This restaurant-style chicken quesadilla recipe is crispy, melty, meaty, and balanced. These aren't your average chicken quesadillas by a long shot, but they are just as easy to make. And kids also love them.
Most chicken quesadilla recipes are usually some version of plain rotisserie or poached chicken breast, diced or shredded, a handful of spices or a packet of taco seasoning, maybe a little onion and bell pepper, and some pre-shredded cheese. Sometimes low-key quick is exactly what you need. But to me, these versions never taste like a real Mexican restaurant, and that's what I was after for this recipe.
The fix is better, more flavorful chicken and a balanced filling. I've used my easy pollo asado (Mexican marinated grilled chicken), which packs a flavor punch that powdered spices can't match. From there, I add cheddar and Monterey Jack, along with a little sweet corn, quick-caramelized onions, Cubanelle peppers, and quick-pickled shallots for a tart burst of lime that balances every bite.
And after just five minutes in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, you're rewarded with crispy, golden, blistered tortillas on the outside and an ooey-gooey melted meaty inside.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Chicken Quesadillas
- Best Chicken for Quesadillas (Pollo Asado)
- Chicken Quesadilla Ingredients
- How to Make Chicken Quesadillas
- The Best Tortillas for Quesadillas (Flour or Corn)
- The Best Quesadilla Cheese
- Quesadilla Sauce and Toppings
- What to Serve With Chicken Quesadillas
- More Quesadillas to Try
- How to Reheat Quesadilla & Storage
- What Is a Quesadilla?
- Chicken Quesadilla FAQ
- More Easy Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- Food Safety
Why You'll Love These Chicken Quesadillas
- Real slices of flavorful grilled chicken. Not just a seasoning packet added to rotisserie or boiled and shredded chicken. Marinated, grilled, and sliced, for a more satisfying, meaty bite.
- Two cheeses for maximum flavor and melty goodness.
- Quick-pickled shallots (or red onions) are ready in the time it takes to prep everything else.
- Ready in about 25 minutes once the chicken has been marinated and grilled.
- Built for a head start. Every single ingredient can be made days ahead and assembled for super quick wholesome dinner any night of the week.
Best Chicken for Quesadillas (Pollo Asado)
If you're wondering how to season and cook chicken for quesadillas, the best way is to make Grilled pollo asado chicken. This super delicious chicken is marinated in achiote paste, sour orange (or my citrus substitute), garlic, seasonings, and spices, then grilled over direct heat until the edges char.
This is the #1 reason these chicken and cheese quesadillas actually taste like your favorite Mexican restaurant or food truck quesadillas. And it's crazy easy to make!
It's worth planning a day or two ahead, since the chicken needs marinating time before it hits the grill (I include oven and skillet cooking methods in that recipe post). Meal-prepping the chicken a day or three ahead makes this an easy 25-minute weeknight dinner.
Short on time? Any leftover grilled chicken works, and so does a rotisserie bird with the meat pulled off the bone. You'll lose all the magical achiote-citrus Mexican restaurant flavor that makes them above average, but you'll still eat well because the other filling ingredients are also really tasty!
What about shredded chicken? Use chicken breast, legs, or bake a whole pollo asado, then pull the meat into shreds. It tastes great, but has a different texture.
Chicken Quesadilla Ingredients
- Pollo asado chicken: Cooked, then sliced, or diced. Grilled is best for the char, but any cooked chicken works in a pinch.
- White onion, two ways: Some sliced, then caramelized for sweetness, some finely diced and raw for texture. Both matter; don't skip them unless you don't eat onions.
- Cubanelle peppers: They're mild and taste like bell peppers, but thinner-walled, and they soften faster. A red, yellow, or green bell pepper is a perfect substitute.
- Sweet corn: Cooked in salt water for flavor and cut fresh off the cob. It adds sweet corn flavor to each bite. You can substitute cooked frozen corn.
- Shallots, quick pickled: A simple squeeze of fresh lime juice plus salt, nothing else. The acidity cuts the richness of the cheese, balances the sweetness of the onions and the corn, and adds a nice little crunch.
- Cheddar: Mild or sharp, freshly grated is my go-to for flavor.
