Veggie Quesadilla Recipe (Healthy, Easy)
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This easy, healthy veggie quesadilla recipe is packed with gooey cheese, black beans, and crunchy veggies. Done in less than 30 minutes they make a great weeknight meal!
Quesadillas are one of those easy Mexican meals that just about everyone likes: warm, crispy tortillas, melted cheese, and an assortment of toppings makes this recipe a comfort food favorite.
And these veggie quesadillas are the best!
Latest Recipe Video!
With just a few simple swaps, I was able to transform this classic Mexican dish into a vegetarian friendly, healthy quesadilla, with all of the flavor of the traditional recipe!
The best part: This family friendly meal is ready in under 30 minutes and is super kid-friendly too!! It’s a great option for a quick dinner on busy weeknights. I guarantee everyone is going to love this veggie quesadilla recipe!
👩🏻🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Melty cheese
- Crispy and hearty
- Super satisfying
- Easy to make
- Ready in less than 30 minutes
- Quick cleanup
- Family friendly!
🥘 Ingredients
This recipe calls for a few simple ingredients easily found at your grocery store. See detailed instructions and amounts in the recipe card below!
Whole Wheat or Sprouted Wheat Tortillas: For extra whole grains and fiber. Healthier than plain flour tortillas but works just as well!
Cheese: Use your favorite cheese! I like to use a Mexican cheese blend in this veggie quesadilla recipe – but any cheese that melts well would work. Cheddar cheese, monterey jack, or even oaxaca cheese would be great.
Black Beans: You can use refried or whole black beans (or a mix!) I used a mix of both in this recipe. You can also use pinto beans if you don’t have black beans.
Taco Seasoning: To give the black beans tons of flavor! If you don’t have taco seasoning, a mix of chili powder, garlic powder, and ground cumin would also work.
Veggies: This quesadilla filling is a great way to use up any veggies you have in your fridge! I used tomatoes, bell pepper, corn, and red onion, but you can use a mix of your favorite veggies! Baby spinach would be great to add for some extra greens and shredded red cabbage would add a nice crunch. If you like roasted veggies, roasted butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash, or sweet potatoes would also work well here.
Toppings: I used salsa and guacamole! See below for more topping ideas for these healthy quesadillas.
🍽 Equipment
🔪 Instructions
Cook Beans: In a medium skillet, heat black beans over the stove on medium heat. Add taco seasoning to taste and stir until combined.
Warm Tortillas: Heat a large skillet or nonstick pan over medium to medium-low heat, spray with olive oil cooking spray. Add tortilla to the pan.
Assemble quesadillas: On half of the tortilla, add one layer of beans, one layer of cheese (1/8 cup), a layer of the vegetable mixture, and another layer of cheese (remaining 1/8 cup).
Cook Quesadillas: Grill your vegetable quesadilla in the pan until both sides are golden brown and crispy and the cheese has melted. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into quarters. Top with salsa, guacamole, and any other toppings you like!
❓Recipe FAQs
Are quesadillas healthy?
Typically, not really. Traditional quesadillas don’t have any fiber, use too much oil and lots of cheese causing them to be high in fat. They also rarely include veggies.
But this veggie quesadilla recipe is super healthy! By swapping out some of the traditional ingredients I increased the fiber and nutrients, while decreasing the fat and calories.
More Fiber: Using a sprouted wheat tortilla instead of a white tortilla added fiber while keeping the great taste.
Added Plant Protein: Adding black beans instead of just cheese added more fiber and protein to this recipe.
Higher in Nutrients: Including a mix of different vegetables increased the nutrient content of this dish.
Reduced Fat and Calories: Decreasing the amount of cheese and oil reduces the overall fat and calories without losing any flavor!
Is this veggie quesadilla recipe kid friendly?
This recipe is family friendly and super kid-friendly too. These quick quesadillas are a tasty way to get kids to eat more veggies and is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser for even the most die-hard quesadilla fans.
📖 Variations
Gluten Free Quesadilla: Swap out the sprouted whole wheat tortilla for gluten free tortilla. All the other ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten free.
Vegan Quesadilla: To make these veggie quesadillas vegan friendly, either eliminate the cheese or use a vegan cheese.
