With a perfectly crispy exterior and an ultra savoury and cheesy interior, these spinach quesadillas make for the most delicious meal any day of the week! There’s lots of baby spinach, flavourful seasonings and both mozzarella and crumbled feta. This spinach quesadilla recipe is a must try!
It’s no surprise whatsoever how much we love quesadillas around here.
From black bean quesadillas to ground beef and refried bean, they’re always a favourite and sure to disappear quickly when they hit the table.
These spinach quesadillas have somewhat of a spanakopita vibe with the cooked spinach, feta and garlic. If you’re a fan of those flavours too, you’ll love these vegetable quesadillas.
On a side note: what’s the deal with spinach, anyway?
It’s so funny. You start with a huge amount only to be left with what seems like a tablespoon, lol.
In all seriousness, though, what’s left does pack a punch and works wonderfully with the other ingredients here … and I kinda think the spinach balances out all the cheese (okay, not really, but I’m just gonna roll with it).
Why We Love Spinach Quesadillas
- Uses super simple ingredients
- They come together in about 25 minutes
- The recipe can easily be doubled if you’re serving more people (or just you and your bud if you’re really hungry)
- They’re cheesy, savoury and simply delicious!
How to Make Them
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Start by adding some baby spinach, ground nutmeg and a little salt and pepper to a pan.
- Cover and cook until wilted.
- Use a fine mesh strainer (or clean tea towel) to remove all that excess moisture in the spinach. We’re not pressing the spinach through the strainer here, just using it to get rid of that extra water.
- Give the spinach a little chop.
- Place some shredded mozzarella cheese on one half of your flour tortillas.
- Top with some cooked spinach, crushed red pepper flakes, and oregano.
- Next top with more mozzarella cheese, crumbled feta and a little garlic powder.
- Fold over your tortilla so it’s a half-moon shape.
- Pan fry on both sides until crispy on the outside and the cheese is nice and melty inside.
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Can I Use Frozen Spinach?
You most certainly can!
I do enjoy fresh baby spinach here, but thawed frozen spinach will work in a pinch.
Just cook in the pan with your seasonings and proceed with the recipe. You’ll likely get a little more moisture come out of the spinach, too.
Servings Suggestions
For a quesadilla dipping sauce, I usually use Greek yogurt mixed with a little lemon juice, garlic, green (or parsley), salt and pepper. So good!
Another delicious option is tzatziki (from A Fork’s Tale), which pairs wonderfully with these veggie quesadillas.
To make things even more substantial, try serving with homemade fries, Greek pasta salad, green salad, tomato salad or cucumber salad.
More Recipe Tips & Variations
Don’t skip removing the excess moisture from your spinach after cooking. You don’t want that moisture to make your quesadillas soggy!
If the size of your flour tortillas are larger (or smaller) than the ones used in the recipe, the quantity of quesadillas you yield may vary.
Some crushed red pepper flakes are used, but you can omit (or use more) depending on your love of spice (though, these aren’t spicy, if you ask me).
Other delicious herb options are parsley or dill.
When cooking these spinach quesadillas, I prefer to have the heat on a medium-low setting so they crisp up nicely and the cheese melts. If the heat is too high, you run the chance of cooking the outside too quickly without having the mozzarella cheese melt inside.
More Delicious Quesadilla Recipes
Hope you love this cheesy quesadilla recipe as much as we do!
If you try these spinach quesadillas, please leave a comment below. Love to hear how you enjoyed the recipe!
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Cheesy Spinach Quesadillas (with mozzarella and feta)
Ingredients
- ½ pound baby spinach (or 8 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1.5 ounces feta cheese , crumbled (or about 4 to 5 tablespoons). Opt for a vegetarian variety, if needed, to keep things vegetarian.
