Best Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
Posted Aug 25, 2016, Updated Jul 06, 2022
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This is the best chicken quesadilla recipe you’ll ever try. Made with chicken, peppers 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. It is on my husband’s top 10 list of favorites when I ask him what he wants for dinner. The secret ingredient in this recipe might sound a little strange, but trust me it is the best chicken quesadilla recipe you’ll ever try.
Made with chicken, peppers and mandarin oranges, these chicken quesadillas are a delicious, healthy, quick & easy dinner recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes!
Chicken Quesadilla Recipe: Ingredients/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.
- Green pepper. If you family doesn’t love green pepper, feel free to substitute another vegetable. Carrots, red/orange/yellow peppers, zucchini, etc.
- Cheddar cheese. A Mexican blend also works great. Feel free to substitute your favorite cheese or use a dairy-free variety if necessary.
- Tortillas. Choose a variety that complies with your dietary needs. We usually use whole wheat or regular flour tortillas.
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 green pepper and corn. Cook until peppers become slightly soft and chicken is cooked through.
Once the chicken is cooked, evenly sprinkle seasoning/salt mixture over your chicken/veggies and cook until the chicken and veggies become slightly browned.
Next, 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.
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.
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 lb chicken breast diced
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 medium green pepper diced
- ½ cup corn
- 1 ½ TBS taco seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic salt plus more to taste
- 1 15 oz can mandarin oranges, drained (reseve the juice)
- 1-2 TBS reserved mandarin orange juice
- 8 Tortillas
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
Instructions
Making the filling:
- In a small dish, mix together taco seasoning and garlic salt. Set aside.
- Heat 1 TBS 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 green pepper and corn. Cook until peppers become slightly soft and chicken is cooked through.
- Evenly sprinkle seasoning/salt mixture over your chicken/veggies. Stir until evenly coated.
- Cook until the chicken and veggies become slightly browned.
- Add 1-2 TBS of the reserved mandarin orange juice and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove pan from heat and gently mix in the mandarin oranges, slightly breaking them up as you stir. Set mixture aside.
Putting it all together:
- 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
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.
- Green pepper. If you family doesn’t love green pepper, feel free to substitute another vegetable. Carrots, red/orange/yellow peppers, zucchini, etc.
- Cheddar cheese. A Mexican blend also works great. Feel free to substitute your favorite cheese or use a dairy-free variety if necessary.
- Tortillas. Choose a variety that complies with your dietary needs. We usually use whole wheat or regular flour tortillas
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.
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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Delicious Recipes
- Try these tasty Chicken Enchiladas.
- Love easy Mexican food? Try these Crockpot Chicken Tacos.
- We adore these Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Better than P.F. Chang’s)!
- This Best Nachos Recipe is great for sharing with friends!
Photos in this post taken by Organically Addison.
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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! 😉