These crispy, delicious, and easy Chicken Quesadillas are the perfect quick and meal for any busy night. They are loaded with Southwest seasoned chicken, melted cheese, salsa and other Mexican-inspired flavors for a dinner that everyone will love.
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Simple Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
This Simple Chicken Quesadilla recipe is the perfect answer to those weeknights when you are short on time and everyone is hungry. Filled with seasoned and sauteed chicken, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream and guacamole, they are super satisfying, healthy and incredibly quick and easy.
We’ve given you a yummy Southwest chicken quesadilla marinade to use with chicken thighs or chicken breasts for the filling, but you can also use any leftover shredded chicken that you’ve got lying around. Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is also an easy time saver.
Fill each tortilla with cooked chicken, shredded cheese and your favorite Mexican-inspired flavors and you’ll be eating crispy, cheesy Chicken Quesadillas in no time.
Chicken Quesadilla Ingredients
Marinade for Chicken Quesadillas
- Chicken Thighs - chicken thighs stay super juicy and tender when cooked over the stovetop. Plus, they have an amazing flavor and tend to be cheaper! With that being said, you can absolutely substitute chicken breasts or any other type of cooked chicken that you might have around. Shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken works great for quesadillas.
- Avocado Oil - you can use either avocado oil or olive oil for the chicken quesadilla marinade.
- Lime Juice - fresh lime juice tastes best.
- Chicken Quesadilla Seasoning - either buy taco seasoning or make your own easy homemade taco seasoning.
- Brown Sugar - this is optional, but just a little bit of sugar goes a long way to balance out this marinade.
Quesadilla Ingredients
- Cooking Oil - any kind of neutral canola or vegetable cooking oil will work.
- Flour Tortillas - this recipe calls for large flour tortillas, but feel free to substitute corn tortillas if you prefer, or if you want to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- Shredded Cheese - we suggest Monterey Jack cheese or a Mexican blend for this recipe.
- Salsa - you can use your favorite store bought salsa, or even make your own fresh salsa or Pico de Gallo.
- Sour Cream - either light or full fat will work. You may want to use even more for topping the finished quesadillas.
- Guacamole - you can either buy premade guacamole or make your own homemade guacamole.
How to Make Chicken Quesadillas
- Marinate chicken for quesadillas. In a glass bowl, add the avocado oil, lime juice, taco seasoning, and brown sugar. Whisk together, then add the chicken and toss with tongs until everything is well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Cook the chicken. Once marinated, remove the chicken from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat until it starts to smoke, then add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade with tongs, shaking it gently to remove any excess. Add the chicken to the hot skillet, leaving a little space between the pieces of meat and continue to cook on until the underside of the chicken is golden brown. Using thongs, flip the chicken over and continue to cook until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thickest spot reads 165 degrees F.
- Slice cooked chicken into pieces. Remove the chicken from the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes, then slice into small pieces.
- Add ingredients to tortillas. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Place a tortilla in the pan. Sprinkle a small handful of shredded cheese over the tortilla, then add a couple tablespoons of diced cooked chicken, a dollop of salsa and dollop of sour cream.
- Cook the quesadillas. Fold the tortilla in half and cook for about 2-4 minutes per side, or until the tortilla is golden and crispy and the cheese is melted. Continue the process with the rest of the tortillas (Note: you may be able to cook 2 at a time, depending on the size of your skillet)
- Serve. Remove the quesadilla from the pan and cut in half or thirds. Serve warm with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole on the side. Enjoy!
Easy Chicken Quesadilla Recipe Variations
There are literally a million and one different ways that you can make your Chicken Quesadillas. Here are just a few simple variations using this recipe:
- Spicy Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla: Marinate chicken for quesadillas in a spicy chipotle sauce before cooking. Layer the seasoned chicken with Monterey Jack cheese, diced onions, and chopped jalapeños.
- BBQ Chicken Quesadilla: Combine shredded BBQ chicken, cheddar cheese, and caramelized onions for an irresistible flavor combination. Top it off with fresh cilantro for an added burst of freshness.
- Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla: For those who love the bold flavors of buffalo chicken, this variation is a must-try. Toss shredded chicken in buffalo sauce and layer it with blue cheese crumbles and chopped celery. Cook until the cheese is bubbly and the tortilla is crispy. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing - yum!
- Hawaiian Chicken Quesadilla: Combine cooked chicken with diced pineapple, sliced ham, and mozzarella cheese. Grill or pan-fry until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crispy, then serve with a side of sweet and sour sauce.
- Caprese Chicken Quesadilla: Layer sliced grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves onto a tortilla. Drizzle with balsamic glaze before folding and cooking.
- Use sheet pan chicken. Take our Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas recipe with red peppers and onion to use in your quesadillas. Dice the chicken and roughly chop the peppers and onion. You can still use salsa and guacamole, or skip and just fill with the chicken, bell pepper and cheese.
- Sub ground beef. Instead of chicken tacos, fill these quesadillas with ground beef using our Ground Beef Tacos recipe.
- Use leftover chicken. Any type of chicken works here so use what you’ve got including shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken. You can still use our Chicken Quesadilla seasoning and reheat in a pan before adding to the tortillas to cook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course! While we love how tender, juicy and flavorful chicken thighs are in this recipe, by all means substitute chicken breasts if you’d like.
Not only are quesadillas a quick and easy meal, they also freeze great. That means they are also an incredibly simple make-ahead freezer meal! All you need to do is toss them into the freezer on a sheet tray until they are solid, then transfer to an airtight container where they can be stored for up to 2 months.
Our favorite shredded cheeses to use for quesadillas are either Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend. Their flavor won’t overpower any of the other ingredients and they have a nice amount of pull once melted.
Either one will work! While butter tastes great, it also burns quite easily. Oil, on the other hand, has a much higher smoking point so you won’t have to worry about it burning. For this recipe, we recommended oil but it is entirely up to you.
Storing and Reheating Chicken Quesadillas
- Refrigerator: any leftover quesadillas can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: if you want to save some for an easy freezer meal, place on a sheet tray in the freezer for about 20 minutes until firm, then store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- To reheat: to reheat frozen Chicken Quesadillas, microwave on high for about 30 seconds - 1 minute, then transfer to a hot skillet over medium heat to crisp up both sides. To reheat from the fridge, skip the microwave and just transfer to a hot skillet.
Easy Chicken Quesadillas Recipe
Ingredients
Southwest Chicken Marinade
- 3 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
- 3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1.5-2 pounds Chicken Thighs
- 2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
Chicken Quesadilla Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
- 6 Flour Tortillas
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese
- ½ cup Salsa
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 cup Guacamole
Instructions
Chicken for Quesadillas
- In a glass bowl, add the avocado oil, lime juice, taco seasoning, and brown sugar. Whisk together, then add the chicken and toss with tongs until everything is well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Once marinated, remove the chicken from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat until it starts to smoke, then add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade with tongs, shaking it gently to remove any excess. Add the chicken to the hot skillet, leaving a little space between the pieces of meat and continue to cook on until the underside of the chicken is golden brown.
- Using tongs, flip the chicken over and continue to cook until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thickest spot reads 165 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes, then slice into small pieces.
How to Make Chicken Quesadillas
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Place a tortilla in the pan. Sprinkle a small handful of shredded cheese over the tortilla, then add a couple tablespoons of diced cooked chicken, a dollop of salsa and dollop of sour cream.
- Fold the tortilla in half and cook for about 2-4 minutes per side, or until the tortilla is golden and crispy and the cheese is melted. Continue the process with the rest of the tortillas (Note: you may be able to cook 2 at a time, depending on the size of your skillet)
- Remove the quesadilla from the pan and cut in half or thirds. Serve warm with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Of The Best Mexican-Inspired Chicken Recipes
- Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Red Chicken Enchiladas
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos
- Easy Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
- Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito
- More Mexican Recipes
- More Easy Chicken Recipes
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Your entire family will love these quick and easy Chicken Quesadillas. They are loaded with seasoned chicken, melted cheese, salsa and much more.
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