Mexican Inspired Recipes
📖 Recipe

Birria Pizza Quesadilla

If you are looking for something that is going to be super satisfying and loved by everyone at your dinner table, the birria pizza quesadilla is a perfect choice. While the recipe takes some time to prepare since you'll be cooking the beef slowly ahead of time, it is worth every minute invested.

An incredibly flavorful and tender beef with a delicious sauce it cooks in is one of those meals that is the epitome of comfort food. Make a double batch of this meat and assemble it into the pizza, quesadilla, or even use it for a more traditional burrito or taco.

If you want a simpler quesadilla you might prefer our ground beef sheet pan quesadilla or this cheesy chicken quesadilla instead. Both are delicious with a little less time involved to prepare. Of course, this recipe for spicy birria tacos is also excellent!

image looking down on sliced birria quesadilla with herbs on top

What Should I Serve With Birria Pizza?

There are so many delicious ways to enjoy Birria Pizza Quesadilla! Typically it is served with a side of salsa and topped with sour cream. Sometimes, it is even loaded up with more cheese.

If you want to serve the Birria pizza with side dishes, you can use lettuce, tomato, and other taco-style toppings. For a completed meal you can serve a side of refried beans, Spanish or yellow rice, Mexican beef and cheese rice, and roasted vegetables. You can also serve this with a side salad or some fresh guacamole and tortilla chips on the side.

whole birria pizza cut into quarters on white plate with onions and herbs in background

Ingredients

For chili sauce:

3 guajillo chiles (or ancho chile)
2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ tablespoon beef bouillon
2 cups water (500 ml)

For cooking the beef:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound beef chuck roast (500 g)
1 bay leaf
½ tablespoon beef bouillon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water (150 ml)

For assembling the pizza/quesadilla:

3 (12") flour tortillas
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 medium red onion
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

slices of birria quesadilla on white plates

Handy Kitchen Tools

How to Make a Birria Pizza

In a food processor, you will combine the guajillo chiles, garlic cloves, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, beef bouillon, and water.

Pulse the mixture until smooth and combined well, then set it aside.

Cut the chuck roast into 4 to 5 pieces, then season with salt and pepper on all sides.

pepper being added to white bowl of beef chunks

In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sear the beef pieces for 2 to 3 minutes per side, then remove them from the skillet and set them aside.

Pour the sauce you made earlier into the skillet, and bring to a simmer.

Add the bay leaf, additional beef bouillon, and water to the sauce and stir.

Now, add the beef back into the sauce mixture, cover, and let this simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, checking occasionally and stirring so the sauce doesn't burn.

pink tongs placing beef pieces into red skillet

When the beef has cooked and become fork-tender, remove it from the skillet and shred it. Pour the remaining sauce out of the skillet and set it aside.

a chunk of beef being sliced with knife on white cutting board

In a clean skillet, add a bit of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Now, dip one of your tortillas into the sauce coating just one side.

hand holding tortilla and dipping iti nto birria sauce hovering over black skillet on hot plate

Place this tortilla into the skillet then top with ⅓ of the cheese.

Top with ½ of the meat, ½ the onions, and ½ the cilantro. Drizzle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sauce.

hand sprinkling cilantro on top of birria on tortilla

Remove this from the pan once the bottom is browned and the cheese is melted. Set it on a plate.

Now, repeat this process and place the second tortilla of meat on top of the first one.

two tortillas stuffed with birria and cheese sitting on cutting board

For the last tortilla, melt just the remaining ⅓ shredded cheese.

Flip the last tortilla over so the cheese is facing downward, then drizzle the top with more of the sauce.

hands placing top tortilla onto quesadilla

Slice to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is This a Pizza or Quesadilla?

The TikTok birria pizza quesadilla is technically a quesadilla. It is made and layered inside 3 tortillas and toasted or grilled. However, since it is sliced and served similar to pizza, some have been calling it that on social media. You can call it whichever one you prefer.

What does Birria Style Mean?

Birria style typically means that the dish is made with stewed meat. In this case, the birria is cooked until it shreds easily. The shredded meat is then used as a filling for the quesadilla.

What Cheese Goes in Birria Pizza?

You can use any type of cheese you like in this recipe, but we used mozzarella. The mozzarella will give the pizza quesadilla a gooey, stretchy texture. You can use any good melting cheese such as chihuahua cheese, gouda, fontina, cheddar, or jack cheeses.

What Meat Is Birria Made From?

Traditionally, birria is made with goat meat. However, it has become more popular to make it with beef. If you can’t find goat meat or you simply do not feel that adventurous if that is outside of your comfort level, feel free to substitute it with beef as we did.

When using beef, I recommend a nice chuck roast since it is marbled well. You can also use top round or even stew meat pieces. Just use something that will tenderize nicely once cooked in a simmering liquid for an hour or more.

What Kind of Tortillas Should I Use

For this recipe, most people will use flour tortillas. If you want to use corn tortillas instead, they will work, but will obviously need to make multiples of this in smaller batches.

Other types of tortillas, like gluten-free, flavored tortillas like spinach or tomato will work too. You can also use low-carb tortillas for this recipe if you are trying to watch your carb intake. Of course, you can use pizza crust that has been cooked ahead of time if you prefer a more pizza consistency to this recipe.

slice of birria pizza quesadilla on white plate sitting on light wood table

More Easy Mexican Inspired Recipes

Nothing satisfies a craving like a delicious Mexican meal. Whether you like more authentic dishes or the fun Tex-Mex style of meals that are often found in the US, below are some great ideas that can really add flavor to your meal plan. Make sure that you bookmark these, print out the recipes, or pin them to a Pinterest board.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 4

Birria Pizza Quesadilla Tik Tok Recipe

This popular TikTok Birria Pizza quesadilla recipe is a delicious combination of rich stewed beef, cheese, and crispy tortillas!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

For Chili Sauce

3 guajillo chiles (or ancho chile)
2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ tablespoon beef bouillon
2 cups water (500 ml)

For Cooking Beef

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound beef chuck roast (500 g)
1 bay leaf
½ tablespoon beef bouillon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water (150 ml)

For Assembling Pizza

3 (12") flour tortillas
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 medium red onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Instructions

In a food processor, you will combine the guajillo chiles, garlic cloves, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, beef bouillon, and water.
Pulse the mixture until smooth and combined well, then set it aside.
Cut the chuck roast into 4 to 5 pieces, then season with salt and pepper on all sides.
In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sear the beef pieces for 2 to 3 minutes per side, then remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
Pour the sauce you made earlier into the skillet, and bring to a simmer.
Add the bay leaf, additional beef bouillon, and water to the sauce and stir.
Now, add the beef back into the sauce mixture, cover, and let this simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, checking occasionally and stirring so the sauce doesn't burn.
When the beef has cooked and become fork-tender, remove it from the skillet and shred it. Pour the remaining sauce out of the skillet and set it aside.
In a clean skillet, add a bit of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Now, dip one of your tortillas into the sauce coating just one side.
Place this tortilla into the skillet then top with ⅓ of the cheese.
Top with ½ of the meat, ½ the onions, and ½ the cilantro. Drizzle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sauce.
Remove this from the pan once the bottom is browned and the cheese is melted. Set it on a plate.
Now, repeat this process and place the second tortilla of meat on top of the first one.
For the last tortilla, melt just the remaining ⅓ shredded cheese.
Flip the last tortilla over so the cheese is facing downward, then drizzle the top with more of the sauce.
Slice to serve.