Kid-friendly Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Recipe: Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce

Recipe: Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce

Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce

by Dylan Sabuco
Photo by Dylan Sabuco
prep time
15 minutes
cook time
30 minutes
makes
4-6 servings

Fun Food Story

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Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce

What do you get when you combine a quesadilla with a birria taco? A cheesy, juicy, spicy delight that’s so good you won’t be able to stop taco-ing about it!

Introducing the quesabirria taco: the ultimate mashup of Mexican cuisine’s greatest hits—quesadillas, tacos, and birria—all in one delicious package. Imagine the earthy robustness of mushrooms and the smoky heat of chipotle folded together into a crispy, cheesy tortilla. Now, picture yourself dipping it into a spicy birria broth traditionally enjoyed as a comforting stew, which now infuses the taco with its deep, savory flavors. 

Veggie “Quesabirria” Tacos! Perfect for those nights the family can’t agree on what’s for dinner!

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Chef Erin, Food-Geek-in-Chief

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

  • chop :

    to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

  • measure :

    to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

  • sauté :

    to cook or brown food in a pan containing a small quantity of butter, oil, or other fat.

  • seal :

    to close tightly, keeping filling inside.

  • simmer :

    to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.

  • stir :

    to mix together two or more ingredients with a spoon or spatula, usually in a circle pattern, or figure eight, or in whatever direction you like!

Equipment Checklist

  • Large skillet
  • Medium saucepan
  • Large bowl
  • Cutting board
  • Kid-safe knife
  • Dry measuring cup
  • Measuring spoons
  • Wooden spoon
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • Can opener
  • Heat-resistant spatula or tongs
scale
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Ingredients

Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce

  • 3 C mushrooms (your choice of type)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 T apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 T vegetable oil **
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 2 C water
  • 1 vegetable bouillon cube (or 1 tsp bouillon powder/paste) **(Check label for possible allergens, like gluten, soy, or nightshade, and omit if necessary)**
  • 1 7-oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce OR diced mild green chilis **(Omit for NIGHTSHADE ALLERGY)**
  • 12 (or more) flour tortillas **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub corn tortillas)**
  • 2 C shredded mozzarella cheese **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free mozzarella cheese shreds, like Daiya brand)**

Food Allergen Substitutions

Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce

  • Soy: Substitute canola oil or other nut-free oil for vegetable oil.
  • Gluten/Soy/Nightshade: Check vegetable bouillon cube ingredients listed on label and, if necessary, omit from recipe.
  • Nightshade: Omit chipotle peppers or green chilis from the recipe.
  • Gluten/Wheat: Substitute corn tortillas for flour tortillas. 
  • Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free mozzarella cheese shreds, like Daiya brand.

Instructions

Veggie "Quesabirria" Tacos with Slightly Spiced "Roja Birria" Dipping Sauce

1.
intro

Quesabirria tacos are not just tacos. They can be a mix between tacos and quesadillas. Many recipes describe quesabirria as tortillas stuffed with melty cheese and birria meat and dipped into birria sauce. Birria is a mixture of beef fat, broth, chilis, and spices that makes a distinct smoky and spicy red dipping sauce that the entire taco is dunked in before and after cooking. Our Sticky Fingers Cooking version will focus on mushrooms instead of beef. We will stuff them full of cheese and mushrooms, dunk them in birria sauce, and sizzle until crispy! This dish is sure to leave you craving quesabirria every day!

2.
chop + measure

Roughly chop 3 cups mushrooms and 2 garlic cloves. Place them into a large bowl with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon allspice.

3.
toss + sauté

Toss the mushrooms with all the other ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Pour them into a large skillet over medium heat. Stir and sauté for 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and place them in a bowl. Reserve for later in the recipe.

4.
simmer + create

In a medium saucepan, add 2 cups water, 1 vegetable bouillon cube, and 1 can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Stir the mixture and bring to a simmer for at least 10 minutes.

5.
fold + fill + seal

Making these tacos is a unique method. The top layer of the birria sauce should mostly be oil that will help the tortilla get a beautiful red and golden brown color at the end. Start by laying down the tortilla on a cutting board. Then, add a thick layer of shredded mozzarella cheese and about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the mushrooms. Finally, fold the tortilla in half and press down to seal. Each taco should look like a cheesy half-moon shape. Cheese can be spilling out of the sides of the taco—that’s just fine. Repeat until you have 2 to 3 tacos for each of your family members.

6.
dip + sauté

Then, dip each taco briefly in the birria sauce. Finally, add them to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook each sealed taco for 3 to 5 minutes on the first side, flip it over using a spatula or tongs, and cook for 2 minutes on the second side.

7.
serve + dunk

Dunk your tacos into the birria sauce while you eat. This might get a little wet and messy, so bring some extra napkins to the dinner table. "Buen provecho" or "Enjoy your meal" in Spanish!

Surprise Ingredient: Adobo!

back to recipe
Photo by Alexander Prokopenko/Shutterstock.com

Hi! I'm Adobo!

"I'm a sauce or marinade made from chili peppers, and I add a tangy and spicy smokiness to a dish!"

