Yesterday was Dave’s first official day of school… which means no more leisurely summer afternoons spent cooking in the kitchen while Dave plays with the kids outside. I’m now cooking with all 3 kids vying for my attention… and yes, that makes things a little more challenging (especially since James still isn’t on a super predictable schedule yet and likes to be held A LOT).
I know dinner time isn’t going anywhere and my family will still be hungry come 5:30pm, so I’ve resurrected my arsenal of super-simple weeknight meals that can easily be made ahead of time — either the night before, during naptime, or even stored in the freezer for several months.
These chicken quesadillas are one of our family’s favorite quick, go-to meal options for busy nights when Dave needs to stay late at school for a meeting, get back to school for something at night, or when I just didn’t find the time during the day to make anything else 🙂
Since I always have containers of cooked chicken, chopped peppers, and corn in the freezer, this meal literally takes less than 10 minutes to whip up. Just dump a handful of ingredients into a frying pan, simmer, spread onto tortillas, and serve.
Of course, almost any of your favorite Mexican ingredients would work well in this recipe — and yes, you could make it with beef or even vegetarian if you’d like.
The possibilities are endless!
However, for the sake of this post (and because I know there are people who won’t make something unless they have a detailed recipe to follow) I’m sharing the rough estimates of ingredients we use for our favorite chicken quesadillas.
Recipe for Chicken Quesadillas
makes about 4 cups of filling
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 T. oil
- 1 T. minced garlic
- 1 small onion; diced
- 1/2 c. peppers; diced
- 1 c. chicken; cooked and diced
- 1 c. black beans; rinsed and drained
- 1 c. tomatoes; diced
- 1 c. frozen or canned corn (drained)
- 1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning (or make your own)
- 2/3 c. water called for on packet of seasoning
- tortillas (we used four 9″ burrito-size flour tortillas)
- 2 T. sour cream
- 1-2 c. shredded cheese
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium-size frying pan, heat oil over medium heat.
Add garlic, onions, and peppers. Cook for a couple of minutes, or until soft and fragrant.
Add in chicken, beans, tomatoes, corn, taco seasoning, and water. Stir and simmer over low heat until thickened.
Scoop filling onto tortillas, top with shredded cheese.
Spread sour creams over 2nd tortilla and place on top of chicken and cheese mixture.
Place on a hot George Foreman grill, panini maker, or griddle and cook until cheese is melted (flipping if necessary).
Cut with a pizza cutter and serve with additional sour cream, salsa, lettuce, and any of your other favorite Mexican toppings.
This recipe is more than our family can eat for one meal. We usually make 2 large quesadillas for all 4 of us (obviously, James isn’t eating this yet!) and we still have leftover filling.
However, these leftovers are amazing, so we never complain. Sometimes we’ll make another quesadilla or 2 for lunch the next day, or we’ll warm up the filling and eat it with chips and salsa. Either way, it’s delicious!
Also, the filling freezes well if you’d like to make a double or triple batch for later. It could make a great afterschool snack or quick meal for busy school nights.
This is such a simple recipe… hopefully it will satisfy your hungry family!
What are your favorite meals for busy weeknights?
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Nayu says
Hi Andrea,
You say you freeze the filling-have you ever frozen a half-baked/fully baked quesadilla? For health reasons I can’t cook daily, so make food when I’m well in batches then all I have todo is defrost a meal and cook in the microwave.
Nayu
Andrea says
no, I’ve never frozen a quesadilla because they literally take 3 minutes for me to make if I already have the filling mixed up. Just put a scoop of filling on a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, top with another tortilla and plop it on the George Foreman. I’m pretty sure the tortillas would get quite soggy if you froze them already made — but like I always tell everyone, it never hurts to just try it!
Nayu says
I might just do that as I’ve just remembered I had pre-made wraps with salad in and they froze fine! Thanks Andrea! Will let you know how I get on when I make them.
Aa. says
I like this, I will try it!
I make quesadilla with cheese, bacon and other veggies I have in the fridge.
I also love grileld cheese sandwiches, and my recent discovery is grilled cheese with pear and brie cheese…they are amazing!!
I lika fast tuna salad (I add rice with short cooking time, it takes maybe 20-25 minutes from beginning to finish).
Caprese pasta salad, Bruschetta with salmon, Tortelini with marinara sauce, spaghetti with sauted mushrooms and parmigiano (and I add a spoon of cream for creamy sauce) and even soup, if that is what I have in the fridge!
Andrea says
yum… bacon! an yes, I’ve tried the pears and brie cheese. It’s amazing, although I can’t get Dave or the kids to try it 🙂
Kalyn Brooke | Creative Savings says
Oh YUM! I think I’m going to make this for dinner tonight. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Andrea says
hope you enjoyed it!
Candace says
Andrea, I made these for dinner tonight. Delicious! Thank you for all your simple, wonderful recipes.
Andrea says
yay — glad you liked them! and you’re welcome 🙂
Karynz says
I like your filling recipe. I make Chicken Quesadillas in a frying pan using cooked chicken, sauteed
green peppers and onions and cheese. Add the tortilla to a hot greased pan, add filling to only one half. Then flip the tortilla like an omelet and remove when the cheese is melted and tortilla is browned. Less messy option. I am definitely going to try it with the black beans.
Andrea says
Yes, you can definitely use a frying pan as well — and yes, the black beans are a good addition for us!
Amber says
I’ve never seen them made with so many ingredients, yet they look very delicious! We normally eat them with only well spiced chicken breast and cheese. Then I will make other sides to go with them like a salad, mexican rice, beans, etc. Thanks for sharing your recipe! Hope you have a great day~ 🙂
Andrea says
You can seriously make quesadillas with pretty much anything — no need to add as many ingredients if you don’t want to. I just like putting everything in the quesadilla because it’s less I need to do later. We usually don’t have any sides with it except chips and salsa.
Mrs. Crackin' the Whip says
This looks delicious. With pre-cooked chicken or hamburger on hand, it’s so easy to throw together anything Mexican! Burritos, nachos, tacos, taco salad. I always forget about quesadillas though! I think I’ve only made them once which is tragic!
I have to be careful not to overdo it though. We tend to have some form of simplified beans and chicken, or beans and hamburger for lunch so I try to plan for some variety in our dinners. But quesadillas are getting made…
Andrea says
Yes, Mexican is a favorite for us — even the kids! Frugal, easy, fast… can’t go wrong!