What is a Quesadilla?

We love Mexican food in our house, and one of my little guy’s favorites is quesadillas. In fact, when he was smaller he would order the same cheesy quesadilla every time we went to our favorite Mexican place.

Since then he has branched out a lot in his food choices.

He now orders a half order of fajitas or carnitas, with a side salad. However, the humble quesadilla still holds a place as one of his favorites so I like to make them at home for him often.

Quesadilla literally means “small cheesy pastry” when translated, well according to our favorite waiter. Which is pretty spot on, right?

The pastry comes in the form of flour or corn tortilla and it is filled with lots of melty cheese, yum! Of course, there are other varieties and options that you can order or make at home.

We love to fill them with anything from chicken to shrimp, and lots of veggies and spices. It is a great way to get the little kiddos to eat protein and veggies, even the pickiest of eaters can’t resist something covered in cheese and fried to a golden brown.

These Chicken and Black Quesadillas are the second recipe in my THM Kids series. This is a fun new series we’re working on with the assistance of my son, Nate.

He’s been helping me work on recipes that we can make healthier for kids like himself. I love cooking with him in the kitchen! Be sure to check out our first recipe Taco Mac and Cheese!

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadilla Slices and a row of whole quesadillas below the slices. Pinterest Pin

Making Your Quesadillas

Despite all choices of fillings, all quesadillas start out the same way when it comes to cooking them. You’ll need a large skillet or large grill pans if you prefer. Both would work well for these Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas.

After choosing your skillet, the next step will be determining which types of fillings you want to use in your quesadillas.

This option will depend solely on what your family likes or what veggies you are trying to introduce to your kids but for this recipe, the ingredients are super simple.

For This Recipe You’ll Need:

2 pounds of shredded chicken breast

3 cups of shredded cheese

1 can of black beans

Taco Seasonings of choice

Butter or Cooking Spray

Be sure to check out all the possibilities for fillings in a later section of this recipe post. But don’t let these limit your options!

How to Cook These Healthy Quesadillas

Once you’ve chosen your fillings, you’ll just prepare them and set them aside. I like to have each one in individual bowls set up like a station or easy access when I begin cooking.

This makes assembling the quesadillas at the cooking station go much quicker.

The next step is getting your pans ready for the cooking process by greasing it. There are a couple of options for this step. Depending on what I am going for I will use either real butter melted in the skillet for a higher fat, and added flavor!

Or sometimes I use a coconut cooking spray if I am trying to keep the fats lower. Either way works great and will produce a tasty product.

Heat the skillet over medium heat and add in the butter or cooking spray. Simply lay the tortilla in the pan and add some cheese on one side. Then add in some of the shredded chicken, and some black beans.

I like to top it with a little more cheese before folding the top half over. This extra cheese will help the whole quesadilla still together better. Plus, it’s always better with more cheese!

After folding the top over the fillings press it down using a spatula so that the cheese sticks to the tortilla as it melts. Then carefully flip the quesadilla, making sure to brown it lightly on both sides. This takes about 2- to 3 minutes per side.

I like to use just one tortilla and fold it over a lot of filling since the main nutrition comes from all the protein and veggies inside, but if you want to make larger ones then you can use two low carb tortillas, spreading the cheese and other fillings over the whole bottom layer, then topping it with another one.

If you choose to use corn tortillas, then I would use two of them and just follow the steps with one as the top and one at the bottom. The corn tortillas don’t always fold as easily as the flour in my experience, so using two corn tortillas will work better.

Remember that using the corn tortillas will add more carbs, for our kids that’s fine, but if we are cooking for ourselves I would recommend not using corn.

Choosing Fillings for your Quesadillas

Now that we’ve gone through the basics of these Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas, I thought I’d offer some filling options just in case black beans are not something your family enjoys.

After all, this is a “THM Kids” option and I know not all kids will be fond of black beans.

Since our focus with these recipes is to find foods that our kids enjoy with a healthier spin it is important to start slowly by adding things into their diets if they are picky.

So here are a few options my son and I think would work well when added to quesadillas for kids! Feel free to mix and match to find some healthy options.

spinach
corn
brown rice
bell peppers
onions
mushrooms
chopped broccoli
olives, green or black
tomatoes
pinto beans
kidney beans
pineapple
ham
shrimp
ground beef
turkey

Quesadilla Options for Adults

I love quesadillas as much as my son, but I try to take in fewer carbs than I feed him, so in order to keep these lower in carbs and higher in healthy fats I change up my filling a little bit.

