Simple Chicken Quesadilla Recipe

This Simple Chicken Quesadilla Recipe is the perfect quick and easy 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.

You can marinate chicken for quesadillas and then either grill or roast. Or, make it easy and use rotisserie chicken or even leftover cooked chicken. And for breakfast, you can try our Easy Breakfast Quesadillas, filled with eggs, bacon, peppers, and cheese.

A stack of chicken quesadilla wedges on a cutting board, topped with sour cream.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Quick & Easy! Ready in under 30 minutes with pantry staples or leftovers.
Super Customizable. Add in beans, peppers, onions, or your favorite cheese and sauces.
Budget-Friendly. A great way to use up leftover cooked chicken and tortillas.

This 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.

Sauteed chicken thighs ready to slice and make this simple chicken quesadilla recipe.

Key Ingredients

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. Slow Cooker Chicken or rotisserie chicken works great for quesadillas.
Lime Juice – fresh lime juice tastes best for this marinade.
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.
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.

Three photos showing chicken marinade for quesadillas.

How to Make Easy 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. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat, then add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Cook the chicken on both sides 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.
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!

How to cook chicken for quesadillas and assemble them in a hot skillet.

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:

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!
Use sheet pan chicken. Take our Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas recipe with red peppers and caramelized onions 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.

A cutting board with chopped sauteed chicken for easy chicken quesadillas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs?

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.

Can I make quesadillas ahead of time?

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.

What is the best cheese to use in quesadillas?

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.

Should I use butter or oil for cooking quesadillas?

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.

Tips For the Best Quesadillas

Shred Cheese Fresh: Freshly grated cheese melts better and gives the gooiest quesadillas.
Don’t Overfill: A thin, even layer prevents leaking and helps everything cook through.
Use Medium Heat: Too hot and the tortillas will burn before the cheese melts; too low and they won’t get crispy.
Cook Uncovered: For maximum crunch without making the filling soggy.
Let Rest Before Slicing: Wait a minute or two after cooking-this firms up the cheese and filling for neat wedges.

A tabletop with crispy Chicken Quesadillas cut into quarters and topped with sour cream, tomatoes and fresh cilantro.

Storing and Reheating

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.