Air fryer hamburger quesadilla
This air fryer quesadilla with hamburger patty and cheese in a homemade cream sauce can be prepared in 30 minutes or less for a delicious lunch or dinner.
Main ingredients:
 | Hamburgers – any type of hamburgers will do, fresh or frozen |
 | Vegetable oil with a high smoking point like avocado, sunflower, or peanut oil. |
 | Tortilla wraps – large flour or whole wheat tortilla wraps |
 | Shredded cheese – any type of shredded hard cheese like cheddar, gruyère, emmental, etc. |
 | Pinch of salt and pepper |
Accents for the sauce:
 | Sour cream – any type of plain sour cream, including full or low fat. You can also use greek yogurt, if you wish |
 | Basil – dried or fresh basil |
 | Garlic powder or flakes |
 | Parsley – fresh parsley leaves for flavor and scent |
 | Paprika – for a hint of spice |
 | Lemon juice – freshly squeezed lemon juice for flavor |
If you’re on the hunt for a quick and easy dinner dish or snack to whip up after a long day at work, this recipe is for you!
Mexican-style quesadillas are one of my favorite quick meals to prepare, as they require minimal effort and can be made in no time at all. And if you have a couple of hamburger patties at home along with an air fryer, it is a quick fix to combine two of the world’s most popular dishes.
I should note that the hamburger meat does have to be cooked before adding into the quesadilla, as it will not cook sufficiently otherwise. You can just cook the hamburger patty in the air fryer first, wait for the air fryer basket to cool, and then use it again to cook the quesadilla.
Now, the temptation can be to add a lot of filling into the the quesadilla. However, a quesadilla is traditionally considered finger food, so you are supposed to pick it up with your hands to eat it.
If it becomes stuffed with a lot of filling, as delicious as it sounds, you may end up having to eat it with a knife and fork. (Which isn’t a terrible idea, so fill away if you wish!)
In addition, in order to prevent the quesadilla flying open in the air fryer, you can use toothpicks pierced through to hold it together.
You can also use any oven/instant pot/air fryer metal accessory to hold the air fryer down. I’m using my metal steamer rack that is heat-resistant.
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Air fryer hamburger quesadilla
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large tortillas
- 4-6 pieces of hamburger meat
- 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 cup of shredded cheese eg. cheddar, gruyère, emmental, etc.
For the sauce
- 1.5 cups of sour cream
- 2 tablespoons of paprika
- 2 tablespoons of garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon of dried basil
- 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon of juice from freshly squeezed lemon
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Cooking the hamburger meat
- Preheat your air fryer to 375°F (190°C).
- Spray the air fryer basket with some vegetable oil.
- Place the hamburger meat into the air fryer basket and set the time to 8 minutes, turning them every 4 minutes. (Don't overcrowd the basket, make in batches if necessary).
- Open the air fryer to see if the hamburger is cooked enough for you, and heat them for a couple more minutes if you wish.
- Remove the hamburger from the air fryer and cut it into small pieces.
- Let the hamburger meat and the air fryer basket cool so that it becomes safe to touch.
Preparing the hamburger quesadilla
- Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and mix together.
- Spread some of the sour cream mixture across each tortilla.
- Place the hamburger meat pieces in one half of the tortilla.
- Sprinkle some of the shredded cheese across the meat in the tortilla.
- Fold the tortilla in half and cut into 4 pieces.
- Place in the air fryer basket, with toothpicks to hold the tortilla in place, or an adapted oven-friendly insert.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (180°C).
- Place the air fryer basket with the quesadilla in the air fryer for 6 minutes.
- Repeat for the remaining quesadillas.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note: We are not certified nutritionists and these estimates written and produced for entertainment purposes only.
What to serve with it?
This delicious hamburger quesadilla can be served by itself, or with a side like air fryer garlic fries or spinach caesar salad.
You can also mix it up with this chicken quesadilla that is just as delicious, along with a creamy guacamole and tomato salsa.
How to store it?
You can prepare this air fryer hamburger quesadilla a few hours in advance, and leave it in the fridge in a glass container.
When ready to eat, you can eat it as is or warm it back up in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend freezing it though, it will get quite soggy.
