42 Quesadilla Recipes That Will Make You Melt

Hello and welcome to this thing we’re doing where we help you figure out what you’re gonna put in your mouth this week. Some of these are recipes we’ve tried, some of these are recipes we’re looking forward to trying, all of them are fucking delicious. Tell us what you want to put in your piehole or suggest your own recipes, and we’ll talk about which things we made, which things we loved, and which things have changed us irreversibly as people. Last week, we ate all the eggs.

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My quesadilla maker changed my life, you guys. It’s like all the frustration and sadness that had built up in my heart every time a tortilla stuck to a frying pan in my presence just disappeared this Christmas when I became the proud owner of a non-stick, circular, tortilla-melting machine. Everything is so easy and simple. My entire life is a little more zen. And I can’t stop eating quesadillas.

I figure as long as I’m resigning myself to a long life of delicious stuff sandwiched between two smokin’ hot tortillas, I might as well get creative with it. So far I’ve made pizzadillas, kalesadillas, pb&jsadillas. I’m actually probably just gonna change my rap name to Carmadilla at this point. But the options abound! There’s sweet, there’s savory, there’s the healthy and the sugar-dusted and the rich and the jam-packed. There’s a quesadilla for everyone in this world, and I wanna eat all of them.


1. Mushroom, Thyme, and Spinach Quesadilla with Smoked Gouda

Mushroom, Thyme, and Spinach Quesadilla with Smoked Gouda


2. Caprese Quesadilla

Caprese Quesadilla


3. Cheesecake Sopadillas

Cheesecake Sopadillas


4. Sloppy Joe Quesadillas

Sloppy Joe Quesadillas


5. Dak Galbi Quesadilla with Gochujang Salsa Sauce

Dakgalbi Quesadilla (Korean Spicy Chicken Quesadilla) with Gochujang Salsa Sauce


6. Hominy Quesadillas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

Hominy Quesadillas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa


7. Reuben Quesadilla

Reuben Quesadilla


8. Kimchi Avocado Quesadilla

Kimchi Avocado Quesadilla


9. Smashed Garbanzo Breakfast Quesadilla

Smashed Garbanzo Breakfast Quesadilla


10. Crab Cake Quesadillas

Crab Cake Quesadillas


11. Creamy Mushroom Kalesadilla

Creamy Mushroom and Kale Quesadilla


12. Teriyaki Chicken Quesadilla

Terriyaki Chicken Quesadilla


13. BLT Quesadilla

BLT Quesadilla


14. Monterey Jack Quesadilla with Pear Salsa

Monterey Jack Quesadilla with Pear Salsa


15. Chipotle Asparagus Quesadilla

Chipotle Asparagus Quesadilla


16. Squash Blossom Quesadilla

Squash Blossom Quesadilla


17. Blueberry, Brie, and Walnut Quesadilla

Blueberry, Brie, and Walnut Quesadilla


18. The Hangover Quesadilla

The Hangover Quesadilla


19. Squash and Black Bean Kalesadilla

Squash and Black Bean Kalesadilla


20. Creamy Apple Cinnamon Quesadilla

Creamy Apple Cinnamon Quesadilla


21. Spinach Pie Quesadilla

Spinach Pie Quesadilla


22. Meatball Quesadilla

Meatball Quesadilla


23. Shrimp Scampi Quesadilla

Shrimp Scampi Quesadilla


24. Smoked Gouda, Turkey, and Artichoke Quesadilla

Smoked Gouda, Turkey, and Artichoke Quesadilla


25. Strawberry, Basil, and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Strawberry, Basil, and Goat Cheese Quesadilla


26. Smoked Salmon Quesadilla with Creamy Chipotle-Cilantro Sauce

Smoked Salmon Quesadilla with Creamy Chipotle-Cilantro Sauce


27. Plant-Based Quesadilla Lasagna

quesasagna


28. Tempeh and Black Bean Quesadilla

Tempeh and Black Bean Quesadilla


29. Sweet Potato Quesadilla with Goat Cheese and Apples

Sweet Potato Quesadilla with Goat Cheese and Apples


30. Turkey Quesadilla with Cranberry Salsa

Turkey Quesadilla with Cranberry Salsa


31. Corned Beef and Cabbage Quesadilla

Corned Beef and Cabbage Quesadilla


32. Greek Quesadilla

Greek Quesadilla


33. Cuban Quesadilla

Cuban Quesadilla


34. Black Bean and Zucchini Quesadillas

Black Bean and Zucchini Quesadillas


35. BBQ Mango and Chicken Quesadilla

BBQ Mango and Chicken Quesadilla


36. Waffle Iron Quesadilla

Waffle Iron Quesadilla

This one’s for Laneia.


