You’ll love this shrimp quesadilla recipe! This quesadilla with shrimp has cheesy layers, slightly spiced shrimp, and a crispy tortilla to hold it all together. Serve the shrimp quesadillas with and a side of refried black beans a lot of fresh toppings at the table (don’t forget the quesadilla sauce) and let everyone top their own.
Love quesadillas? (Who doesn’t, they are an amazing 20 minute meal!) Be sure to try my ground beef quesadillas, chicken fajita quesadillas made with sautéed onions and bell peppers, steak quesadillas, air fryer quesadillas, or buffalo chicken quesadillas next time.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Table of Contents
- What You’ll Love About Shrimp Quesadillas
- Shrimp Quesadilla VIDEO
- Shrimp Quesadilla Ingredients
- How to Make a Shrimp Quesadilla
- Storage Instructions
- How to Serve Shrimp Quesadillas to the Whole Family
- Topping Ideas for Quesadillas with Shrimp
- More Easy Shrimp Recipes
- Helpful Tools to Make Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe
What You’ll Love About Shrimp Quesadillas
- Flavorful and lightly spiced tender shrimp
- Cheesy layers
- Easy to make
- Filling and balanced meal
- Made with simple ingredients
- Just 5 minutes prep time
- Just 20 minutes total time
Shrimp Quesadilla VIDEO
Shrimp Quesadilla Ingredients
This shrimp quesadilla recipe is made with simple ingredients:
- Tortillas – I’ve used flour tortillas as they are classic in shrimp quesadilla recipes, but you could also use corn, whole wheat, sprouted, or your favorite grain-free tortilla.
- Cheese – We’re using pre-shredded cheese for a shortcut, but you can also shred your own. Use a quesadilla cheese, Mexican cheese blend (that will melt!), cheddar cheese, or Monterey jack cheese.
- Oil – Use a vegetable oil. You can use avocado oil, canola oil, etc.
- Shrimp – Use raw shrimp that have the peels and tail removed. We are chopping up the shrimp, so you can buy smaller shrimp and save on your grocery bill a bit.
- Spices – Sea salt, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. If you don’t like spice you can omit the cayenne pepper and if you love spice, add more.
- Honey – This adds a nice slightly sweet flavor to the shrimp, but you can also omit it if you prefer.
How to Make a Shrimp Quesadilla
Let’s make this easy recipe for shrimp quesadillas!
- Make spiced shrimp. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add chopped shrimp. Season with sea salt, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and honey. Toss to combine and cook until shrimp is cooked through.
PRO TIP: To help save time when you’re cooking the beef, add all of the spices to a small pinch bowl so they are ready to use.
- Assemble quesadillas. Place tortilla in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle cheese on one half of the tortilla. Spoon shrimp over the cheese and add another layer of cheese.
- Cook quesadillas. Fold tortilla over the fillings and cook for a few minutes on side until cheese is melty and tortillas are golden brown.
- Serve quesadillas with shrimp. Cut into wedges and add toppings as desired.
Storage Instructions
Quesadillas are best eaten immediately, but store leftover in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
How to reheat
Reheat this shrimp and cheese quesadilla in a hot skillet for best results.
Can you freeze quesadillas?
Yes, you can freeze quesadillas in an airtight container (like stasher bags) for 2-3 months.
How to Serve Shrimp Quesadillas to the Whole Family
I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in. 😉
My kids still don’t necessarily love quesadillas with anything other than the cheese (except for the ground beef quesadillas!), so I will usually ask if they want them plain or with shrimp and offer some of the shrimp mixture on the side if they want. And then let them add the toppings as desired.
All of my articles on feeding kids can be found here and if you want a FULL list of all of the videos I have with hacks, tips, scripts, and ideas for feeding kids, check out my instagram or tiktok page.
Topping Ideas for Quesadillas with Shrimp
Put out a spread of fresh toppings for your shrimp quesadillas and let everyone go to town!
- Corn Salsa (Chipotle Copycat)
- Sautéed bell peppers and onions
- Thinly sliced lettuce
- Sliced grape tomatoes
- Chopped red onion
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Pickled jalapeño peppers
- Pico de gallo
- Sour cream
- Diced avocado
- Guacamole
- Lime juice
More Easy Shrimp Recipes
If you like this easy shrimp quesadilla recipe, you might also like some of these other easy shrimp recipes:
- Moo Shu Shrimp
- General Tso’s Shrimp
- Old Bay Shrimp Boil
- Buffalo Shrimp
- 15-Minute Garlic Shrimp with Couscous
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Helpful Tools to Make Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe
- 12″ Nonstick Frying Pan – This is my go-to skillet that I use for everything from this healthy shrimp quesadilla, to my ground beef quesadilla, to my moo shu shrimp and teriyaki shrimp stir fry!
- Silicone Spatulas – A fresh spatula set always feels so good. Use the spatula to stir the shrimp filling for the best shrimp quesadilla recipe!
Easy Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
This FAST and EASY shrimp quesadilla recipe is made with simple ingredients and comes together in just 20 minutes. Let everyone top their own shrimp quesadillas!
Ingredients
For spiced shrimp:
- 1 tsp. avocado oil
- 16 oz. raw shrimp, roughly chopped (shells and tails removed)
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. oregano
- 1/8 tsp. smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 Tbsp. honey
For quesadillas:
- 4 flour tortillas (burrito size)
- 12 oz. shredded Mexican cheese (more if needed)
- fresh toppings (salsa, shredded lettuce, sour cream, etc.)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and season with sea salt, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and honey and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked through.
- Assemble quesadillas. In large skillet over medium heat, layer 1/3 cup shredded cheese on one half of the tortilla. Top with 1/2 cup shrimp and 1/3 cup shredded cheese.
- Fold over top and cook for about 2-3 minutes, and when cheese starts to melt, carefully flip over with large flipper and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat with remaining 3 quesadillas.
- Cut into wedges and serve with toppings.
Notes
- See shrimp quesadilla topping list above
Keywords: shrimp quesadilla, shrimp quesadilla recipe, quesadilla with shrimp, shrimp quesadillas
Photo Credit: All photos in this post were take by Loren at Sweet Rustic Bakes
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