Southwest-Style Quesadillas – Corn, Black Beans, Onion/Peppers, Chicken

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Southwest Style Quesadillas are a quick, delicious, guest-worthy meal. Flour tortillas are filled with cheese, tender-crisp veggies, corn & black beans and grilled to crispy perfection. Add shredded chicken or beef if you want an even heartier quesadilla.

A quick yet company-worthy meal is Southwest Quesadillas. Freshly grilled veggies, corn & black beans with cheese tucked into a flour tortilla. #TexasHomesteader

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What Are Quesadillas?

Quesadillas are simply a layering of simple ingredients:

Flour Tortillas – Fajita or burrito size makes folding/flipping easier

Shredded Cheese – Cheddar or pepper jack cheese works well here)

Grilled Vegetables – Typically onions & bell peppers

Meat (optional) – Cooked & shredded beef, chicken or pork

You simply layer the ingredients on a flour tortilla starting and ending with the cheese and grill the quesadilla on both sides until lightly browned and crispy.

Quesadillas Are A Quick & Easy Meal

My go-to arsenal for a quick and easy meal is to whip up quesadillas. They’re fast, they’re delicious and by golly they’re always a crowd pleaser.

If it’s early spring, Spinach Quesadillas are always delicious. And I’ve been known to use leftover meatloaf to make a Quick & Meaty Quesadilla.

But today I thought I’d make quesadillas with a southwest flair.

Southwest Style Quesadilla Ingredients

Southwest Style Quesadillas are made with:

      • Flour Tortillas

      • Grilled onions

      • Grilled bell peppers 

      • Shredded cheddar cheese

      • Corn

      • Black beans

      • Cooked chicken (optional)

If I have them I prefer to use both green and red/orange/yellow bell peppers. 

A quick yet company-worthy meal is Southwest Quesadillas. Freshly grilled veggies, corn & black beans with cheese tucked into a flour tortilla. #TexasHomesteader

The color combination of those veggies just makes a more vibrant quesadilla.

And mama always says presentation is half the meal!

Sautéing Onions & Peppers for Quesadillas

I have a *2-burner cast iron griddle that I use a LOT! And today is certainly no exception.

To prepare for my quesadillas I fire up the stove burners beneath the griddle, place about a tablespoon of Bacon Grease on my griddle and allow it to melt.

I typically use bacon grease for my griddle but feel free to use another kind of fat here – butter, oil, whatever.

When the griddle is hot & the bacon grease is melted I add my onions & peppers. I’ll keep it stirred occasionally with a spatula to make sure it cooks evenly & to keep it from burning.

A quick yet company-worthy meal is Southwest Quesadillas. Freshly grilled veggies, corn & black beans with cheese tucked into a flour tortilla. #TexasHomesteader

It’s funny, THIS is the phase of the meal that always gets the most rave comments from both RancherMan as well as any guests that may be present. I’ve gotta say I agree with them.

RancherMan wonders if there REALLY is any better aroma than the delightful smell of onions & peppers cooking?? LOL

Anyway, when my vegetables are cooked to tender-crisp I start assembling my quesadillas. I’ll move the cooked veggies to one corner of the griddle and fetch my flour tortillas.

Assembling Southwest Quesadillas

The griddle’s already been oiled to cook the veggies. But if needed I’ll re-oil the surface for the southwest quesadillas.

Recipe Note: It’s easier to flip a quesadilla that’s been folded instead of just stacked. So I prefer to use 8″ taco or 10″ burrito sized tortillas. Otherwise the smaller 6″ fajita size tortillas are fine but you’ll probably stack them like a sandwich instead of filling half & folding over.

Onto the griddle goes a tortilla. Since I’m using the larger tortillas I first  sprinkle a little shredded cheese on 1/2 of the tortilla. Then I layer a hearty helping of my freshly-grilled veggies and a spoonful each of corn and black beans on top of the cheese.Assembling the Southwest Quesadillas. A quick yet company-worthy meal is Southwest Quesadillas. Freshly grilled veggies, corn & black beans with cheese tucked into a flour tortilla. #TexasHomesteader

If I’m adding chicken I’ll add it now. And to top everything off, another sprinkling of cheese is added before folding the tortilla in half.

The cheese layer on top & bottom will melt and anchor all my fillings together within my quesadilla.

I repeat this process until I have as many quesadillas as I need. Now I simply allow the griddle to cook the tortilla to a nice, crispy brown.

Then I carefully flip it to crisp the other side too. A couple of minutes is all it takes to brown each side. Now it’s time to eat!

Serving The Quesadillas

I’ll place the hot southwest quesadillas on a cutting board and cut it into 3rds. You know, just because I like the way it looks.

Plus I feel it makes it a little easier to eat them too.

What Are Good Quesadilla Toppings?

You can eat your quesadillas just as they are. They make a fun finger-food eating them that way.

But it’s also fun to top homemade quesadillas with something extra tasty. There are several delicious topping options we use for quesadillas:

Now dinner is served!

A quick yet company-worthy meal is Southwest Quesadillas. Freshly grilled veggies, corn & black beans with cheese tucked into a flour tortilla. #TexasHomesteader

It’s funny, these southwest quesadillas are super quick and easy to make but guests always rave about the fuss I must have made.

I won’t tell them how easy it is if you won’t. (shhhhhhh….)

Southwest-Style Quesadilla - Add Chicken If Desired!

This Southwest style chicken quesadilla comes together quick. Easy enough for a fast weekday meal, fancy enough for company! #TexasHomesteader

Course Main Course
Cuisine TexMex
Keyword cheese, chicken, flour tortilla, quesadilla
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 4 minutes
Servings 6 quesadillas
Author ~ Texas Homesteader ~

Ingredients

  • 6 8" taco-sized Flour Tortillas
  • 2 cups Leftover cooked chicken (optional)
  • cups Chopped onions
  • cups Sliced bell peppers 
  • 1 cup Frozen corn
  • 1 15-oz can Black beans, drained & rinsed
  • 1 16-oz bag Shredded cheddar cheese about 4 cups

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add sliced or chopped onion & bell pepper. Cook stirring for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are softened. Turn off heat

  2. Place a tortilla onto heated griddle or skillet. Sprinkle shredded cheese on 1/2 of the surface of the tortilla. Sprinkle freshly-grilled veggies and a spoonful each of corn and black beans on top of the cheese. If adding chicken, add it now.

  3. Add another sprinkling of cheese & fold the tortilla in half.

  4. Cook the tortilla 3-4 minutes to a nice, crispy brown. Then carefully flip it to crisp the other side. (A couple of minutes is all it takes to brown each side.)

  5. Now it’s time to eat - enjoy hot!

Recipe Notes

What Are Good Quesadilla Toppings?

You can eat your quesadillas just as they are. They make a fun finger-food eating them that way.

But it’s also fun to top homemade quesadillas with something extra tasty. There are several delicious topping options we use for quesadillas:

~TxH~

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