This cheesy chicken quesadilla recipe is bursting with flavour from plenty of chicken, black beans, hot peppers, corn and lots and lots of cheese. The finishing touch? Adobo sauce for that smoky heat. You’re gonna love these!
Hi friends!
Today I’m sharing a cheesy chicken quesadilla recipe that I think you’re going to love (well, I know we do!)
Quesadillas are something hubby and I regularly enjoy.
They not only taste delicious, but are super quick to whip up, which is why we enjoy them for busy weekday dinners or even for Friday night eats.
Some of our favourites include ground beef quesadillas, black bean quesadillas, turkey quesadillas and even breakfast quesadillas. Suffice to say, we are big fans of quesadillas.
I mean, what’s not to love? A crispy exterior with a cheesy, hearty centre? Sign me up!
Ingredients for this Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
For this chicken quesadilla recipe, you’ll need –
- Tortillas (opt for about 7 to 8 inches in diameter)
- Cooked chicken
- Canned black beans
- Hot peppers
- Corn
- Shredded cheese
- Oil
- Any condiments that makes you happy!
How to Make It
For this recipe, I used cooked chicken so everything came together quite quickly.
All you need to do is distribute the chicken on half of each tortilla and top with everything else.
Fold over, brush with a touch of oil and bake (or pan fry) until they are heated through and the cheese is melted.
You may want to wait a few minutes before cutting, though, ’cause that cheese is all hot and melty … not that that’s a bad thing, if you ask me!
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Serving Suggestions
You know me and my garnishes and little sidekicks (love ’em). They’re what takes a meal from yummy to something special.
Some off my faves to serve with these chicken and cheese quesadillas are:
- Salsa
- Greek yogurt
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Lime
- Pickled red onion
- Cilantro
More Tips and Variations
Make sure your beans are rinsed, drained and patted dry so they don’t leak too much moisture into the quesadillas … same with the banana peppers.
Omit the chicken if you prefer a vegetarian option.
Speaking of chicken, if you don’t have leftover chicken, cook about 1 boneless skinless chicken breast and 2 boneless/skinless chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 22 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Let cool slightly before chopping up for use in quesadillas.
Want something besides chicken in these cheese quesadillas? Shredded cooked pork or roast beef works wonderfully here too
Don’t have, don’t like or don’t want to use adobo sauce? Your favourite BBQ sauce works awesome too.
Cheddar cheese was used here, but you could use another variety if you prefer (or mix some). Just pick a nice melting cheese. Here are some great melting cheese options.
These make awesome leftovers. You can certainly reheat in the microwave, but they won’t have that same exterior crunch, but still taste delicious. If you want, you can reheat in the oven on 400 F for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
There’s two methods here for cooking these chicken and cheese quesadillas – oven or stovetop. While both are great, the stovetop method yields crispier results, which is always a good thing when we’re talking quesadillas!
More Recipes You May Enjoy
- Fish Fajitas – Made in about 20 minutes on one sheet pan. Flavourful and delicious!
- Oven Baked Fish Tacos – Panko coated white fish is oven baked and drizzled with a smoky chipotle sauce. Perfect for taco Tuesday (or any day of the week, really)!
Hope you love this easy chicken quesadilla recipe as much as we do!
If you make this cheesy chicken quesadilla recipe, be sure to leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed! Thank you!
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Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 large flour tortillas (about 7 to 8 inches in diameter)
- 2.5 cups cooked chicken , cut into bite-sized pieces or shredded
- 2.5 cups cheddar cheese , shredded
- ¾ cup canned unsalted (or no salt added) black beans , rinsed, drained and patted dry of excess moisture
- 1 ear corn , kernels removed
- ⅓ cup banana peppers (squeezed with paper towel to remove excess moisture)
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (or more to taste if you want things spicier/smokier)
- ½ tablespoon olive oil (or cooking spray to grease pan)
Instructions
- Distribute cooked chicken evenly over tortillas (on one half of each tortilla).
- Top chicken with cheese, black beans, corn, banana peppers and adobo sauce. Fold over top so you have half moon shapes. Cook per either method below.
Stovetop Method (preferred method)
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (to keep quesadillas warm while preparing batches). This is optional.
- Brush top of tortilla with olive oil (or spray a non stick pan with cooking spray).
- Place 2 half moons in pan at a time, cook on medium heat about 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy, being careful not to burn.
- Once golden and cheese is melted, place quesadillas in oven on a sheet pan to keep warm while finishing batches (3 batches in total). Lest rest for about 5 minutes before cutting in half. Makes 12 pieces. Serve with salsa, Greek yogurt, guacamole or sour cream. Enjoy!
Oven Baked Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brush top of tortilla with olive oil. Bake for about 10 minutes until heated through and cheese melted. Lest rest for about 5 minutes before cutting in half. Makes 12 pieces. Serve with salsa, Greek yogurt, guacamole or sour cream. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure your beans are rinsed, drained and patted dry so they don’t leak too much moisture into the quesadillas….same with the banana peppers.
- Omit the chicken if you prefer a vegetarian option.
- Speaking of chicken, if you don’t have leftover chicken, cook about 1 boneless skinless chicken breast and 2 boneless/skinless chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 22 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Let cool slightly before chopping up for use in quesadillas.
- Want something besides chicken in these cheese quesadillas? Shredded cooked pork or roast beef works wonderfully here too
- Don’t have, don’t like or don’t want to use adobo sauce? Your favourite BBQ sauce works awesome too.
- Cheddar cheese was used here, but you could use another variety if you prefer (or mix some). Just pick a nice melting cheese.
- These make awesome leftovers. You can certainly reheat in the microwave, but they won’t have that same exterior crunch, but still taste delicious. If you want, you can re-heat in the oven on 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
- There’s two methods here for cooking these chicken and cheese quesadillas – oven or stovetop. While both are great, the stovetop method yields crispier results, which is always a good thing when we’re talking quesadillas
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.
