What Is a Quesadilla and How Many Ways Can You Prepare It?
A Quesadilla is a very simple thing to prepare as it is basically just a tortilla and cheese. Its origins go back centuries, and over the past few decades it has become quite popular on menus in the U.S., featured at many casual dining restaurants. But you need not go out to eat to enjoy a quesadilla because they are easy to make at home and quite versatile. So whether you like it with just cheese, with meat or vegetables, or even as a dessert item, it can easily be adapted to what you have available and/or what you are hungry for.
Where Did Quesadillas Originate?
This filled tortilla comes from Mexico and likely goes back to the days of the Spanish colonists, if not before. The Europeans introduced cheese to the native people in Mexico, who already had a tradition of eating tortillas stuffed with ingredients like pumpkin blossoms, mushrooms, potatoes, various meats, and more.
The word quesadilla comes from queso (Spanish for “cheese”) and the diminutive suffix -illa, meaning “little cheesy thing.” So essentially, it is a Mexican grilled cheese, and at its most basic, you will find it in that country with cheese cooked inside a corn tortilla. But as the indigenous people of Mexico already knew, there is much more you can add to turn these into delicious meals.
Why Are Quesadillas Everywhere These Days?
The quesadilla has been well known in Mexican cuisine for quite some time, and Tex-Mex places like Ninfa’s (from Houston) helped expand the popularity of the dish in the 20th century. Then, in the 1980s, casual dining chain Chili’s added the Chicken Quesadilla to its menu, and it became a hit. Other casual sit-down restaurants like TGI Fridays, Applebee’s, and Chevy’s Fresh Mex started adding their own versions of the quesadilla, and now you’ll find numerous varieties on many menus, often in the appetizer section.
How Do You Make a Quesadilla?
Take a tortilla and spray one side with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil. Throw it in the skillet or on the griddle for about thirty seconds to soften. Spread some cheese in the tortilla and fold it over (you could also add some chopped chives or green onions). Cook until it’s slightly browned on both sides and the cheese is melted, and you’re done!
That is, of course, the simplest method for a basic cheese quesadilla. But essentially, it’s just a tortilla, cheese, and whatever other ingredients you want to add, cooked in a skillet or on a griddle. You could also cook it in the oven, but I find that it comes out best on the stovetop. Some places will fry them in a fair amount of oil, but I prefer just a little cooking spray or a light amount of oil. You can also layer one tortilla over the other instead of folding a single tortilla, but I find that the latter method holds everything together better, especially if you’re cutting them into wedges.
If you’re making several quesadillas, you may want to soften the tortillas in the pan (or the microwave works as well) and then assemble them before returning to the cooking surface. And if you’re adding meat like chicken, beef, or chorizo, make sure it’s cooked first. The process of cooking everything in the tortillas is just to melt the cheese and merge the flavors together; the meat won’t have enough time to cook through fully.
Flour or Corn Tortillas?
Traditional quesadillas from Mexico use corn tortillas and likely have little more than a melting white cheese in them. But in restaurants, the flour tortilla is typically what you get, and that has become the standard throughout much of the U.S.
I prefer corn tortillas, but they’re smaller and you’re limited on how much you can pack into them. They also tend to break more easily, even after pre-warming. Flour tortillas are bigger and less likely to break, or you can find the combination flour/corn tortillas that are quite pliable. Basically, it just comes down to personal preference and which tortilla best fits the ingredients you stuff inside.
What Do You Serve With Quesadillas?
The essential sides for quesadillas are salsa and guacamole, though sometimes they don’t need additional ingredients at all. Still, I almost always have some salsa on the side, and you can find a good recipe for that here. Guac is also something I usually make to accompany my quesadillas, and I have a pretty good recipe for that here.
Restaurants tend to include sour cream, but as a true Texas boy, that’s sacrilege to me. You could have some chili con queso on the side, but that quesadilla already has a fair amount of cheese, so I typically leave that for other dishes. You’ll notice I don’t have many spicy ingredients in the combos shown below, and that’s because I usually rely on the salsa to bring the heat.
What Can You Put Inside a Quesadilla?
You can put pretty much whatever you want in a quesadilla, from just cheese to meat and veggies and more. What makes this dish so great is that it’s very versatile and open to countless combinations.
Have some leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge? Shred that up and add it with cheese to a quesadilla. Have a few assorted veggies like mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes in the vegetable drawer? Sauté them and put them in a quesadilla with a nice white cheese. Have some lunchmeat like ham or Turkey? Combine those with a slice or two of cheese in the tortilla (I usually cook the meat briefly in the pan before adding to boost the flavor). Have some leftover lasagna from dinner last night? Eat that with garlic bread, it has no business in a quesadilla…
I covered the basic cheese quesadilla above, and below are some additional combinations that show just how versatile this dish can be. I’m vague on the proportions because that depends on how many you’re making, but as a guide, you want enough to cover half the tortilla, typically with a higher proportion of cheese to other ingredients.
Chicken and Mushroom Quesadillas: Shredded rotisserie chicken or chopped chicken breasts/thighs, sautéed mushrooms, and cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese in flour tortillas. You could also throw in some blue cheese if you want to gourmet this one up!
Beef Fajita Quesadillas: Chopped, cooked beef fajitas, sautéed peppers and onions, and Mexican blend cheese in flour tortillas. Chicken or shrimp fajitas work just fine as well.
Chorizo and Cheese Quesadillas: Cooked chorizo and white Mexican cheese in corn tortillas.
Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas: Sautéed spinach and mushrooms with mozzarella cheese in flour or corn tortillas. Other sautéed or fresh veggies could work here as well.
Jalapeño Cheeseburger Quesadillas: Cooked hamburger patty (broken up), pickled or sautéed jalapeños, sautéed onions, and cheddar cheese in flour tortillas. One hamburger patty can be spread across two or three quesadillas depending on tortilla size. This pairs well with a spicy BBQ sauce/salsa blend on the side.
Ham and Swiss Quesadillas: Chopped ham and Swiss cheese in flour tortillas. To turn it into a Cuban quesadilla, add shredded pork and pickles. Either goes well with a spicy Dijon mustard sauce.
Chilis Toreados Quesadillas: Chopped chilis toreados (recipe here) and white Mexican cheese on flour tortillas.
Vegan Quesadillas: Seasoned mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and onions, and sautéed spinach in corn or flour tortillas. You can add some vegan cheese if you like, but I’m not a fan. (Add a diced serrano chili to kick this up!)
Breakfast Quesadillas: Scrambled eggs, cooked breakfast sausage (crumbled), and cheddar cheese in flour tortillas.
Dessert Quesadillas: Cream cheese blended with honey, melted butter, flour tortillas, cinnamon, and sugar. Spread the cream cheese and honey on half of a tortilla. Lightly spread melted butter on the outside. Dip in the cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat. Cook in butter until the cinnamon/sugar just starts to caramelize. Drizzle with caramel or chocolate sauce, or serve with jam or a scoop of ice cream. (You can also kick this up be adding just a little cayenne or chipotle powder with the cinnamon and sugar.)
Please add your own Quesadilla combos in the comments below along with any tips/recommendations you might have on preparing them.