🧊 How To Store
Let your quesadillas cool, slice them into quarters, then transfer to an airtight container. They will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, place in the microwave and warm through, or warm a skillet over medium heat and heat on both sides until completely warm.
👪 Serving Suggestions
These healthy quesadillas go well with other Mexican dishes, or are delicious all on their own with just a few toppings!
Toppings: Your favorite salsa or pico de gallo or hot sauce, guacamole, green onion, fresh cilantro, a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, or jalapeño peppers make this delicious quesadilla even more tasty.
Dishes To Serve With: Try serving with this taco soup, gazpacho, or with this southwestern quinoa salad!
💭 Expert Tips
- Use sprouted wheat tortillas, whole wheat tortillas or even corn tortillas instead of white flour tortillas.
- Prep your fillings ahead of time for easy assembly.
- Don’t over stuff your quesadilla. A quesadilla is better when you keep it on the lighter side. If you want some additional veggies, serve with a side salad or some sauteed fresh veggies on the side.
- Tortillas burn easily, so you want to fry your quesadillas on medium heat. It takes about a minute to a minute and a half to get each side crispy and golden–and your cheese will be perfectly melted, too.
🍲 More Mexican and Vegetarian Quesadilla Recipes!
- Black Bean Quesadillas
- Avocado Quesadillas
- Cheese Quesadilla for Kids
- Vegetarian Quesadillas with Lentils
- 30 Vegetarian Mexican Recipes
If you have tried this veggie quesadilla recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!
📋 Recipe
🎥 Watch How to Make It
Veggie Quesadilla Recipe
These easy healthy veggie quesadillas are packed with black beans, gooey cheese, and crunchy veggies, and are ready in under 30 minutes!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 380kcal
Ingredients
- 4 Sprouted Wheat Tortillas (1 per quesadilla)
- 1 cup Mexican shredded cheese blend (1/4 cup per quesadilla)
- 1 cup Refried or whole black beans (1/4 cup per quesadilla)
- 1 tsp Taco Seasoning (more to taste)
- 3 roma tomatoes diced
- ½ red onion diced
- ½ cup corn
- 1 red/orange/yellow bell pepper diced
- 8 tbsp Salsa (2 tbsp per quesadilla)
- 4 tbsp Guacamole (1 tbsp per quesadilla)
Instructions
- Heat beans over the stove on medium heat. Add taco seasoning to taste and stir until combined
- Heat a large pan over medium to medium-low heat, spray with olive oil cooking spray. Add tortilla to pan.
- Assemble quesadillas: One layer of beans, one layer of cheese (1/8 cup), a layer of onions corn, & peppers, and another layer of cheese (remaining 1/8 cup).
- Grill the quesadillas in the pan until both sides are browned and crispy and the cheese has melted. About 1-2 minutes on each side. Top with diced tomatoes, 1 Tbsp guac and 2 Tbsp salsa.
Notes
Expert Tips for Making Healthy Quesadillas
- Use sprouted wheat tortillas, whole wheat tortillas or even corn tortillas instead of white flour tortillas.
- Prep your fillings ahead of time for easy assembly.
- Don’t over stuff your quesadilla. A quesadilla is better when you keep it on the lighter side. If you want some additional veggies, serve with a side salad or some sauteed fresh veggies on the side.
- Tortillas burn easily, so you want to fry your quesadillas on medium heat. It takes about a minute to a minute and a half to get each side crispy and golden–and your cheese will be perfectly melted, too.
- To make this gluten free, just use a gluten free tortilla. To make this vegan, omit the cheese or use vegan cheese.
Nutrition
Serving: 1quesadilla | Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 46.8g | Protein: 18.6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4.6g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 848mg | Potassium: 636mg | Fiber: 10.9g | Sugar: 1.5g
Where do buy the sprouted wheat Tortillas?
Hi! You can get them at any grocery store (they usually have at least one option). But Whole Foods and Trader Joes always have sprouted wheat tortillas so you’re guaranteed to find it there! Hope that helps!
Thank you for sharing! Will definitely try it. Which sprouted wheat tortilla do you recommend? Thanks!