- Monterey Jack: Freshly grated, this melts really well and tastes great combined with cheddar.
- Whole wheat or flour tortillas: Medium, 8-inch (20cm) work best (more about that below).
- Oil or butter: For cooking the quesadillas. I use both interchangeably but usually opt for EVOO just because it's healthier and I'm never out of it.
Full ingredient measurements can be found in the recipe card.
How to Make Chicken Quesadillas
Step 1. Make the quick pickled shallots. Slice them thin, toss with lime juice and salt, and leave them alone while you prep everything else. That is all the time they need.
Step 2. Caramelize the onion and peppers. Add sliced onion and peppers to a skillet with the EVOO over medium heat, stirring now and then, until they soften and start to caramelize and turn golden brown. Set them aside in a bowl.
Step 3. Warm the chicken. If your pollo asado came out of the refrigerator, give it a couple of minutes in the same skillet to take the chill off.
Step 4. Build them. Lay the tortilla flat on a plate or cutting board. Spread the cheese mixture over one half, leaving a clean border at the edge. Then add chicken, diced raw onion, the caramelized onion and pepper, corn, and cheese, and pickled red onions. Fold the empty tortilla half over and press down on it.
Step 5. Cook them. Heat oil or butter in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook one or two quesadillas at a time, rounded edges following the curve of the pan and facing opposite directions so they both fit, and press them down with your hand or spatula.
Cook them for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for a couple more minutes until golden brown. Then flip and cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and both sides are crispy and golden.
Step 6. Rest and cut. A few minutes on a board before cutting, into two or three wedges.
Full instructions and timings are in the recipe card.
How to Fold a Quesadilla (So It's Easier to Cook and Eat)
- Folded, the easy way (left photo). One tortilla folded into a half moon. Less cheese, easier to flip, two fit in a skillet, and easier to eat, especially cut in half instead of into three wedges. This is what the recipe uses.
- Stacked, the harder way (right photo). Two flat tortillas with filling between them. Bigger quesadilla and cleaner triangular wedges, but it needs a skillet as wide as the tortilla, more cheese to hold together, and it's harder to flip. More filling falls out while you eat it, too.
How to Get a Crispy Quesadilla Without Burning It
It's all heat control. Cheese needs a few minutes to melt through, and a tortilla left over high heat for that long will scorch before the filling heats properly.
The fix: start over medium so the tortilla blisters and turns golden, then drop to medium-low and let the cheese finish while the outside holds. Start with room temperature filling so it warms through in the short cook time.
- Use fat, but not too much. A teaspoon of oil or a small pat of butter crisps it without frying. Too much and the quesadilla turns greasy and heavy.
- Press it down with your hand or the spatula once it's in the pan, for good contact and even browning.
- Don't crowd the skillet. Two folded quesadillas facing opposite directions, which still leaves room to flip. For a big batch, use a cast iron griddle or comal.
- Cast iron or carbon steel holds steady heat, which is what this needs. I don't use nonstick cookware, but it'll also work.
How to Flip a Quesadilla
- Position it. Curved edge closest to you, folded edge farthest from the spatula handle.
- Get all the way under. Slide a wide spatula into the middle so you're supporting the whole quesadilla, not one edge.
- Turn in one motion. Lift and flip rather than tipping it over gradually. I flip with my right hand and use my left fingers to hold it together as it goes. Watch your fingers.
Any filling that escapes goes back in with the spatula. The crispy cheese bits that hit the pan and don't make it back are a reward, not a mistake.
The Best Tortillas for Quesadillas (Flour or Corn)
Medium, 8-inch (20cm) flour and whole wheat tortillas are what this recipe uses. They blister and crisp in the pan, stay flexible enough to fold around a full filling without cracking, and hold up to being cut into wedges.
Corn works too and brings more corn flavor, which is delicious in its own right. It's just a different build. Corn tortillas are more brittle, so heat them in a skillet with a little oil for a minute or so until they're flexible enough to fill and fold, the same way you'd warm them for tacos. They're smaller too, so you'll get a smaller quesadilla and will need to adjust the filling amounts.
