Vegetable Quesadillas
on Jan 03, 2020, Updated Aug 01, 2024
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Vegetable quesadillas are a very helpful addition to the weekday repertoire. A great way to use up leftover vegetables and super versatile. Appetizers, snacks, and — with a salad — dinner.
Vegetable quesadillas are a total go-to in my house — appealing to vegetarians and meat eaters alike. They are a great way to use up leftover vegetables and super versatile. We eat them for appetizers, snacks, and — with a salad — dinner. I like serving them up with a salsa (sometimes a classic one, like Salsa Ranchera, sometimes something a little more exotic, like Citrusy Mango Ginger Salsa) and some guacamole and sour cream.
My favorite way to make quesadillas is in a pan on the stove, and once you get comfortable making a few, you will see that it’s quite easy to make two in a pan at once time. By two, I mean two folded-over tortilla quesadillas, which is my go-to method, resulting in two half-moon quesadillas. You can also make one big round quesadilla with two tortillas, one per batch, which is a little harder to flip but the same concept.
How to Make Quesadillas has more tips, including cooking quesadillas in the oven, under the broiler, or on the grill.
Table of Contents
Vegetable Quesadillas: A step-by-step blueprint recipe for making perfect crispy, cheesy vegetable quesadillas with whatever veggies you have on hand.
Vegetable Quesadilla Ingredients
The ingredients for this vegetable quesadilla recipe may already be in your kitchen!
- Vegetable or olive oil
- Onion – The little bites of onion add so much spicy-sweet flavor.
- Broccoli, red bell pepper, and spinach – If you have other vegetables in your house, cooked or not, certainly swap them in for the suggested vegetables here. These were just what I had on hand at the time, and I constantly change up my vegetable quesadilla fillings.
- Minced garlic – Gets stirred into the filling and sautéed so it has some punch but loses that raw garlic flavor.
- Chili powder – Feel free to add more if you like a little spice in your vegetable quesadillas.
- Fresh cilantro – Optional, but adds freshness and a herby bite.
- Unsalted butter – Use a little bit of butter to cook each quesadilla, which you will make in batches.
- Flour tortillas – Corn tortillas are also good here, though they are usually smaller, so adjust the ratio of filling accordingly. Get whichever type you like the most.
- Sharp cheddar & fontina – Play around with the cheeses. I love combining more than one cheese if I have them lying around. This one happens to have a blend of fontina and cheddar here, a nice mix with the sharp flavor of cheddar playing against the creaminess of fontina. Use any cheese or blend of cheeses you like, including some of the many packaged blend mixes available, like Mexican shredded cheese or an Italian blend.
How to Make Vegetable Quesadillas
- Make the filling: Sauté the onion, broccoli, bell pepper, and spinach in the oil until tender. Stir in the garlic and chili powder and sauté another minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
- Assemble the quesadilla: Place a tortilla in the hot pan, or if you prefer, you can assemble the quesadillas on a cutting board or counter. Add a bit of cheese, then add the vegetable filling.
- Add a bit more cheese: Cheese on the bottom and the top of the filling helps the tortilla stick to the filling; a little hack that hopefully will make your quesadilla-making adventures even more satisfying and less messy.
- Repeat: Repeat with a second tortilla and cheese and filling.
- Cook: Cook until golden brown on the bottom, then flip the quesadillas.
- Finish cooking: Continue cooking for another few minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Cut and serve: Cut into two or three wedges. Serve the quesadillas with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream, as desired. Lime wedges are also a nice touch.
Storage and Reheating
Leftover quesadillas can be stored in a container in the fridge for a few days. Reheat them in a pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side. Or warm them for 5 to 7 minutes on a baking sheet in a preheated 300-degree oven.
FAQs
The best way to flip a quesadilla is to get a spatula underneath it, lift, and flip it over with a flick of your wrist. This may get difficult depending on the size of your quesadilla or the amount of filling inside. Two spatulas might do the trick, but another good way to flip is to slide the quesadilla off your pan onto a plate, then invert the pan over the plate, and flip both so the quesadilla lands on the other side back in the pan.
If you want to avoid all the hassle, just make your tortillas in half-moon shapes, as I do. By folding the tortilla in half over the filling instead of making full-sized round quesadillas, you’ll find the half-moon quesadillas are sturdier and easier to flip.
The best vegetables for a quesadilla are truly whatever you have on hand. You can saute up any chopped veggies or add some leftover chopped cooked vegetables. Or use a combination. I like to use onion and some kind of sweet or spicy pepper as a base, then add any green vegetables that I have in my kitchen. If you’re using a mixture of cooked and raw, just sauté the raw vegetables in oil and add the cooked vegetables at the last minute to warm them through without overcooking.
What to Serve With Vegetable Quesadillas
More Quesadilla Recipes
- Barbecued Chicken Quesadillas
- Easy Rotisserie Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas
- Overstuffed Chicken and Vegetable Quesadillas
- Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
- Spinach, Mushroom and Chicken Quesadillas
- Breakfast Quesadillas
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Vegetable Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup roughly chopped spinach or baby kale
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (optional)
- 4 teaspoons unsalted butter (divided)
- 8 8-inch flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 1 cup shredded fontina
- Guacamole, sour cream, salsa and lime wedges (to serve)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the vegetable or olive oil. Add the onion, broccoli, bell pepper, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. Add the spinach, garlic, and chili powder and stir for another minute until the spinach is wilted and everything is well combined. Stir in the cilantro if using, turn the mixture into a bowl, and wash and dry the skillet (or grab a new skillet).
- Combine the cheddar and Monterey in a bowl. Place the skillet over medium heat and add a half teaspoon of butter. Place a tortilla in the pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture over half of the quesadilla, and distribute 1/8 of the vegetable mixture over the cheese. Top that with another 2 tablespoons of the shredded cheese. Flip the bare half of the tortilla over the filling, cover the pan, and sauté for about 2 minutes until the bottom is golden and the cheese has started to melt, then use a spatula to flip the half-moon quesadilla and continue to cook, uncovered, until all of the cheese is melted and the underside is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the quesadilla to a cutting board and let the quesadilla sit for a minute before you slice into 2 or 3 wedges. Repeat until all of the quesadillas are cooked. Serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges.
