Chicken Quesadilla

These delicious chicken quesadillas are filled with flavorful chicken, plenty of veggies, mushrooms, and melty cheese. They make the perfect snack or appetizer for any party, or a delicious quick weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

Below you will find information about the ingredients and how to prepare the recipe. For the measurements and detailed instructions scroll down to the printable recipe card.

Here’s what you need to make this easy recipe:

• Tortillas of your choice – either large or medium wheat tortillas.
• Chicken breast – you can also use boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
• Chicken quesadilla seasoning – I used a blend of spices: oregano, paprika, cumin, garlic and onion powder, and cayenne pepper. You could also use a ready-made spice mix such as Taco or Fajita seasoning.
• Mushrooms – optional but they add so much flavor to this quesadilla.
• Vegetables – I used bell pepper and canned corn. You can also use fresh or frozen corn. You can use other vegetables such as broccoli or zucchini. Vegetables are optional, you could omit them and use more chicken instead but I always like to add some veggies to my meals.
• Cheese of your choice – I used mild cheddar. I think mature cheddar has a too strong flavor for this recipe. If you only have mature cheddar, you can mix it with Swiss/Emmentaler cheese or Monterey Jack cheese.

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Step-by-step instructions

Prepare the ingredients:

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Dice the bell pepper and slice the mushrooms.

(2 small chicken breasts, 1 red bell pepper, 7 ounces (200g) cremini mushrooms)

Season the chicken salt, pepper, and spices.

(1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoons paprika, ½ teaspoon cumin, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper)

Cook chicken, vegetables, and mushrooms:

In a large frying pan, heat one tablespoon of oil over high heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 2-3 minutes without stirring. Then cook, stirring for a few minutes until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the second tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the bell pepper and mushrooms to the pan and spread out in an even layer. Don’t stir for the first 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring from time to time, for another 5 minutes, or until browned and tender. Transfer to the bowl with chicken.

Leave the chicken, mushrooms, and bell pepper to cool slightly, then add the corn and grated cheese, stir together, and season lightly with salt and pepper.

(½ cup (70g) corn, 2 cups (200g) shredded mild cheddar)

Assemble: Divide the filling into 4 parts and spread each part evenly over half of each tortilla. Press the filling slightly to make it more compact. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently.

(4 large tortillas)

Cook quesadillas: Lightly oil a big frying pan and cook the tortillas over medium heat, two at a time, on both sides. They’re ready when lightly browned on both sides and the cheese is melted.

Transfer the tortillas to a plate. While still warm, sprinkle them with salt, and cut each tortilla into 4 parts.

Serve with your favorite condiments.

Enjoy!

Serving suggestions

• tomato salsa
• simple guacamole (1 mashed avocado + 1 ts lime juice + salt and pepper + pinch of coriander)
• sour cream yogurt dip (3 Tbsp sour cream + 2 Tbsp yogurt + 1 ts lime juice + salt and pepper).
• pico de gallo (fresh tomato and onion salsa)
• avocado sauce

Top tips for great quesadillas

• The key to a good quesadilla is a proper amount of cheese that holds the filling together. I like them the most with cheddar cheese but every other melting cheese will work. It’s also important to mix the filling with the cheese so that the cheese is evenly distributed through the filling and holds it nicely together.
• Make sure your filling has cooled down a little bit before adding the cheese or you will end up with big clumps of melted cheese instead of a filling with evenly distributed cheese.
• Make sure to season tortillas on the outside with salt directly after cooking them so that the salt can stick to the tortillas. They should be seasoned on the inside and on the outside!
• How to easily flip the quesadillas: I really like to make quesadillas from a single large tortilla, not two, because it’s easier to flip over. If you have small tortillas you can make one quesadilla from 2 tortillas (in this post for broccoli cheddar quesadillas you can see that on the photos).
• You can pan-fry tortillas in a dry pan but I prefer to cook them in oil which makes the quesadillas super crispy.

Storage instructions

Storage: You can store these chicken quesadillas in the fridge, in a tightly closed container, or wrapped in plastic foil for up to 3 days. You can reheat them on a pan – just cook them on a dry non-stick pan on both sides until warm. You can also warm them up in an oven preheated to 320-350°F (160-180°C).

Chicken quesadillas also taste good cold, but when left for too long they become soft and lose their crunch. Alternatively, they can be reheated, but taste best freshly cooked.

Make it ahead: the filling can be made ahead. You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days and cook it with the tortillas just before serving. They taste freshly made!

Freezing: wrap each quesadilla in plastic wrap or place it in a tightly closed container (but separate each quesadilla with a piece of baking paper so they won’t stick to each other) and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost in the fridge then warm up on the stove or in the oven or defrost directly in the oven.

More quesadilla recipes

• BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
• Mushroom quesadilla with caramelized onions
• Easy breakfast quesadilla recipe
• The Best Vegetarian Quesadillas (sweet potato and black bean quesadilla)
• Chicken fajita quesadillas
• Broccoli cheddar quesadillas
• Zucchini Quesadilla

Check out all my quesadilla recipes here.

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!