Best Chicken Quesadillas
Posted Aug 25, 2016, Updated Feb 13, 2025
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This is the best chicken quesadilla recipe ever. Made with chicken, vegetables, cheese and a secret ingredient – chicken quesadillas are a delicious, healthy, quick & easy dinner recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes!
This chicken quesadilla recipe is one of my family’s most-loved meals. The secret ingredient in this recipe might sound a little strange, but trust me it makes them delicious!
Made with chicken, peppers and more, these chicken quesadillas are a scrumptious, healthy, quick & easy dinner recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes!
Chicken Quesadilla Recipe: Ingredient Substitutions
- Chicken breasts. This is a great recipe to use up leftover rotisserie or grilled chicken (and one of our go-to’s for such a situation). Ground chicken or turkey can also be used in place of diced chicken.
- Olive oil. avocado oil is the best substitute.
- Onion. Use your favorite variety, white, yellow or red.
- Minced garlic. you can substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder for 1 Tablespoon minced garlic.
- Bell pepper. any color works well. Or you can substitute shredded zucchini for a less conspicuous vegetable option.
- Cheddar cheese. Any kind of cheddar, a Mexican cheese blend, pepper Jack, etc. all work great.
- Tortillas. Choose your favorites, we prefer flour.
- Taco seasoning. Use homemade taco seasoning or store bought.
- Mandarin oranges. this is the secret ingredient that makes these incredible. You could also use pineapple.
How to Make Chicken quesadillas
To make this recipe, start with the filling. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat for about 1 minute, then add the chicken and cook until one side begins to turn slightly brown (about 4-5 minutes).
Next, add minced garlic, onion green pepper and corn. Cook until peppers become slightly soft and chicken is cooked through.
Once the chicken is cooked, add the taco seasoning and salt and pepper and cook until the chicken and veggies are slightly browned.
Then, add some of the reserved mandarin orange juice and cook until all the liquid is absorbed. This step imparts a delicious sweet and spicy flavor to the filling.
Remove the pan from heat and gently mix in the mandarin oranges, slightly breaking them up as you stir. Do this gently.
Note: At this point if you are serving people with dietary restrictions you can serve this filling over a salad if they’d prefer not to eat the cheese/tortilla. It tastes delicious that way!
Cook the Chicken Quesadillas
Once the filling is finished it’s time to assemble and cook the chicken quesadillas. Either preheat an electric griddle to 325 degrees F, or preheat a skillet over medium low heat.
Place a tortilla on the griddle and sprinkle about ¼ cup cheddar cheese evenly on the tortilla. Then, add about ¼ to ½ cup of chicken mixture (depending on the size of your tortilla) and sprinkle with another ¼cup cheese. The double layer of cheese is very important so don’t miss this!
Top it off with the second tortilla. Cook until the bottom tortilla is browned, then flip and cook until the second side is brown and cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese until you have used all the filling!
Serve
Cut and serve these chicken quesadillas as soon as they come off the griddle. Top with your favorite homemade salsa or homemade guacamole, sour cream, etc. Serve them with your favorite Mexican Recipes like Mexican rice or corn salad!
Store/Freeze
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat in the microwave, oven, or on the stovetop.
Chicken Quesadillas Recipe FAQs
To really crisp up the outside you could fry the quesadillas in a very small amount of olive oil.
Yes! Feel free to use leftover rotisserie chicken or leftovers to make this.
You will cook the juices until it is absorbed in the meat to create a sweet flavor.
I bet mandarin oranges never even crossed your mind! Well, get ready to have your mind blown and your life changed forever when you add mandarin oranges to the filling! You can also add beans, veggies, etc.
I love a really sharp cheddar, a Mexican blend is also delicious.
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Best Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast (diced small)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup onion (finely diced)
- 1 medium green pepper (finely diced)
- ½ cup corn
- 1 ½ Tablespoons taco seasoning
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt* (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 15 ounces mandarin oranges (drained, reserve the juice)
- 1-2 Tablespoons mandarin orange juice
- 8 Tortillas
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
Instructions
Making the Filling
- Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat for about 1 minute.
- Add chicken and cook until one side begins to turn slightly brown (about 4-5 minutes).
- Add onion, minced garlic, green pepper and corn. Cook until peppers & onions become slightly soft and chicken is cooked through.
- Add taco seasoning, salt (if desired) and pepper to the chicken mixture and stir.
