Chicken Quesadillas with Peppers (Printable)
Tender seasoned chicken with colorful bell peppers and melted cheese folded in crispy tortillas for a quick Mexican-inspired meal.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Chicken
01 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 12 oz), cut into thin strips
02 - 1 tbsp olive oil
03 - 1 tsp chili powder
04 - 1/2 tsp ground cumin
05 - 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
06 - 1/2 tsp salt
07 - 1/4 tsp black pepper
→ Vegetables
08 - 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
09 - 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
11 - 1 clove garlic, minced
→ Quesadillas
12 - 4 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
13 - 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
14 - Cooking spray or additional olive oil, for pan
→ To Serve
15 - Sour cream
16 - Salsa
17 - Fresh cilantro, chopped
18 - Lime wedges
# How-To Steps:
01 - In a bowl, toss the chicken strips with olive oil, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper.
02 - Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly browned. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
03 - In the same skillet, add a little more oil if needed. Sauté the peppers, onion, and garlic for 4-5 minutes until softened and slightly caramelized. Return the cooked chicken to the pan, toss to combine, then remove from heat.
04 - Wipe the skillet clean. Place a tortilla in the skillet over medium heat. On half of the tortilla, spread a quarter of the cheese and a quarter of the chicken-pepper mixture. Fold the tortilla over to enclose the filling.
05 - Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, pressing gently, until the tortilla is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
06 - Cut each quesadilla into wedges. Serve hot with sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and lime wedges if desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The chicken marinates in spices while you prep everything else, so you get maximum flavor with minimum effort.
- The crispy-outside, gooey-inside texture creates that perfect bite that makes you close your eyes for a second when you taste it.
02 -
- Wiping the pan between quesadillas prevents burnt cheese from previous batches from sticking to your new quesadillas.
- Letting the filled quesadillas rest for 30 seconds before cutting helps the cheese set just enough to not all ooze out when you slice.
03 -
- If youre feeding a crowd, keep finished quesadillas warm in a 200°F oven on a baking sheet while you make the rest, but dont stack them or theyll lose their crispness.
- A pizza cutter makes slicing quesadillas infinitely easier than struggling with a knife, giving you clean edges without squeezing out the filling.