This chicken quesadilla is the best! It’s easy, it’s cheesy, it’s flavorful, it’s a bit spicy. It even has some vegetables in it, so you might actually label it as healthy if you’re super generous about it.
Not a lot of clean-up is involved, and the best part…if you’re in a hurry you can use this easy chicken quesadilla recipe and make yourself a quick dinner in about 15 minutes. Or even less.
So, let’s use up some leftover chicken and make this super simple cheesy chicken quesadilla, it is perfect for a cozy weeknight!
What’s In This Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla
Made with cream cheese, tomato paste, garlic, and shredded rotisserie chicken this easy quesadilla is perfect for when you don’t have much left in your fridge. In fact, you can change up ingredients and actually clean out your fridge by making this recipe.
Have some old vegetables? You can put them in there. The motto is: when in doubt, make a quesadilla with it! It’s always GOOD and gets eaten by everyone at the table.
Here’s what’s in the filling for this quick chicken quesadilla:
- cooked chicken
- cream cheese and cheese
- tomato paste
- spices: cumin, coriander, crushed red pepper
- vegetables: jalpeno, arugula, basil or dill, garlic
Put it all together and everyone will be so happy…I mean who wouldn’t be happy with cheese, chicken and garlic wrapped in a tortilla?
How To Make The Best Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla
You will actually enjoy the process of preparing these easy chicken quesadillas, as it’s pretty fail-proof. Here’s what you’ll be doing:
- Make the spicy sauce: Mix cream cheese, herbs, spices and tomato paste in a bowl
- Shred or chop the cooked chicken: if you don’t have shredded chicken, now’s the time to do it! You can use two forks as shown here it or just chop the chicken with a knife.
- Add shredded chicken to the spicy sauce, then the basil and jalapeno. Then mix everything together. This will be the filling for our cheesy chicken quesadilla.
- Spread this chicken filling over 1/2 of a flour tortilla, top with cheese and fold in half.
- Toast in a non-stick pan with olive oil until golden brown and then flip carefully to do it on the other side as well.
- Slice and enjoy immediately!
Tips
- Let’s address the chicken in the room – you’ll need some pre-cooked chicken. Whatever leftover chicken you have – boiled, grilled or rotisserie, shred it and use it in this recipe. You can also use another type of cooked meat here.
- Making a spicy, creamy sauce: I used tomato paste, cream cheese, garlic herbs, and spices to make the creamiest, tastiest sauce that went perfectly in these chicken quesadillas.
- Fold the tortilla in half: I prefer to make 1/2 quesadillas as it helps with the flipping. Things almost never fall out and this makes the process of making quesadillas so much more enjoyable!
What To Serve With This Easy Chicken Quesadilla
You can definitely enjoy the quesadillas just the way they are, but if you want to have something on the side you can try:
- guacamole
- some salad with arugula, tomatoes and avocado (that’s what I did)
- any other type of dipping sauce you like
I hope you enjoy this simple chicken quesadilla, it sure is one of my favorite things to make when I have chicken and flour tortillas at home.
15-Minute Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla
Yield: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
This chicken quesadilla is the best! It's easy, it's cheesy, it's flavorful, it's a bit spicy and ready in 15 minutes! The easiest cozy weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded chicken
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese
- 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 tsp cumin
- 1/3 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 jalapeno, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped arugula
- handful basil leaves or some chopped dill
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- 2 flour tortillas
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix the cream cheese, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, coriander and crushed red pepper, a tsp of water until smooth.
- Add the chicken, basil (or dill), chopped jalapeno and the arugula to the mix.
- Spread 1/2 of the mixture on one half of a flour tortilla and top with cheese of your choice - mine was mozzarella. Repeat for the other tortilla.
- Fold each tortilla in half and toast in a non-stick pan with olive oil until golden brown. Flip and toast on the other side as well.
- Slice in 3-4 pieces and serve like this, or with guacamole.
Notes
I tried this quesadilla one time with basil, the other time with dill and I can't decide - both are great, so use whichever herb you have.
Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 462Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 92mgSodium 522mgCarbohydrates 35gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 30g
more Easy Quesadilla Recipes:
- Spicy Feta and Chicken Quesadilla
- 10-Minute Tuna Melt Quesadilla
- Easy Ground Beef Quesadilla
This recipe was originally published in October 2019 and updated wth new tips and images on August 4th 2022.