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 flour tortillas (each about 7 to 8 inches in diameter)
- Greek yogurt (for serving with, optional)
Instructions
- Add spinach, salt, pepper and nutmeg to a 12-inch non-stick pan over medium heat. Cover and cook until spinach has wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove spinach from the pan and squeeze through a fine mesh strainer to get all that excess moisture out so you don't make your quesadillas soggy. Note: You're not actually pushing the spinach through the strainer, you're just using to squeeze some of that extra moisture out. Alternatively, you can place the spinach in a clean tea towel and squeeze the moisture out.
- Chop the spinach.
- To assemble quesadillas, distribute half of the mozzarella cheese over one half of each tortilla.
- Next, distribute spinach over top.
- Then, sprinkle over crushed red pepper flakes and oregano.
- Top with remaining mozzarella cheese, feta and garlic powder. Fold over each tortilla so it's a half-moon shape.
- To cook quesadillas, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Gently swirl the oil around in the pan so you get a good coverage of oil before adding your quesadillas.Note: If you're using the same pan that you used for cooking the spinach, just wipe out before adding the oil and cooking your quesadillas.Note: Cook the quesadillas in batches, two quesadillas at a time, adding more oil to the pan between batches.
- Place 2 quesadillas in the pan. Cook quesadillas for about 3 to 4 minutes on one side.
- Carefully flip quesadillas to the other side and continue to cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until they're golden brown and crispy on the outside and the mozzarella cheese has melted inside (carefully watch to ensure they don't burn).
- Repeat process to cook remaining quesadillas.
- Once done, cut each quesadilla in half so you have 8 pieces. Great served with Greek yogurt. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t skip removing the excess moisture from your spinach after cooking. You don’t want that moisture to make your quesadillas soggy!
- If the size of your flour tortillas are larger (or smaller) than the ones used in the recipe, the quantity you yield may vary
- When cooking the quesadillas, I prefer to have the heat on a medium-low setting so they crisp up nicely and the cheese melts. If the heat is too high, you run the chance of cooking the outside too quickly without having the mozzarella cheese melt inside.
Nutrition (ESTIMATE ONLY)
Nutrition estimate (if provided) is based on 1 Serving.
Nutrition information (if provided) is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are guidelines only.
Marissa
You are speaking my language with these quesadillas, Dawn! This is exactly what I want for lunch today!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Woo hoo! Thanks Marissa! We just love these!
Valentina
So funny about the wilting spinach. So true — it practically disappears. I saw this picture of these awesome quesadillas on Instagram and they jumped out at me. They look SO tasty. Love the combination of cheeses. Feta and spinach are always so delicious together. Yum! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Lol, right?! Thank you so much, Valentina! Love that combo!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Love cheese and spinach – and we love quesadillas. This is a great lunch idea for when we need something quick! Have a great Thanksgiving weekend Dawn!!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Totally! Thanks Katherine!
David @ Spiced
A quesadilla dipping sauce!? Mind blown! We love ‘dillas in our house, and I’m always looking for a good excuse to make quesadillas for dinner. Count me in for this one! Plus, since it has spinach in it, that means it’s healthy, right?? 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Lol! Thanks David! These are such a delicious meal. Hope you try this one out soon!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
I have always had a weakness for quesadillas and these look perfect! Love the combination of cheese with the lovely spinach 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Me too! Thank you Jennifer!!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
You make the BEST quesadillas Dawn! And I’m a huge fan of this spinach and cheese combination! Can’t wait to give them a try. I may have a hard time sharing!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Aww, thanks Mary Ann! Hope you enjoy them…sharing optional! 😉
[email protected]
Now I’m hungry!! I especially love the mozzarella-feta combo!! This would make for a perfect lunch! Or breakfast! 😉 Have a great weekend, Dawn!! XO
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Yes! Thank you Annie! XO
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
What a great idea! Quesadillas are one of our favorite go-to meals, but we tend to make the same old kind every time. I love mixing things up and the spinach sounds like a perfect idea!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Thanks Kathy! We just love these so much!