Veggie Quesadilla

These Veggie Quesadillas are filled with a spicy vegetable and bean filling and have gooey melty cheesy. The secret to our quesadilla is a simple but flavor-packed spice mix, that will work with almost any veggies you have on hand, making it a perfect on-the-go lunch or after-school snack.

cheesy vegetable and bean quesedilla served with sour cream

These little pockets of tortillas are the most versatile meals you will ever make. You can keep the veggie Quesadillas simple and fill it with only cheese (which by the way is my favorite) or get creative and pack it up with meat, veggies, and/or beans. For today, we will keep the meat aside and talk about all possible ways of using vegetables for the stuffing.

Like this hummus wrap, this is my go-to lunch on busy days. I put it together in less than 20 minutes as an after-school snack for my daughter. Along with being delicious, these are pretty filling, wholesome, and also healthy if you go easy on cheese and do a few healthy substitutions.

Give these Veggie Quesadillas a go

These are pretty easy to put together in just 20 minutes. A packet of tortillas, a can of beans, fresh veggies, and spices is all you need to make these.
The filling is a flavorful blend of spices making the quesadilla nothing but boring.
Best way to use up any leftover veggies or feed the fussy eater some vegetables.

vegetable and bean quesedlla served with sour cream

Ingredients

Let me walk you through the list of ingredients you would need for making these along with filling ideas about

Tortillas – Flour tortillas are widely used and also easily available. You could use wholegrain or corn tortilla as well. 8-inch Tortilla is a perfect size.
Beans – you can use red or black beans, either will work. Just drain it well.
Corn – nothing like fresh seasonal sweet corn. frozen or canned will work here too.
Onion, garlic
Tomato pasta – I prefer using tomato paste over fresh tomato because its has deep flavor and doesn’t water down the filling.
Red Pepper
Taco seasoning – Homemade or packaged but look for the ones with low or no salt.
Cheese – Love using cheddar. Monterey Jack and peppery Jack are a few other cheeses that melt well. Last option would be Mozzarella, not big on flavors but good stretchy cheese for the gooey filling.
Cilantro

Quesadillas are best for their ease and convenience of making. Instead of using an array of spices, Taco seasoning is a shortcut but does the job pretty well.

More Filling ideas

Beans and corn keep the Quesadillas filling and take care of the protein part of your meal. You can experiment with vegetables but keep it 2-3 types at a time. Mushroom is great for its meaty texture and umami. Either chop or slice the mushrooms and cook until golden brown in color. If using mushroom I would skip adding beans to the filling.

Zucchini, squash again great as filling. Because zucchini is high on water content, don’t go overboard on it. Quickly sear or grill zucchini before adding to the filling.

For some heat, add fresh or pickled Jalapenos.

Ingredients for vegetabel bean quesadilla

How to make ( 2 ways to assemble)

Make filling

It’s all there in the filling. Saute onion and garlic in oil until aromatic. Then add tomato paste and saute for a minute to let it caramelize. Add spices followed by drained beans, corn kernels, and chopped pepper. Cook until everything is combined well and the mixture has come together.

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I love to keep the peppers bit crunchy, so I add it at the end. If using mushroom, cook it separately until golden in color then add it to the filling.

Bean, corn kernel, onion and peppers cooked with taco seasoning for quesadilla filling.

Assemble-

Once the filling is done, let it cool down a bit. There are two ways we can assemble quesadillas.

Place one tortilla on a hot skillet, spread a thin layer of filling, top it with cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Cook on low heat allowing the cheese to melt. Gently press the top tortilla, the gooey cheese will act as glue and hold it. Carefully flip, and let it crisp up. It will look like a stuffed pizza, use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into wedges. The issue with this way of assembling is, that while filliping there are chances of the mixture spilling out. Also it a bit messier to eat the wedges.
The second method, that I always do is to fold in half. Place on tortilla on the skillet. Fill one half with mixture, fold the empty half on top creating a half-circle kind os thing. Cook on both sides until crispy.

Recipe tips

The veggie filling should be cooled down and a bit on the thicker side(not watery) for the quesadilla to crisp up nicely. If using high water content veggies like mushroom and zucchini, cook the mixture until most of the water has dried up.
Unless it is homemade, store-bought Taco seasoning has salt, so add more salt only if required.
For the tortillas to cook and crisp evenly, heat the skillet well, then reduce and cook on medium-low heat.
If you are folding the tortillas into half while assembling them, let the tortillas warm up a bit then folding is easier and it won’t crack.

Storing leftovers

These are best to be consumed while still warm and crispy. It does get soggy over time. To store the leftovers, line a container with a kitchen towel and store it up to 3 days.

Reheat-

Good news is you can reheat it and get the crispness back. Heat a skillet well, place the leftovers, cook on low heat until it is crispy on both sides.

Serving

Warm crispy veggie quesadillas are best served with a dollop of sour cream. Pineapple mango salsa, Roasted tomato salsa, avocado cream and Mexican rice are great side dishes to have a Mexican feast.

Do you know you can also make a really filling Quesadilla for breakfast or brunch filled with cooked sausages and eggs.