Crispy Baked Quesadillas
It’s no secret that we love quesadillas at our house (who doesn’t?!), but these baked quesadillas are my new favorite easy dinner. The texture is SO good. The tortillas get a little crispy and golden brown, and next to the melty cheese, it’s a great contrast of textures. Not to mention it’s
Crispy, cheesy, and made for feeding a crowd (or a family)!
If you’re making more than one or two quesadillas, baking them in the oven is the most efficient way to cook them all at the same time. And I don’t know about you, but I’m alllllllll about efficiency when it comes to getting dinner on the table.
While I tend to add crockpot salsa chicken to these quesadillas, you can really use any filling you like – beans, cooked meat, sauteed veggies – anything goes. They’re…
🧀 Seriously delicious: These have the best crispy texture! Crispy, melty, and packed with flavor in every bite.
🛒 Made with simple ingredients: Just tortillas, cheese, and your favorite fillings – these couldn’t be easier.
🌶️ Customizable spice: Add peppers, salsa, or seasoning (or not!) to match your family’s taste.
🥩 Protein-packed: The combination of cheese with chicken, beef, or beans makes for a satisfying dinner.
🥗 Quick prep: Ready in under 20 minutes, it’s ideal for busy weeknight dinners.
🍴 Fun to serve: Perfect for family-style dining, you can even have everyone prep their own quesadilla and top with their own toppings at the table.
You’ll also want to try turkey taco skillet, taco salad, black bean tostadas, and chicken taco soup.
We enjoyed these quesadillas very much! Very different than how I make them. A nice change up! –Gayle
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need some fresh ingredients and pantry staples to bring this easy dinner to the table: oil, tortillas, shredded cheese, cooked chicken, and fresh toppings as desired.
- Tortillas: Use high-quality flour tortillas for the best flavor. I recently started buying the uncooked tortillas that you need to pan-fry for a few minutes to cook, and they are SO good. It does add an extra step, but worth it! Otherwise, use your favorite large flour tortillas or your favorite gluten-free tortillas to make this recipe gluten-free. Corn tortillas don’t fold over quite as nicely for quesadillas, but if you prefer the,m you could always just stack a whole corn tortilla, add chicken and cheese, and top with another tortilla.
- Cheese: You’ll want a shredded cheese that melts well. I prefer using a more traditional queso asadero or queso Oaxaca for the best quesadilla, but you could also use a cheddar, Monterey jack, or pepper jack cheese. Buy it shredded or shred your own.
- Chicken: We’re using shredded chicken for these baked chicken quesadillas, but you can really use any of your favorite fillings – steak, shrimp, fajita veggies, black beans. You can make your own crockpot salsa chicken, buy it pre-shredded, use rotisserie chicken (sprinkle with taco seasoning or chili powder if desired) or even use leftover chicken.
Emily’s Tips & Tricks
- Pro tip: We are using two methods to help both sides of the quesadillas get golden brown and crispy. We start by pre-heating the sheet pan while the oven heats up and then we brush the tortillas with a touch of oil – this helps give the tortilla a golden and crunchy texture – no frying necessary.
- Shortcuts: Use precooked chicken like rotisserie or grilled chicken for a quick shortcut.
- Feeding kids without pressure: Let the kids decide what fillings they want in their quesadilla (components beyond cheese took a bit for my kids!) and you can also serve everything separate if necessary. Serve with a few sides you know they will eat like milk if they don’t do cheese, fruit, and bread with butter if they don’t do tortillas.
- Variations: The recipe is written with shredded chicken, but you could use cooked ground beef, ground turkey, refried black beans, fajita veggies, sliced steak, shredded pork…I could go on and on. If you’re using a saucy meat, just be sure to drain it well before adding to the tortilla so it doesn’t make your quesadilla soggy.
Crispy Baked Quesadillas Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
Description
These baked quesadillas are crispy, cheesy, and easy to make in the oven. Quick and easy – perfect for lunch, dinner, or a satisfying snack.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (like avocado oil)
- 4 flour tortillas (burrito size)
- 12 oz. shredded Mexican cheese (queso asadero or queso Oaxaca)
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (like salsa chicken)
- fresh toppings (salsa, shredded lettuce, sour cream, sliced jalapenos, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the baking sheet into the oven to preheat while the oven is preheating.
- Brush 1 teaspoon of oil on the preheated baking sheet and place a tortilla on the baking sheet. Layer 1/3 cup shredded cheese on one half of the tortilla. Top with about 3/4 cup shredded chicken and another 1/3 cup shredded cheese.
- Fold over the top and repeat with the remaining 3 quesadillas. Brush the tops of quesadillas with oil. Bake for 6 minutes, flip over, and bake another 6 minutes until tortillas are golden brown.
- Cut into wedges and serve with fresh toppings.
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover quesadillas in the refrigerator for 2-3 minutes. It’s best to make the steak quesadillas fresh, so if you can make just what you need and store the components in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them. If you’re reheating a quesadilla, I recommend cooking in a nonstick skillet until heated through for the best results. If you microwave it, your quesadilla will end up soggy.
- Ingredient notes: You can use whatever protein you want in these baked quesadillas! See ingredient list above for more ideas, but any cooked meat like salsa chicken, shredded beef, ground beef, steak or vegetarian fillings like refried black beans or sautéed peppers and onions would all be delicious.
- Prep ahead: You can prep ahead, but quesadillas are best fresh. I would recommend prepping and cooking the components a day or two in advance, but cooking right before serving for the BEST quesadillas.
- Special tools:
- Serve with: Refried black beans, street corn, roasted corn salsa.
Serving Suggestions
Quesadilla meals need an easy side or two (elote and refried black beans are our personal favorites) and plenty of toppings! I like to add in color, nutrition, and flavor with lots of fresh toppings and flavors.
- Corn Salsa (Chipotle Copycat)
- Thinly sliced lettuce
- Sliced grape tomatoes
- Chopped red onion
- Sliced green onion
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Pickled jalapeño peppers
- Creamy Quesadilla Sauce
- Pico de gallo
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Diced avocado
- Guacamole
- Fresh lime wedges
More Quesadilla Recipes
I’ve already mentioned our deep love of quesadillas and while it’s easy to keep it simple with tortillas and cheese (and I’ve made my fair share of these during the toddler years!), it’s also so fun to add in additional fillings. You’ll love these tried-and-true recipes.
About the Author
Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer, nutrition expert, and founder of My Everyday Table. She specializes in creating easy, healthy recipes that help busy parents feed their families well every single day, without the stress. With a degree in Nutrition and over 20 years of experience, Emily shares family-friendly meals that are practical, nourishing, and full of flavor. Learn more about Emily’s approach to everyday cooking and nutrition here.
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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We enjoyed these quesadillas very much! Very different than how I make them. A nice change up!
I thought the same thing! Nice way to switch things up.