37. Fluffernutter Quesadilla

Fluffernutter Quesadilla


38. Smashed White Bean Kalesadilla

Smashed White Bean Kalesadilla


39. Tuscan Broccoli and Cheese Quesadilla

Tuscan Broccoli and Cheese Quesadilla


40. Dulce Quesadilla

Dulce Quesadilla


41. Black Bean, Spinach, Mushroom, and Soy Chorizo Quesadilla

Black Bean, Spinach, Mushroom, and Soy Chorizo Quesadilla


42. Chicken Nugget Quesadilla

Chicken Nugget Quesadilla

This one is for Brittani, obviously.

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Carmen

Carmen spent six years at Autostraddle, ultimately serving as Straddleverse Director, Feminism Editor and Social Media Co-Director. She is now the Consulting Digital Editor at Ms. and writes regularly for DAME, the Women’s Media Center, the National Women’s History Museum and other prominent feminist platforms; her work has also been published in print and online by outlets like BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, ElixHER, Feministing, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, GrokNation, MEL, Mic and SIGNS, and she is a co-founder of Argot Magazine. You can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr or in the drive-thru line at the nearest In-N-Out.

Carmen has written 919 articles for us.

26 Comments

  1. ALL THE QUESADILLAS!! I lived on them the summer before senior year of college. Yum!

    • the next step is clearly learning to make tortillas at home so i can just turn into a puddle of joy and never feel pain again

  2. I LOVE QUESADILLAS SO MU-HUH-HUCHHHH

    but once I found out about a very unfortunate cholesterol problem, I kinda mostly stopped eating them for the sake of my body, at the expense of true happiness I think.

    Here’s my favorite quesadilla recipe, in steps:

    1) go to whole foods
    2) find the “snack cheese” basket where there’re smaller pieces of fancy cheese so everything’s under $4.
    3) attempt to only buy one or two pieces but end up with like 6 instead
    4) find some of those raw tortillas that you cook yourself (aka the only reason I ever shop at Ralph’s)
    5) go home, eat a hunk of cheese, tell yourself it’s not a big deal because it was just a “snack” it even said so on the snack cheese basket
    6) make some tortillas, but half cook one side of each tortilla. This’s gonna be the outside of the finished quesadilla
    7) cut up a chunk or two of weird fancy cheese
    8) assemble quesadilla in pan, with the fully cooked tortilla sides facing in, and the half cooked sides facing out. Use a lot of cheese. A LOT of cheese.
    8a) (optional) put some other stuff in it, like whatever you have in your fridge. Highly recommend spinach, obvs.
    9) cook that delicious motherfucker until the outsides of the tortillas are all crispy and perfect! The cheese should be melted by then.
    10) EAT IT AND REJOICE

      • whoa. wow. so fast! so easy! so perfect?!?!?!?!?!? i want one. i want to eat nothing but quesadillas every day forever.

        someday i will be able to afford to go to acamp again and maybe i can be in yr cabin again and you can bring your quesadilla maker? maybe? yes? the cabin can just be called “the quesadillas” perhaps

  3. I used to make the sweet potato/goat’s cheese ones to take to work for lunch but I couldn’t concentrate on work because I was thinking about the quesadillas too much. I ended up eating them at 1030. After the third time I had to accept that I did not have the willpower for quesadillas at work.

    • i think about bringing quesadillas to work all the time but i’m always worried it’ll be like pizza where i know it’s better warm but then i just eat it cold because i can’t handle the temptation of the entire situation, so you’re not alone in this world @soulcakeduck, just so you know

  4. Jack Daniel’s shredded chicken (i buy at Costco) plus cheese is AMAZING.Top with guac or sour cream if you like.

    • mmmm. honestly, a lot of these recipes got me thinking about how i could use fake meat more in my quesadillas – so now i’m adding shredded fake chicken to the list. thank you! i don’t think this is what you intended but rest assured it will change the entire trajectory of my life.

  5. Omg. I may have just groaned slightly inappropriately. I love quesadillas and these look sooo good, but alas I am on a strict healthy eating plan. Bookmarking though,oh hell yes!

    • some day your quesadilla will come, jas. i hope that day is soon and also i hope you post pics of it in that week’s friday open thread.

  6. I FOUND OUR QUESADILLA MAKER! It is, indeed, exactly the same as yours, Carmen.

    I feel so inspired.

    • yesssssss, quesadilla maker twins and soul twins! can it get any sweeter? OH WAIT YES IT CAN BECAUSE I CAN MAKE BLUEBERRY AND BRIE QUESADILLAS

  7. I want every single one of those quesadillas smothered all over my body. I don’t even like half of the ingredients in these but THEY LOOK SO GOOD ughh.

Comments are closed.