I turned my recent recipe for succulent slow-braised pork carnitas into an oven-baked pulled pork carnitas quesadilla. I generally always griddle-fry them on the stovetop in a pan, but I wanted to try oven-baking them for extra crispiness. It worked out so well. It’s kind of like a flatter crispy taco and makes the perfect morsel to add a pile of dip and other delicious bits. I made a jalapeno and cilantro ranch-style dip to go with these, and it was perfect.

These quesadillas were made from what I had on hand in my freezer and cupboard. I conveniently froze off the leftovers for this exact recipe in the future. I made a few in my small fan oven and a few in my Air Fryer.

I have the InstantPot Vortex Air fryer and I’m smitten with it. This post is not sponsored, but I love how quickly and hands-off this appliance can be. The tacos made in the vortex were crispier and cooked a little quicker in the oven. I suggest dropping the temperature by 10 – 20 degrees for an air fryer, as it gets really hot in there. I baked mine for 8 minutes at 180C / 350F.

I don’t really have a recipe for this but will do one for one quesadilla and then you can extrapolate this up. I used smallish flour tortillas so you will need to fill them up if your tortillas are bigger. I like to fold them in half like a taco as less of the filling leaks out. This half-moon approach to quesadillas makes flipping them in a pan much easier too.

Just a few ingredients

Flour tortillas – 2 per person (don’t use corn tortillas here as they are too firm to fold)
Pulled pork carnitas – about ¼ a cup per quesadilla
A small handful of grated mozzarella
A small handful of grated mature Cheddar or mature Gouda
Olive oil to brush the outside of the tortilla

Oven baked pulled pork carnitas quesadilla recipe

Tips

How to make the oven baked quesadillas

Preheat the oven to 190C (fan-forced) or an air fryer to 180C / 350F.
Brush one side of the flour tortilla and then flip it over. Fill one half first with cheese, then the pulled pork and then the other cheese (the meat is in the middle). Fold this in half and press down so that it is flattish. The brushed sides will be on the outside.
Bake in an air fryer for 8 – 10 minutes turning over halfway. Or in an oven on a baking tray for 10 – 11 minutes.
Serve with the jalapeno ranch dipping sauce as per below

Serve with the jalapeno ranch dipping sauce as per below

Other garnishes for pulled pork carnitas quesadilla:

Quick pickled red onions (soak sliced red onions in red wine vinegar for an hour or longer).
Fresh cilantro
Sliced avocado or guacamole
Lime wedges to spritz
Pico de gallo
Jalapeños ranch-style dip with lime and cilantro

Ingredients

¾ cup of Greek-style yoghurt or sour cream
1 ½ Tbsp of chopped coriander/cilantro stalks & leaves
1-2 Tbs chopped pickled jalapeno + 2 tsp of the pickle brine depends on how hot you like it
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ a lime juiced
Salt to taste