Tortilla Brands Worth Buying
Generally I buy whole wheat. The really ultra-processed white flour tortillas can have a texture I don't love, and sometimes a strange smell from the preservatives and dough conditioners. Here in Italy I use Santa Maria Soft Wheat and Whole Wheat Medium Tortillas, easy to find locally and they taste great.
- Whole wheat: 365 Organic Whole Wheat or Mission Whole Wheat Original. Both are sturdy enough for a heavy quesadilla.
- Flour: Guerrero Tortillas de Harina Caseras or Trader Joe's Flour Tortillas. Trader Joe's Truly Handmade are a step up if your store carries them.
- Worth the extra minutes: Guerrero Fresqui-Ricas come raw and you cook them yourself, about 90 seconds in a hot skillet, 30 seconds a side, flipped three times until they puff. Closer to homemade than anything else here.
Better still, if there's a tortillería near you, buy them there.
The Best Quesadilla Cheese
Almost any melting cheese works, so this comes down to preference. Even a bagged Mexican blend melts fine.
- Queso Oaxaca is the gold standard, the melting cheese Mexican cooks use for quesadillas and queso fundido. Made in the same stretched style (pasta filata) as whole milk fresh mozzarella, so it pulls apart in strands. It's buttery and a bit tangy.
- Chihuahua and asadero melt just as beautifully, but neither is always easy to find.
- Monterey Jack melts smooth and mild without turning greasy.
- Cheddar brings the flavor Jack doesn't have. Sharper and older has more flavor but melts less smoothly.
Cheddar and Monterey Jack together is what I use most because it's easy to find and tastes great! I like to grate my own blocks, since it melts more smoothly and skips the anti-caking agents that keep bagged cheese from clumping.
Cheese Is the Glue
Cheese isn't only flavor, it also helps with structure. Spread some over half the tortilla, add your fillings, then another layer before you fold. As it melts, it seals everything in place, so the filling stays put when you flip it over.
NOTE: Whole milk fresh mozzarella isn't a straight swap for Oaxaca, even though both are stretched-curd cheeses. Fresh mozzarella holds a lot more water and releases it as it cooks, so you end up with a soggy quesadilla instead of a crisp one.
Low-moisture mozzarella, the firm block or bagged shredded kind, is much closer. It melts into a stretchy blanket without weeping, but the flavor is nowhere near the same as Oaxaca. You can use half mozzarella and half Monterey Jack if you're in a real bind or just curious.
Quesadilla Sauce and Toppings
I like to have a few bowls of quesadilla toppings and hot sauces ready to go. That way everyone can mix and match exactly what they like:
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh salsa (salsa fresca)
- Guacamole
- Sour cream, Mexican crema, or crème fraîche
- Queso
- Valentina or Cholula hot sauce
What to Serve With Chicken Quesadillas
Cut into three wedges, these work great as an appetizer for a crowd. For a main entree, we opt for 1 quesadilla per person, cut into two pieces (which makes them easier to eat). Serve them with any of these sides to round out your Mexican Restaurant-style meal:
- Shredded lettuce (I like to add a bed of shredded lettuce to each plate, add the quesadillas so any drippings or fillings can be scooped up like a little Mexican salad toward the end).
- Refried beans
- Cilantro lime rice
- Tortilla chips and salsa
More Quesadillas to Try
- Cheeseburger Quesadillas for when you want something completely different in the same format.
- Bean and Cheese Quesadillas (recipe coming soon).
If you are cooking pollo asado anyway, the same chicken makes pollo asado tacos.
How to Reheat Quesadilla & Storage
The chicken and the pickled shallots both keep for days, which is what makes this a really quick weeknight dinner rather than a project.
- The chicken can be grilled, sliced, and refrigerated up to 4 days ahead.
- The pickled shallots can be made and refrigerated up to 4 days ahead.
- The caramelized onions and peppers can be made and refrigerated up to 4 days.
- The corn can be cooked and refrigerated up to 4 days ahead.
- Assembled, uncooked quesadillas stack with parchment between them in the refrigerator. Let them sit out in a single layer for 30 to 45 minutes before cooking so the filling isn't too cold when you start to cook.
- Cooked leftovers keep up to 4 days refrigerated and up to 4 months frozen.
Reheating instructions are in the recipe card notes.
