Quesadillas are an excellent way to use up leftovers – like these scrumptious Leftover Pork Quesadillas.
What to do with Leftover Pork Loin Chops
One night when my husband Robert and I were camping in our Airstream trailer, I created these super quick and easy Leftover Pork Quesadillas for our dinner. We had arrived late at our campsite (just outside Cincinnati – read about our traveling adventures on that trip here) and didn’t finish setting up until after 7 pm, so I wanted a meal that didn’t take much time or effort to put together. Quesadillas seemed like the perfect idea.
I had some leftover pork and cooked sausage, so I chopped it up and combined it together with some sautéed peppers, onion, Mexican seasoning and lots of cheese. I then stuff this delectable mixture inside flour tortillas and sautéed them until the cheese was melted and they were golden brown on the outside. I served them with some salsa, sour cream and chopped avocado. So easy, so delicious!
Crispy on the outside, full of flavor on the inside, these Leftover Quesadillas will be your new go-to for creatively using up leftovers. You can use just about any protein – pork, steak, chicken, shrimp, etc. I’ve even used chopped vegetables!
Note: I have prepared these pork quesadillas several times, and I recommend serving them with our Tomato-Mango Salsa.
How to make Leftover Pork Chop Quesadillas
These quesadillas are super quick and easy to prepare. You’ll have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes!
- Prep onions and peppers.
Peel, cut off root end and slice 1/2 a large yellow onion into 1/4-inch wide slices. (Can also use red onion.) Cut the top and bottom off of 1/2 a large green or red bell pepper. Remove the core and seeds, then slice into 1/4-inch wide slices.
- Cook onions and peppers.
Spray a large skillet with olive oil (or nonstick cooking spray) and heat over medium heat. Add sliced onion and green pepper; sprinkle with Mexican seasoning and cook, stirring frequently, until soft.
- Add pork and sausage.
Chop cooked pork and turkey sausage into 1/2-inch pieces, add to onion mixture and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, just until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Stuff quesadillas.
Divide the pork-onion-pepper mixture between the two flour tortillas, spreading evenly on half of each tortilla. Sprinkle the shredded Cheddar cheese on top of the filling. Fold the tortillas in half around the filling, and spray (or brush) the outside of the tortillas with olive oil.
- Cook quesadillas.
Reheat the same large skillet (no need to clean it out) over medium heat. Add the stuffed tortillas side-by-side. Once folded, each tortilla is a half circle, so place the straight sides together in the middle of the pan. Cook until until lightly browned on the bottom, then use a large spatula to flip them over and cook until lightly browned on the other side.
- Slice and serve.
Cut each tortilla in half or thirds and serve with any or all of the recommended garnishes.
It’s easiest to shred pork when it’s freshly cooked, or warm. So, with chilled leftover pork chops, you have a few choices:
– Chop into 1-inch pieces, place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a few times until shredded.
– Or, place chops in a skillet with around 1/4 to 1/2 cup water or broth, cover and cook over medium-low heat until the chops are warmed through. Remove from heat. Use to forks to shred the meat: insert forks into middle of a chop (with backs of forks touching) and pull the forks in opposite directions. The meat should fall apart into shreds. If it doesn’t easily come apart, cut the chop into smaller pieces and try again.
Refrigerated cooked pork will last three to four days, according to the USDA.
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Leftover Pork Quesadillas
- Yield: 2 servings (can easily be doubled or tripled) 1x
- Category: main dish, leftovers, quick and easy
Description
Quesadillas are an excellent way to use up leftovers – like these scrumptious Leftover Pork Quesadillas. Cooked pork is combined with sausage, peppers, onion, seasonings and lots of cheese then stuffed inside flour tortillas and sautéed. Crispy on the outside, full of flavor on the inside. You can use just about any leftovers – pork, steak, chicken, shrimp, even chopped vegetables!
Ingredients
- 1/2 large yellow or red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 green or red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- Mexican seasoning
- 2 cooked pork loin chops (around 1/2-inch thick), chopped
- 2 cooked small breakfast turkey sausages (like Jimmy Dean), chopped
- 2 8-inch flour tortillas
- 6 tablespoons shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, or more to taste
- Greek yogurt or sour cream, for garnish
- Tomato-Mango Salsa, or purchased, for garnish
- Chopped avocado, for garnish
- Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Spray a large skillet with olive oil (or nonstick cooking spray) and heat over medium heat.
- Add the sliced onion and green pepper; sprinkle with Mexican seasoning and cook, stirring frequently, until soft.
- Stir in the chopped cooked pork and turkey sausage and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, just until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide the filling between the two flour tortillas and sprinkle the shredded Cheddar cheese on top of the filling. Fold the tortillas in half around the filling, and spray (or brush) the outside of the tortillas with olive oil.
- Reheat the same large skillet (no need to clean it out) over medium heat. Add the stuffed tortillas side-by-side and cook until until lightly browned on the bottom, then flip them over and cook until lightly browned on the other side.
- Cut each tortilla in half and serve with any or all of the recommended garnishes.
Suzy
This recipe was a great find! I made it with leftover pork roast, no sausage, added in some chopped green peppers and topped it with Pace salsa and cilantro. Yum yum. Thanks!
★★★★★
Lee Roper
Thanks Suzy.