This chicken quesadilla recipe is an easy dinner made with a crispy tortilla shell folded over shredded chicken, caramelized bell peppers, onions and melty cheese.
Easy Chicken Quesadilla
You’re going to love this recipe for chicken quesadilla. It’s great for quick lunches and easy dinners, especially when you’ve already got leftover easy shredded chicken!
If you’ve got the extra time, I highly recommend making homemade flour tortillas and homemade taco seasoning for something a little extra.
Ingredients Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Red bell peppers and onions: Also known as traditional fajita veggies, when these are sautéed in olive oil they caramelize and soften for added flavor.
- Cooked chicken: Baked, grilled or leftover cooked and shredded chicken. This is one of my favorite leftover rotisserie chicken recipes.
- Seasoning: Chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. You can also use taco seasoning or fajita seasoning if you prefer.
- Flour tortillas: I use 8-inch flour tortillas. They’re the smaller ones typically used for tacos. I find they’re easier to flip than trying to flip the larger ones.
- Cheese: Shredded cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese. Freshly grated from a block if you can, but this recipe is pretty forgiving and pre-shredded is fine.
- Butter: When the quesadilla is cooked in melted butter, it has a nice golden crust.
How to Make a Chicken Quesadilla
Sauté thinly sliced bell peppers and onions in oil for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the cooked chicken and seasonings to the pan and mix until the chicken is heated through.
Add 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture to one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and fold the tortilla over the filling into a half moon.
Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray (I use olive oil spray) and if you want it a little crispier, melt a bit of butter into the pan as well.
Cook on one side until golden brown, then flip to do the same on the other side. Repeat with remaining quesadillas.
Use a pizza cutter to cut chicken quesadillas into 2 or 3 pieces and serve with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Use chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or the whole chicken. As long as you can shred it or dice it small.
- Or substitute with pork and make pulled pork quesadillas.
- Add other veggies like mushrooms, corn, or black beans.
- Use a different cheese like Monterey Jack cheese, mozzarella cheese, or Colby jack. A Mexican cheese blend is also great.
- If you use a large enough skillet (sometimes I make them on a pancake griddle) you can cook more than one quesadilla at a time. Just be sure not to overcrowd it, or they won’t crisp up.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave or crisp it back up a bit in the air fryer.
Serving Suggestions
- Toppings: I like to set bowls of my restaurant style salsa, black bean salsa, some sour cream, fresh cilantro and lime wedges on the table.
- Tortilla chips: With some velveeta queso recipe or the best guacamole recipe.
- Restaurant worthy sides: Easy Mexican rice and refried beans round out the meal.
More Mexican food recipes to try include Mexican chicken casserole, BBQ chicken tacos and crockpot Mexican chicken.
More Mexican Recipes
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Easy Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 medium red bell pepper , thinly sliced
- ¼ onion , thinly sliced
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 6 8-inch flour tortillas
- ¾ cup cheddar cheese , shredded
- ¾ cup pepper jack cheese , shredded
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Sauté bell pepper and onion: In a medium sized frying pan, sauté 1 thinkly sliced red bell pepper and 1/4 of an onion, also thinly sliced, in 1 Tablespoon olive oil for 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Add chicken and seasonings: Add 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken and seasonings to the pepper and onion mixture. Mix and continue on medium heat until the chicken is heated through.
- Fill tortillas: To 1/2 of the top of each tortilla, add 1/3 cup chicken mixture, 2 Tablespoons cheddar cheese and 2 Tablespoons pepper jack cheese. Fold tortilla in half, covering the chicken and cheese.
- Cook tortillas: Spray nonstick pan with olive oil spray and add 1/2 teaspoon butter if you want it a little crispier. Cook one side until golden brown. Flip and cook other side.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, Chicken, Cinco De Mayo, Dinner, Kid-Friendly, Mexican, Reader Favorites, Stovetop
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
So easy to make & so tasty. Turned out great. – recipe tester
So glad you loved the chicken quesadillas!