Healthy Quesadilla Recipe
I love quesadillas. They are literally the perfect combination of cheese and protein. I mean….who doesn’t love that combo? C’mon.
So I thought I would post my fave healthy quesadilla recipe here - its full of organic healthy ingredients and I (tired) to also make it as macro friendly as I could without sacrificing any of the ooey -gooey quesadilla goodness we all know a love.
Also - anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a master chef & hate spending too much time in the kitchen. But this recipe is soooo easy, requires minimal effort & is a great mid-day food choice to make at home or for dinner - especially on ACTIVE days where you are burning through your energy stores.
Honestly- it’s hard to mess up a quesadilla - if I can make this thing taste good, anyone can!!
You can also feel free to substitute any of the traditional cheese / dairy options for dairy free or go meatless if you are concerned about that! 🎉
So let’s get to it shall we?
Ingredients:
Organic Kerrygold butter (1-2 thin slices)
Medium whole wheat tortillas
Organic shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
Organic chicken Tenderloins - boneless & skinless 5-10 oz (depending on how much chicken you want to cook - I always cook more and save it for later)
1 Tsp olive oil (for cooking chicken)
Taco Seasoning
1 can of black beans (you will have extra if you are making just 1 quesadilla)
guacamole
cilantro (optional to serve with at the end)
Cooking Instructions:
Heat a medium sized skillet to medium heat or just below medium (we don’t need it super hot as all the ingredients are already cooked).
while the skillet cooks - saute up some small chicken tenderloins on another skillet for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. I cook my chicken in olive oil. Season chicken with taco seasoning (home mad or store bought).
Once cooked slice the chicken up into small cubes / slices - option here to shred it apart if you are into that.
In a bowl - open up a can of black beans. rinse & strain. Put rinsed beans in the bowl and season with taco seasoning. Mix around.
Cut a small slice of butter and sizzle in the pan - covering all the surface for non stick! You can also just spray the pan with a non stick spray or use a non stick pan if you don’t like butter….I LOVE a little healthy butter in my diet though.
Lay first medium sized tortilla down in pan, sprinkle shredded organic cheese to cover it evenly (about 1/2 cup?).
then place chicken on top of the cheese - the cheese will gradually melt so I do this before it’s fully melted. I LOVE a meaty quesadilla so I always do a full & even layer of meat - if you are eyeballing it - i put about a "fists” worth of meat down (about 5 / 6 oz).
sprinkle another small layer of cheese.
Add beans as the third layer. I do maybe 1-2 tbs of beans (depends on how much you love black beans).
Then sprinkle another 1/3 to 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top (depending on how much cheese you like).
Add Top tortilla - and press the edges down onto the melted bottom layer of cheese (don’t burn your fingers!!) - i go around and press it down 2-3 times to really make sure its glued together.
THEN - flip the tortilla - let it simmer for 3-5 minutes - and pull off!
chop up a little fresh cilantro to garnish
cut into 1/4’s, scoop out 1-2 TBS of guacamole, garnish, dip & enjoy!!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! ITS SO TASTY! ♥︎
Happy cooking!
Xo Mal