- Cook until the chicken and veggies become slightly browned.
- Add 1-2 Tablespoons of the reserved mandarin orange juice and cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Taste and adjust salt & pepper as desired.
- Remove pan from heat and gently mix in the mandarin oranges, slightly breaking them up as you stir. Set mixture aside.
Assemble the Quesadillas
- Preheat a griddle** to about 325 degrees F or cook over medium-low heat in a skillet.
- Place a tortilla on the griddle and sprinkle about ¼ cup cheddar cheese evenly on the tortilla.
- Add about ¼ to ½ cup of chicken mixture (depending on the size of your tortilla).
- Top with another ¼ cup of cheese and a second tortilla.
- Cook until the bottom tortilla is browned, then flip and cook until the second side is brown and cheese is melted.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese until you have used all the filling.
Video
Notes
- Chicken breasts. This is a great recipe to use up leftover rotisserie or grilled chicken (and one of our go-to’s for such a situation). Ground chicken or turkey can also be used in place of diced chicken.
- Olive oil. avocado oil is the best substitute.
- Onion. Use your favorite variety, white, yellow or red.
- Minced garlic. you can substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder for 1 Tablespoon minced garlic.
- Bell pepper. any color works well. Or you can substitute shredded zucchini for a less conspicuous vegetable option.
- Cheddar cheese. Any kind of cheddar, a Mexican cheese blend, pepper Jack, etc. all work great.
- Tortillas. Choose your favorites, we prefer flour.
- Taco seasoning. Use homemade taco seasoning or store bought.
- Mandarin oranges. this is the secret ingredient that makes these incredible. You could also use pineapple.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Seriously, these are the absolute best! My family loves this recipe!
This is an outstanding recipe. I used chicken chip steak meat and it turned out wonderful. I was a little hesitate with the mandarin oranges but it was fantastic
I’m so glad you love it, Angela! I know it sounds crazy but it’s so good!
Like a lot of the people in the comments, I was skeptical about this recipe but decided to try it anyway as it’s always fun to try something new…and it was DELICIOUS! It all works together!
To be honest, I was SO skeptical about this recipe. Mandarin oranges with chicken & these seasonings did not seem to mix in my head, but I am SO GLAD that we tried these tonight! I was looking for an easy meal, and this was definitely one of the easiest (& cheapest!) meals I’ve made in a while. I was a bit nervous my husband & his friend wouldn’t love them, but after the first bite, the rest of the meal was absolutely silent because they couldn’t get enough of the food. We served it with sour cream & homemade salsa as well as rice & beans on the side. The chicken/orange mixture made a great topping to the rice & beans instead of going in a tortilla for our friend! All-in-all, I wish I could give this more than 5 stars. Truly, this will be going on my weekly rotation! It was amazing!
Thank you so much Hannah! It is definitely one of those “head scratcher” recipes that is truly delicious! 🙂
This was better than any quesadilla I’ve had in a restaurant. Hands down. My husband LOVED it, and he’s not one to rave. Great great great!! 👍🏻
I made these for the first time tonight. The instructions were easy to follow and the meal was fairly quick to prepare. My family thoroughly enjoyed them and I will be making these again. I used a red pepper instead of green, as that is what I had at the house. I used large tortillas so I had to put the filling on one side of them then fold them in half opposed to placing an additional tortilla ontop as there wouldn’t have been enough filling. The extra tortilla ontop would work well if you’re using the small tortilla as there would be enough filling for 4 small ones. I used about 3/4 the recommended oranges as I was worried the oranges would make the mix to mushy and tangy, but I was wrong. Next time I will use the full amount.
Thanks for the great idea!
Thank you so much Heather! I’m so glad your family loves this recipe as much as we do!
My 7 year old very picky eater really enjoyed this recipe and gets very excited each time I make it! Thanks so much!
These were yummy and easy to make! I’m already thinking of what could be changed depending on what’s in my kitchen. Black beans would be a good swap for corn, and adding in bits of mango might be a special treat in the summer!
My family had widely varying opinions of these! My kids and I liked them. In fact, my son said they were “amazing,” and he wanted to give 10,000 thumbs up! My husband, on the other hand, didn’t like the sweetness from the fruit and told me not to make them again. 🙁 Someone who likes sweet and savory would probably enjoy these; just keep that preference in mind when deciding whether to make them.
Thank you Kim for your honest review! My husband LOVES these and he’s usually not a sweet guy! LOL! 😉