Packed with veggies, loaded with melty cheese and folded up in a crispy tortilla, this Green Machine Quesadilla is a delicious way to get in your greens. Optimal recipe for feeding that hungry crowd.
Easily adaptable to everyone’s likes and dislikes these quesadillas are a great base that allow even your pickiest of eaters to build off of.
I cannot think of a better quick weeknight dinner than this Green Machine Quesadilla. All of the ingredients come together easily so dinner can be thrown together in minutes. Perfect for serving after a long and busy day at work.
Such a good recipe to sneak in all those healthy veggies without being detected. Dal absolutely LOVES these. Like he'd probably eat them everyday for lunch if he could. We like to use whole wheat tortillas for extra fiber but you could use flour as well. Also our avocado tomatillo salsa is perfect in this recipe but if you don't have any stored in the fridge and want something easy, grab a salsa verde at the store or our favorite tomatillo salsa at Costco to use instead.
Best Cheese for a Quesadilla
We all know what makes or breaks a quesadilla is the cheese. There are many varieties of cheese that work well folded up in a tortilla. For that perfect melty pull, stick with a Monterey Cheddar Jack, Mexican Fiesta Blend, or an Oaxana Fontina.
No matter what kind of cheese you go with, the real key to that stretchy pull apart cheesy bite is to grate your cheese by hand. Pre-shredded cheese is coated so it doesn’t stick together. That extra coating while effective, does cause shredded cheese to not melt as easily. With fresh grated cheese you will also find more flavor and smoothness in every bite.
What to Stuff a Quesadilla with
When filling a loaded quesadilla keep these few quick tricks in mind:
- Keep all the filling to bite size - bigger pieces make it difficult to keep the quesadilla together
- Sauté or caramelize veggies first
- Brown or grill any meat for a crispy texture
If you really love a good loaded quesadilla try adding some of these other ingredients for even more additional texture and flavor.
- Chopped Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Green Pepper
- Shredded Carrot
- Beans
- Corn
- Mushroom
- Onion
- Diced Tomato
How to make a Quesadilla
While quesadillas are known for their simplicity using a few easy tricks really does elevate your dish to that pro-chef level. Give some of these tips a try and you'll be surprised at how quick they fly off the table and you have people asking for seconds.
First things first. You've got to be sure you are using a skillet bigger than the tortillas. You want every inch of that quesadilla to be in contact with the bottom of the pan so it gets a nice, crispy cook. Smaller tortillas are roughly 7 inches and larger tortillas can be as large as 12 inches in diameter. If in the market for a great skillet check out our favorite the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Skillet. And while you are there be sure to pick up our favorite pizza cutter for easy slicing of your quesadillas. We use ours to cut everything!
Next, be sure to spray your pan with non-stick spray or a little butter before every tortilla goes down. We love to give the pan a quick spray, lay down a tortilla, flip it over and sprinkle with a little salt, flip it back over and then lightly salt the inside before adding our fillings.
When it comes to cooking these bad boys the key is low and slow. If the pan gets too hot the tortilla will burn before your filling has a chance to get perfectly melty and gooey. Stick with a medium to low heat for a crispy golden brown exterior. Your patience will be rewarded.
What to Serve with Quesadillas
Packed with protein and fiber you’ve got a yummy, hot lunch or tasty afternoon snack that will easily fill everyone up and keep them happy. Really want to impress with a killer dinner menu? Try adding our Seven Layer or Rotel Sausage dips for an irresistible side dish. Or serve it alongside foolproof brown rice and totally customize it by adding extra flavor like chicken stock chicken stock or cilantro lime for a well-rounded meal.
What to Dip a Quesadilla in
One of the reasons we love a good quesadilla is that when it is sliced it's the ideal piece for dipping! Queso, sour cream, a greek yogurt or more of that yummy avocado tomatillo salsa that we already have inside the quesadilla are all good ways to go. Another delicious way to top it off would be with a big scoop of our fresh mango avocado salsa. Mhhh-mmm good!
📖 Recipe
Green Machine Quesadillas
Folded in a crispy tortilla these are packed with veggies, loaded with melty cheese and tasty chicken for a quick weeknight dinner or filling lunch.
Ingredients
- 6 whole wheat tortillas
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- 1½ cups chopped spinach, packed
- ⅓ fresh chopped cilantro
- ½ cup green tomatillo salsa
- ½ cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups grated cheese
- 1 chicken breast, chopped or shredded
Instructions
- In bowl combine sliced avocado, chopped spinach and cilantro, green tomatillo salsa, greek yogurt, salt, cheese and chicken. Mix ingredeints together.
- Heat a large pan or griddle to medium-low heat.
- Spray surface with cooking spray and place tortilla in pan. Allow tortilla to heat slightly. Flip tortilla, sprinkle with salt, flip tortilla.
- Add ⅙ of the mixture in bowl to half of the tortilla in pan. Fold tortilla in half on top of itself. Cover pan with lid and allow it to cook on each side for 2 to 3 minutes or it is golden brown.
- Remove quesadilla from pan. Allow to cool for a minute before cutting into triangles. Serve hot.
Notes
- If looking for more protein use greek yogurt instead of sour cream and double or triple the amount of chicken.
- Also our avocado tomatillo salsa is perfect in this recipe but if you don't have any stored in the fridge and want something easy, grab a salsa verde at the store or our favorite tomatillo salsa at Costco to use instead.
- For a melty pull apart cheesey experience stick with oaxaca or a combination of mozzarella and monterey jack cheese. For a more flavorful quesadilla go with a mexican or fiesta blend cheese.
- If at all possible grate your own fresh cheese. Pre-shredded cheese works but becasue it is coated to not stick together it does not melt as well.
- Beans, rice, sauted onion, mushroom or peppers, chopped broccoli and zuchhini all make great add-ins if looking for a more loaded quesadilla expereince.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 357Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 746mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 8gSugar: 3gProtein: 21g