These easy chicken quesadillas are loaded with Mexican cheese, hatch chilies, and juicy rotisserie chicken. Its the perfect recipe for busy weeknights!
If you love quick and easy Mexican recipes, try our loaded chicken nachos and taco salad bowl recipe.
Take your basic chicken quesadillas to a whole new level with these in-season grilled hatch chilies. Grilling your own chilies is totally effortless and oh so tasty! Since chilies are in season now, grill more than the recipe calls and can them. That way you’ll have these seasonal goodies throughout the year. This chicken quesadilla recipe is a quick and easy dinner idea for even the busiest weeknights.Â
How to make chicken quesadillas
- Grill up the hatch chilies– You’ll want to make sure to rub them really well with some oil before placing the chilis on the grill. Be sure to turn them after about 4 minutes and grill for another 3 minutes afterward. Once they’ve cooled, peel the skin off and dice them up.
- Combine the quesadilla filling– In a large pan toss heat oil, diced chilis, shredded chicken, chili powder, salt, cilantro, corn, and shredded cheese.
- Fill the quesadillas–Â You’ll want place a heaping 1/4 cup of the quesadilla filling on top of each flour tortilla and place another on top.
How to cook quesadillas
There are many ways to cook quesadillas. You can grill them, bake them, or pan sear them.
- To pan-sear, a filled quesadilla, place it into a pan over medium heat and cook it until its golden brown on each side (so make sure to flip it in time before it browns too much). This should only take a few minutes so keep a close eye on it.
Quesadilla fillings
- Different meat variations– Quesadillas can have any meat you like. One of the most popular choices of meat fillings would be chicken, beef and pork.
- Make it vegetarian– The vegetable combinations in a vegetarian quesadilla are endless. Lots of people like to put corn, red onion, cilantro, tomatoes, black beans, olives, bell peppers, and even mushrooms!
- Make it spicy– This is where you can take a basic quesadilla and give it a hot spin. You can either add a spice like red pepper flakes or cayenne for heat. Or you can add fresh or pickled jalapeno for a crunchy spicy kick.
Ingredients for this chicken quesadilla recipe
- Chicken– you can use rotisserie chicken or you can cook your own chicken.
- Chilies– fresh hatch chilies give the best flavor.
- Cheese– I use Mexican blend but you can use any cheese you prefer.
- The filling– this is where you can get creative with so many different things you can put in a chicken quesadilla. For more of the detailed ingredients for this quesadilla recipe, go down to the recipe card.
What is the best cheese for quesadillas
This is personal preference, however, some common cheeses used in quesadillas are cheddar, Colby jack, Mexican blend, and Monterey jack.
What to serve with a chicken quesadilla
Chicken quesadillas go great alone or when topped with some sour cream, salsa, or guacamole. If you are looking to add a little more to your meal then try adding some light creamy soup, some rice, corn salad, black beans, potato salad, coleslaw, or tortilla soup.
More Mexican recipes
- Easy Homemade GuacamoleÂ
- Fresh pico de gallo
- chipotle chicken bowls
- cheesy chicken enchiladas
- easy cast iron fajitasÂ
This recipe was originally posted on Aug 15, 2017, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.
Full Recipe Instructions
Easy Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 hatch chilies
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup corn
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese divided
- 8 flour tortillas
- Sour cream optional for topping
Instructions
- Fire up the grill on medium high. Once it's hot, rub 1 tbsp olive oil over each chili pepper and place it on the grill. Turn once after 4 minutes. Then grill for an additional 3 minutes.
- Remove the hatch chilies from the grill. Then peel the skin and discard the seeds. Using a sharp knife, finely chop the 2 peeled chilies.
- In a pan, heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the shredded chicken, chili powder, salt, chopped cilantro, corn, and 1 cup shredded cheese. Stir for a few minutes or until well combined and the cheese is melted.
- Spread 1/4 of the chicken filling on a flour tortilla and sprinkle and additional 1/4 cup shredded cheese on top. Grease a separate pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and place the tortilla on it. Then place another flour tortilla on top. Cook both sides of the quesadilla on medium heat until golden brown. About 1-2 minutes per side. Serve hot with sour cream and/or salsa.
Nutrition
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Chocoviv says
This looks great!
Karly says
Woahhhhh woah woah do these look amazing!? Haven’t even tasted these and I’m already obsessed! I have a feeling these might be a new family fave.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Karly! I hope you all enjoy them!
Anna says
Dina, exactly how spicy are those peppers? I love that this recipe calls for rotisserie chicken! It’s so easy.
simplyhomecooked says
It really depends on the peppers. Generally they should be pretty mild. The ones that I bought weren’t spicy at all.