No problem at all! I like Angelic Bakehouse (my fav), Maria & Ricardo’s sprouted wheat tortillas (also good but those can be hard to find), and Ezekiel (as a backup if the other two aren’t available)!
I’d like to cook these veggie quesadillas for my mom. Hope she will love it. Thanks Anjali for sharing this wonderful recipe!
No problem Martin, I hope your mom likes this recipe!
Yeah, thanks and please keep posting such lovely dishes.
Love this quesadilla recipe! I’m trying to eat more vegetarian food. This is a great idea for a good lunch!
Thanks! Enjoy!
I love your recipes on this site! I did have one question though–I’ve never been a fan of peppers of any color. I can’t seem to like them enough to include them in my recipes. Do you have another “staple” veggie you could recommend in place of peppers? Thanks!
Thank you so much Melissa!! For these quesadillas, you can actually add in any veggie you like in place of the peppers! It will still taste great. Zucchini, spinach, or corn are all great options – but honestly any vegetable that’s your favorite can be thrown in as well. Hope that helps! Let me know how this recipe turns out for you!
I’m making these for dinner tonight.. Nice and low cal, but I’m adding chicken for more protein.. I work out a lot and need the extra protein.. Ty it looks awesome.. Dicing things up now ….yummmm
Awesome! Chicken would go great in these quesadillas — I hope these turned out well for you! 🙂
Hi Anjali, just tried these and they are great.
Didn’t have canned black beans so substituted brown leantils and they were perfest.
Also just put 2 sweet corn on the grill, charred them up a bit sliced of the kernnels and and added them to the mix.
I will make these again and what I love is clearly what you have you can just thow it in.
Cheers and thaks again.
Geoff
Oh great!! Love the idea of substituting in lentils and corn! That sounds delish!
Oh my…that looks amazing. I have some leftover guac from our NYE party and was wondering what I could use it with (I mean besides just eating it out of the bowl :P).
Unfortunately we don’t get refried beans here in Australia (canned black beans are non-existent here *pout*) but I’m thinking red kidney beans might be a good enough substitute. Will try this immediately! 🙂
Haha! Guac out of the bowl might be one of my snacks today, since we have some left over from last night 🙂 That’s too bad that you don’t get refried beans in Australia! Do you get pinto beans? If so, you can mash those up with some taco seasoning and that would be a good substitute. If not, red kidney beans mashed up with cumin & chili powder would work well too. Let me know what you end up using and how it turns out!
Delicious, as per usual. If you stop posting things, I will starve to death. Or more likely just eat things from your previous posts over and over again. You are like the boss of my diet now.
Haha! Thanks Michael! Don’t worry – I will never stop posting things 🙂 So glad you’re enjoying my recipes!
looks delicious!
thanks so much!
Awesome……your pics made my mouth water……Yummmmmmm…..!
Haha that’s awesome! I’m sure you will love this recipe!
Im looking for vegetarian recipes for friends coming over on Sunday. This is a great option!!
Thanks Kita! And I promise, this recipe will satisfy both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike!
Quesadilla with a topping! That sounds delicious:)
Thanks Kankana! It really is – and you can mix up the toppings to make it even more fun!
Lovely Food….
Thanks! Enjoy!
I love quesadillas! This is a great recipe, will try asap 😀
Thanks Jenny! Let me know how it turns out for you!
Loveeee quesadillas..big fan..they look so yummi:)
Hehe thank you!! Can’t wait to hear how you like this recipe!
YUM! These look great! And … FIVE hours of dance practice!?!?!? That’s CRAZY! What type of dance do you do???
Thanks Tiffany!! I do Indian Classical Dance 🙂 It’s one of my passions – been doing it my whole life!
These look amazingly delish! Can’t wait to try it – everyone could get on board with these, even the kiddos!
Absolutely!! I think kids would love these 🙂
YUM YUM YUM! This is my favorite kind of quesadilla! Black beans and cheese and guacamole = heaven for Raven!
Yay!! This is my favorite kind of quesadilla too 🙂 I’m sure you will love this recipe!
Yum!!!! These veggie quesadillas look so fresh and healthy! These would be perfect to share at a Super Bowl party!
Thanks so much! And yes – they are the perfect party food 🙂 You can just cut them up ahead of time and then people can just munch on them all evening!