What Is a Quesadilla?
A quesadilla is a tortilla folded over a filling and cooked until the outside crisps. The name comes from the Spanish word queso. So, cheese (plus usually some meat and/or veggies) is what most of us expect as the filling. Although in Mexico, the filling doesn't have to include cheese at all.
The traditional quesadilla version isn't even built on a pre-cooked tortilla. Instead, fresh masa (raw corn tortilla dough) is pressed, filled, folded, then griddled on a comal or fried until it's crisp outside and soft, corn-flavored inside. Using ready-made flour or corn tortillas is the everyday shortcut, and the way most of us grew up eating them.
Flour tortillas are most commonly found in northern Mexico, where wheat grows well, corn not so much. It's also the type you'll see most often used in Tex-Mex kitchens (Texas and Northern Mexico share a border, so this makes perfect sense).
Learn more about the distinction between Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican cooking in this Tex-Mex cheese enchiladas post.
This recipe uses regular flour or whole wheat tortillas (our favorite).
Chicken Quesadilla FAQ
Queso Oaxaca (pronounced wah-HAH-kah) is the gold standard melting cheese for traditional quesadillas if you can find it. For this recipe, Monterey Jack melts smoothly without turning greasy, so it's great for structure. Cheddar brings extra flavor that Jack doesn't have on its own, but Colby Jack, pepper Jack, cheddar jalapeño, and habanero cheddar work great for flavor and/or extra spice. Using a combination of cheeses gets you a clean melt and great flavor. Whichever you choose, grate it yourself from a block, because bagged shredded cheese is coated to keep it from clumping and those coatings work against a smooth melt.
Yes! The traditional Mexican quesadilla isn't made from a cooked tortilla at all. It's fresh masa dough (corn tortilla dough), pressed, filled, folded, then griddled on a comal or fried, which is why it comes out crispy outside and soft inside in a way a reheated corn tortilla can't match. The average size is usually 6 to 7 inches (15 to 18 cm), and the pressed masa dough is used right after being flattened in the tortilla press. If you're using pre-made corn tortillas, warm them first in a pan with a little oil the same way you do for tacos so they stay pliable, then either fold one in half around the filling or sandwich the filling between two flat tortillas. Both are normal. Cold corn tortillas straight from the refrigerator will crack.
Medium 8-inch (20cm) tortillas are the sweet spot for a folded quesadilla. They hold a quarter of the filling in this recipe, two of them fit in a skillet at once, and they flip without buckling. That said, a 10-inch tortilla is also still suitable for slightly larger quesadillas. Burrito size tortillas (12 to 14 inches) are too large to fold and still fit most skillets, and small street taco size tortillas can't hold much filling.
Get a wide spatula all the way underneath, past the fold, so you are supporting the whole quesadilla instead of lifting one edge. Turn it in a single motion. It also helps to have cheese on both the bottom and the top of the filling, because as the top layer melts it seals the quesadilla shut. Flipping a quesadilla too soon before it's become golden and crispy on the first side makes it really difficult to flip over without the fillings spilling out.
Usually this means there's too much fat (oil or butter) in the pan, or the heat is too low for too long. You want just enough oil or butter to crisp the tortilla, not enough to fry it, and you want to start at medium so the outside blisters before you drop the heat to let the cheese finish melting. Wet fillings are another culprit, so drain anything with a lot of liquid before adding it to the filling.
Yes. You will lose the achiote and citrus flavor that makes these taste like a taqueria, but leftover grilled chicken or a rotisserie bird pulled off the bone both work well on a busy night.
More Easy Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Pollo Asado Quesadillas (Mexican Grilled Chicken)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 Quesadillas (4 servings)
Description
Crispy chicken quesadillas packed with juicy, tender pollo asado, sweet corn, peppers, and melty cheese. Bold, balanced flavors, served with salsa fresca, guacamole, and sour cream.
