Growing up in the New York suburbs, chicken quesadillas were a go-to quick & easy meal for my family. We had a fancy round stoneware piece and would thus make quesadillas in the oven, but here in Paris I am sans oven, so I’ve recently tested a skillet recipe and was pleasantly surprised! As the weather’s cooling down, these ultra-cheesy and aromatic quesadillas really hit the spot. If you can find avocados to make guacamole to dip the quesadilla wedges into, that’s great, but with all of the creaminess this recipe contains it’s definitely not necessary!
My personal version of this recipe includes sliced jalapeños and lots of cilantro, but you can simplify and/or modify the recipe per your taste.
Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
- coconut oil or oil of your choice
- pack of sliced chicken breast/etc. of your choice
- numerous flour tortillas (one or two per person)
- various seasonings: garlic, onion, cumin & chili powder, Tajín, salt, pepper
- dark soy sauce for the chicken (optional)
- sliced onions
- sliced bell peppers
- cilantro, finely chopped
- canned, pickled jalapeño slices
- red salsa or homemade pico de gallo
- shredded cheddar cheese or cheese of your choice
- sour cream, St Moret or light cream/yogurt (optional)
- can of corn (optional)
- hot sauce (optional)
- guacamole (otional)
- pickled, thinly sliced red onion (soaked in lime juice for 20 minutes) (optional)
Method
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over high heat. Season the chicken with the seasonings mention above (garlic, onion, cumin, chili, Tajín, pepper…) and let cook for about 4 minutes. Flip chicken pieces over and re-season and then lightly drip some dark soy sauce over some of the pieces and mix. Keep flipping the chicken over a little bit. Add more oil if needed.
- With your tongs take the chicken pieces and place on a small plate, cut them in half or more, and then place them back into the skillet. This will enable you to make sure the chicken is well-cooked as well as make the chicken pieces small enough for the quesadillas (and with more flavor).
- Once the chicken is cooked, place it in a bowl.
- Re-heat the skillet back up with more oil and add the sliced onions and peppers (and corn -optional-). Season with salt and other seasonings of choice. Sautée for about 5 minutes and then set aside in a bowl. Clean skillet well.
- Place more oil into the skillet (about 1/2 a tablespoon) and wait until it is heated. Add the flour tortilla and fill half of it (just one side of the tortilla as you will fold it) with cheese + chicken + veg & cilantro + jalapeño slices + more cheese. Fold the other half of the tortilla over and press it down the a spatula. Hold it down and wait a few seconds or so. When you see that the cheese has attached the the folded tortilla flip it over with your spatula.
- Repeat this with your other tortillas.
- As an extra step, I like to top the tortillas with more grated cheese + cilantro + a jalapeño slice, and throw then in the microwave right before serving to make sure they’re extra-hot.
- Right before serving, slice the folded tortillas into wedges, pizza-style.
- Serve with pico de gallo/red salsa and sour cream.
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