Chicken Black Bean Quesadillas

Easy weeknight meals that I can have on the table in less than 15 minutes are always greatly appreciated in our house. While I was making these for dinner last night, I realized that after years of making them, I’ve never shared the recipe on the blog!

This is one of my favourite quick dishes to make and I’m sure that there are many of you out there who could use a quick dinner idea too for those nights where you just don’t have the time (or the desire) to put together a big meal.

 

I keep a can of black beans and a can of chopped green chilies in the pantry at all times to make these quesadillas, then I just need to get the chicken, cheese and tortillas when I want to make them.

I keep the filling simple, but you can add whatever you like – grilled corn, jalapenos, cilantro, tomato, sauteed onions and peppers.

What you’ll need:

• 1.5 cups chopped cooked chicken (leftover roast chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken work great)
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 can (540mL/18oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (133mL/4.5oz) chopped green chilies
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 8 large flour tortillas
• butter
• sides: sour cream and sour cream
• optional garnish: spring onions

This makes 4 large quesadillas. The filling can also be added into salads or sandwiches.

This recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken. Whenever we have a roast chicken for dinner, I save some of the leftover white and dark meat to make into quesadillas.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked chicken, cheddar, black beans and green chilies. Season with salt and pepper. Toss until well combined.

In a large non-stick skillet, over low-medium heat, melt a dab of butter.

Place a tortilla in the frying pan and move it around to coat the bottom side with the butter. Spoon about 1/4 of the filling onto the tortilla and spread around.

Place another tortilla on top immediately. Butter the top side of the top tortilla. Gently lift the side of the bottom tortilla with a spatula to see if it is done. When it starts to become golden, carefully flip the quesadilla over with the spatula and brown the other side.

Remove the quesadilla to a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to slice into wedges.

Serve up immediately with salsa and sour cream. We tend to eat our quesadillas casual – a big cutting board full of quesadilla wedges with a bowl of salsa and sour cream to share.

Or you can serve up an individual plate with a simple side salad.

For a different take on a quesadilla, try my Ham, Brie and Green Apple Quesadilla recipe.

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