Ingredients
For the Quesadillas:
- 2 cups (8 ounces) cooked pollo asado chicken, sliced or diced (227g) (about 2 medium breasts or 3 smaller thighs)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (15g)
- ½ cup white onion, sliced (115g) (about ½ large onion)
- ¼ cup white onion, finely diced (60g) (about ¼ large onion)
- ½ cup Cubanelle or bell peppers, thinly sliced (115g) (about 2 medium Cubanelles, or 1 red or green bell pepper)
- 1 cup cooked corn kernels cut off the cob (160g) (sub cooked frozen sweet corn)
- 2 shallots, sliced thinly and quick pickled (recipe follows)
- ¾ cup cheddar cheese, shredded, mild or sharp (85g)
- ¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (85g)
- 4 medium 8-inch (20cm) whole wheat or regular flour tortillas
- Butter or oil, for cooking the quesadillas
For the quick pickled shallots:
- 2 shallots, sliced thinly (substitute red onion)
- Juice from ½ lime
- Salt to taste
Optional for serving:
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh salsa
- Guacamole
- Sour cream, Mexican crema, or crème fraîche
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
- Valentina or Cholula hot sauce
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Make the quick pickled shallots. Mix the pickled shallot ingredients together and let them rest while you prep everything else.
- Caramelize the onion and peppers. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and peppers and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 9 minutes, until lightly caramelized. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Warm the chicken. If the pollo asado has been refrigerated, add it to the same skillet over medium heat and sauté until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
- Assemble the quesadillas. Lay a tortilla flat on a cutting board or large plate. Spread about 2 to 3 tablespoons of cheese over one half, leaving a clean border at the edge. Layer on ¼ of each of the following: chicken, finely diced onion, caramelized onion and pepper, corn, and pickled shallots. Finish with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of cheese, which melts into the top and seals the quesadilla shut. Fold the empty half over and press firmly, tucking back in anything that falls out. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Cook the quesadillas. Add a drizzle of olive oil or a small pat of butter to a well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Set one quesadilla in the pan with its rounded edge following the curve of the skillet, then add a second facing the opposite direction so both fit. Press down to flatten. If filling spills out, push it back in with a spatula and enjoy any crispy bits that don't make it. Cook for about 2 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook about 2 minutes more. Flip each quesadilla carefully with a large spatula and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer, until golden brown and crisp and the cheese has melted.
- Rest, cut, and serve. Rest the quesadillas on a cutting board for a few minutes before cutting. If you're cooking for a crowd, hold the finished ones in a preheated 190°F/90°C oven on a sheet pan, or even better, on a wire rack set inside a sheet pan, so they stay hot without going soft underneath. Cut each quesadilla into 2 or 3 wedges. Two pieces are easier to eat without the filling falling out; three gives you the traditional smaller pie-shaped wedges. Serve with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Make the chicken in advance. Plan ahead, because the chicken needs to marinate before it's grilled. You can cook it, slice it, and refrigerate it up to 4 days ahead, so dinner comes together fast.
Pickle the shallots ahead of time. They only need the time it takes to prep everything else, but they can be made up to 4 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator.
Assemble ahead. Build the quesadillas through folding, stack them with a sheet of parchment between each one, and refrigerate. Let them sit at room temperature in a single layer for 30 to 45 minutes before cooking so the filling has time to warm through before the outside browns.
Store leftovers. Refrigerate cooked quesadillas in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat them crisp. A skillet over low to medium-low heat brings the outside back to golden. Cover it with a lid for the first 5 minutes or so to let the filling warm through more quickly, then take the lid off, flip the quesadilla, and heat a few minutes more until everything is melty, crispy, and delicious. To reheat several at once, use a 350°F/175°C preheated oven with the quesadillas on a wire rack set in a sheet pan for 8 to 12 minutes. The microwave is faster, but the tortilla turns soft if texture matters to you.
Freeze a batch. Cool the quesadillas completely, wrap them individually, and freeze in an airtight container for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Meat + Chicken
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Mexican, Mexican + Tex-Mex
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Quesadilla
- Calories: 520
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 663mg
- Fat: 29g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 81mg
Food Safety
- Cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165°F/75°C, measured at the thickest part
- Refrigerate cooked chicken within two hours of cooking
- Keep cooked chicken refrigerated for up to 4 days
- Reheat leftovers to 165°F/75°C
- Wash your hands and any surface that touched raw chicken before it touches anything else
See more guidelines at USDA FSIS, Chicken from Farm to Table.
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