Wednesday, April 21, 2021

SHEET PAN QUESADILLAS RECIPE

OK, this is one of our new favorite quick meals.  I'm not sure who to give credit to, versions of this recipe have been online for a couple of years at least.  The first time I saw it I think it was a "Tasty" video.  They are all variations on a theme but learn the basic premise and the world is your, um, quesadilla, ha.

Ingredients:

8 burrito sized tortillas
4 cups shredded cheese, divided in half
3 to 4 cups cooked shredded chicken
Whatever else you want to add to this

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Bake 20-25 mins, remove top sheet pan 5-10 mins

Sheet pan quesadillas

You're going to start with six flour tortillas.  These are the large "burrito size" tortillas.  You could use regular size but just know you'll need more.  Maybe 10 to cover the bottom and 2 for the top center.  Now in most recipes I've seen, they just put the tortillas on a butter coated sheet pan.  See the end of this post for some more notes about that.  You put six around the edges, letting them hang off because you are going to fold up the excess later, like an origami project.

Sheet pan quesadillas

Put the seventh tortilla in the bottom to cover the empty spot where they all meet.

Chicken, cheese, green chilies

Then just start filling.  It's at this point that really, you can do anything you want.  Start by putting down a layer of shredded cheese, 2 cups.  Any flavor you like.  This is a Mexican blend cheese.  Next I put in some shredded, cooked chicken that we had in the freezer.  The meat from a rotisserie chicken works great for this.

Chicken and spinach quesadillas

We had some leftover baby spinach and a can of green chilies so I scattered that over the chicken.

Quesadillas with spinach and chicken

Whatever filling you use, put the remaining 2 cups of cheese on top, they are quesadillas after all and cheese is the star ingredient.


Next you just fold it up.  In this picture you can probably see the mistake I made.  First put the eighth and final tortilla in the gap in the middle just like you did with the one on the bottom earlier.  Fold over the long sides and then each end.  My mistake was putting the last one on top after folding the other sides in.  I should have put it on top of the filling and THEN folded in the sides.  But as you can see, it still works fine.

Buttered and filled chicken quesadillas

Brush the top of this with melted butter.

Sheet pan cooking

Then put another baking sheet on top of the buttered quesadillas.  You can see that again I put foil and parchment (on the bottom) to keep 2nd Man's pans pristine, ha.

Pressing down quesadillas

Push it down, it's all there, underneath the top sheet pan.  At this point, some people put a weight on top, like a cast iron pan.  I will do this the next time.  You want to do this so they they are compressed together like quesadillas should be and it forces the bottom to get more browned.

Baking sheet pan quesadillas

After about 20 or 25 minutes, the cheese should be gooey and melted and the tortillas starting to brown.  Take the top sheet pan off and bake for about 5 to 10 more minutes at the same temperature or you can switch to broil, watch it, and let it brown for a couple of minutes.  Watch it carefully though, it will happen fast with the flour tortillas exposed to the heat like this.

Cutting sheet pan quesadillas

Slice them up (a pizza cutter works great) and serve!

Sheet pan Quesadillas

Here they are...cheesy and delicious.  We topped ours with some sour cream and guacamole.  Definitely one of our favorites.  It's also so flexible...any type of cheese....add any veggies such as peppers, onions, spinach, mushrooms, olives...add any protein, cooked ground beef, rotisserie chicken, shrimp, turkey, etc...just be sure cheese on the bottom and end with cheese on the top.

Side note from above. Yes I used foil and parchment  but it's not necessary. I only did it to keep the pan clean. See how clean the inside of that pan is? Those sheet pans are about 8 years old. They have roasted chickens, turkeys, sausages, briskets, made countless sheet pan meals, roasted potatoes and even berries.  Yeah...he keeps his stuff clean and I'm not about to mess that up, ha.  This recipe works best on a hot sheet pan with some butter, you'll get the crispy brown spots but this worked too, just a bit more effort.


20 comments:

  1. I use my george foreman grill for quesadillas. YUM!

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    1. Have never had one of those but I feel like we're missing out, ha.

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  2. Anne Marie, what a great idea! Wish I had thought of it! 1st Man, yours looks SO good! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Right? That's a good idea she had. And thanks for your nice comment, appreciate it.

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  3. Oh, this will have to be made very soon. Looks scrumptious.

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    1. Thanks, hope you enjoy it. It's so very flexible, it's more the technique than the ingredients.

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  4. Looks fantastic! I have got to make this very soon!

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    1. Thanks, it's yummy and great because you can do it with whatever you like. Cheese, meat, veggies, whatever you like.

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  5. My hubby loved the sausage cheese ball things, so I will have to try this!

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    1. Awww, thanks for letting us know that. It made us smile!

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  6. My hubby loves Mexican food (and I love the creativity and variety of it) but that’s just too much food for the two of us, even having leftovers. But I’ve done an oven quesadilla option my hubby LOVES as do I.

    I use two heavyweight frying pans and build a round version. I usually use leftover beef, most often shredded roast, or chicken, which we always have in the freezer. We love some refrained beans in the filling, a variety of cheeses - gotta have cohiito - some sautéed onions, red bell pepper, and like you top with guacamole and sour cream, and we add salsa.

    Because I use the round fry pan I don’t bother to fold the edges in, but we think the crusty cheese that escapes along the edges is the best part.

    I love your adding spinach. Never considered that!

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    1. The spinach was a last second idea and REALLY good, ha. I like the idea of the round ones with the heavy pans. Crunch cheese for the win!!

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  7. I enjoy your sheet pan recipes. Have you ever thought of compiling the into an e-book?

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    1. You are so kind. Honestly never thought about that. Some of course are recipes I got somewhere else once upon a time, though I suppose if we have changed ingredients and amounts to what we like maybe it's ours? Ha. Thanks for the kind words.

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  8. Are those NordicWare? I have those and love them. BarKeeper's Friend will return them to their pristine glory.

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    1. These are "Vollrath Wear-Ever" We got them at a restaurant supply store. The best thing about shopping at the restaurant supply is you get durable item (they have to be for restaurant use) at way less price than regular stores. And you don't have to own a restaurant or a business, if you do they give you a discount, but regular people can shop there too. We do have NordicWare items in the cabinet and you're right, they'll last forever.

      Oh and 2nd Man LOVES Barkeepers Friend.

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  9. That sounds really good - I'll have to try it.

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  10. I'll be trying this. Looks delicious.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Let us know how it goes. It can be scaled down to a smaller sheet pan and lesser tortillas. Just watch the cook time. Enjoy!

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