Simply begin with a low-carb wrap or tortilla of choice, even the THM Wonder Wraps work nicely, but I don’t advise using corn tortillas for the low-carb option.

Next, choose your favorite fillings and enjoy. I love adding things like jalapeno peppers and chorizo to mine! These are very filling so one quesadilla and a yummy salad make a great meal.

If you follow the THM diet then for an S setting you can enjoy these yummy quesadillas too. We can have up to 1/4 cup of black beans in a meal. Trim Healthy Mama calls this an “S Helper”.

I recommend only a couple of tablespoons versus the whole 1/4 cup because you will also have the carbs from the tortilla so be careful not to overload your meal with too many carbs.

Remember this one can of beans is divided among many quesadillas, so you can add as many or as little as you want to each one to meet your dietary needs.

Freezer Instructions for the Quesadillas

These Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas also make a great freezer lunch to have ready for those busy times when you need a quick fix for those littles or even for yourself.

I love having these stocked in the freezer so my husband can grab them and feed my son while I am stuck in the office working.

When it comes to freezing these, there are a couple of ways you could prepare the quesadillas. The simplest of the two is placing the low-carb tortillas on a piece of foil, or wax paper if you prefer, then layer the fillings before folding the other half over the fillings.

Wrap the quesadillas carefully and use a sharpie to write the date and what it is on the outside before freezing.

The second option and the one I prefer when I have time is to follow the directions in the recipe card below to cook all of the quesadillas, then let them cool completely before wrapping them and freezing them.

This option takes a little more time but I like the added flavor and texture of browning the outside.

No matter which freezer option you choose to use, to prepare them from frozen simply take them out of the freezer and place them on a baking sheet. Bake them at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

You can also remove them from the foil for the last 10 minutes to crisp up the tortilla.

They are so delicious when reheated this way. Of course, if you need the quickest way you can opt to remove the quesadillas from their wrappers and microwave them.

No matter the option you choose I know your family will love the outcome!

8 Quesadillas

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

Name: Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 8 low carb tortillas; 3 cups of shredded cheese; 2 lbs of cooked chicken, shredded; 1 cup of cooked black beans, rinsed and drained; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp chili powder; butter or cooking spray

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

A low carb tortilla filled with shredded chicken, black beans, and lots of melty cheese. An easy meal and great for a freezer meal option for grab and heat lunches.

Ingredients

8 low carb tortillas
3 cups of shredded cheese
2 lbs of cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup of cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
butter or cooking spray

Instructions

Add all the seasoning to the shredded chicken and mix well before placing the chicken and other fillings near the stove for quick assembly.
Place a large skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray or add a little butter to the skillet for extra flavor. The butter will also brown nicer than the spray.
Next, add one tortilla to the skillet and sprinkle cheese over half of it before topping it with a good amount of the chicken, a couple of tablespoons of black beans, then more cheese.
Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling and cook the quesadillas for 2-3 minutes on each side until the cheese is melted and the outside is nicely golden brown.
Sever hot. For freezer instructions please see the steps listed in the blog post right above this recipe card.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1 quesadilla
Amount Per ServingCalories 547Total Fat 31gSaturated Fat 13gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 152mgSodium 517mgCarbohydrates 19gNet Carbohydrates 14gFiber 5gSugar 2gProtein 46g

I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.

Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!

Comments

Kim says
February 7, 2020 at 12:57 am
What’s a quick, easy way to cool the chicken for shredding?
- Keri Bucci says
  February 9, 2020 at 3:48 pm
  I usually cook mine in my instant pot. I use chicken stock instead of water to cover it and add some salt, garlic powder, and onions. Then I cook it per my Instant Pot’s instructions and it shreds so easy. If you don’t have a pressure cooker you can totally boil it on the stove-top.
Markie says
April 18, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Thank you for sharing this. I now know what I’m going to cook for dinner tonight.
The Simple Rugged Path says
April 17, 2019 at 9:19 am
These look and sound amazing. Love that you shared different ideas for stuffing your quesidilla. Cannot wait to try these.
Charlene says
April 17, 2019 at 8:59 am
Oh YUMMY!! I have a weakness for all things quesadillas. I throw everything inside a quesadilla and am always looking for new flavor combos. So thanks for a fresh new idea!
Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles says
April 17, 2019 at 8:52 am
OMG Keri these look so good you have inspired me to make some of these! Yummy for sure!