  • Some adobo sauces are made with paprika (ground dried red chili peppers), garlic, salt, and vinegar. Others are made with chipotle or ancho peppers. When chipotle peppers are stewed in a sauce of tomato, garlic, salt, spices, and vinegar, it is called "chipotles en adobo." 
  • You can add adobo sauce to a condiment like mayonnaise, sour cream, or barbecue sauce for extra flavor. You can also add adobo to beans, burgers, chili con carne, soups, tacos, and stews, like "birria."
  • "Adobo" is mentioned in an 1850 cookbook, Manual del Cocinero, Repostero, Pastelero, Confitero Y Botillero, by Mariano de Rementería y Fica of Madrid, Spain.

What is "Birria" and "Quesabirria"?

Photo by bonchan/Shutterstock.com
  • "Birria" is a Mexican stew made with beef or goat meat. Originally, the word referred to meat cooked in a pit in the ground, like barbacoa. It was served on bread or tortillas. 
  • Birria stew is made with goat or beef marinated in adobo sauce, consisting of dried chili peppers, garlic, salt, spices, and vinegar. It is often served with corn tortillas and garnished with cilantro, lime, and onion. 
  • Food carts and restaurants that serve birria are called "birrierias." Birria is a popular dish at celebrations, like holidays and weddings.
  • "Quesabirria," also called birria tacos or red tacos, is a Mexican dish created in Tijuana that resembles a taco folded over a filling of stewed birria-style beef or goat meat and shredded Oaxaca, Chihuahua, or mozzarella cheese. It is served with birria or meat broth for dipping.

Let's Learn About Mexico!

Photo by Alena Darmel
  • Officially, Mexico's name is "The United Mexican States." It is one of several countries and territories in North America, including Canada and the United States of America.
  • Spanish is Mexico's national language, and Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexican people didn't always speak Spanish, though. For thousands of years, Native Americans lived there and built great cities. The people had advanced language, education, and calendar systems, and they had very clever ways of raising food. Mexico is also the country with the largest number of native American speakers in North America. 
  • The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. Mexican legend says that Aztec leaders were told to build their great city of Tenochtitlan at the site where they saw an eagle sitting on a nopal cactus with a snake in its beak. That image is in the center of Mexico's flag. The Aztecs built their city on an island in the middle of a lake. The ruins of Tenochtitlan are at the center of Mexico City and still sit on top of a lake! As water is pumped out to serve the needs of the city's growing population, the city has been sinking at a rate of 6 to 8 inches per year.  
  • Indigenous Mexican people included the Aztecs in the central interior of the country, the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula, and the Zapotec of the south. Spanish explorers landed in Mexico in the early 1500s, and they ruled Mexico for over 300 years. During this time of colonization, Mexico's Mesoamerican civilizations mixed with European culture.
  • Before the arrival of Spaniards, native Mexican food primarily consisted of corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and herbs. Indigenous people occasionally hunted and added wild turkey, rabbit, deer, and quail to their largely vegetarian diets. Native royalty sipped chocolate drinks. Europeans introduced cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, sugarcane, and wheat to Mexico upon their arrival. 
  • Mexican cuisine uses chili peppers to give it its distinct flavor. Jalapeños, poblanos, and serrano peppers are commonly used in Mexican dishes. Dishes that include mole, a sauce made of dark chocolate, chili peppers, cinnamon, and other spices, may be served on special occasions, such as Día de los Muertos. 

What is it like to be a kid in Mexico?

  • Mexican children may live near the ocean or the gulf, in the desert, or in the mountains. 
  • Kids often live with extended family, including grandparents. Their full names include their father's and their mother's.
  • Most kids speak Spanish, but Mexico also recognizes 68 native languages. 
  • They attend school from September through June. Large schools have two shifts—one group in the morning and one in the afternoon. Students are usually required to wear uniforms. 
  • They may play soccer, baseball, and other sports. Jumping rope and other outdoor games are very popular. They might play a game similar to bingo called Lotería. It is played with picture cards and songs. 
  • Corn tortillas are a staple for kids, along with beans and rice. Dishes that include mole, a sauce often made of dark chocolate, chili peppers, cinnamon, and other spices, may be served on special occasions. 
  • A popular family holiday is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a celebration to remember and honor a family's ancestors. Family members decorate the graves of their relatives who have passed on. Typical foods served for this holiday include empanadas, tamales, pan de muertos (a sweet bread in which a ring with a tiny plastic skeleton is hidden), and calaveras de azucar (sugar candy skulls). 

The Yolk's On You

Have you heard the joke about the tortilla? 

It was corny.

Lettuce Joke Around

Why did the Mushroom get invited to all the parties? 

Because he's a fungi! (fun guy)

The Yolk's On You

What does a sad tortilla say? 

"I don’t want to taco bout it."

That's Berry Funny

Culinary Instructor: Can you tell me a pepper that is hotter than a serrano pepper but not as hot as a Thai pepper? 

Student: Yes, I cayenne!

That's Berry Funny

The hot sauce asked the two chili peppers what they were doing.

They answered, "We're just chillin'!"

Lettuce Joke Around

Why did the Fungi leave the party? 

There wasn't mushroom to dance!

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