Chicken Fajita Quesadillas with sautéed onions, green peppers, seasoned chicken, and melted cheese in a crispy tortilla—an easy home recipe with everyday ingredients.
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As good as any restaurant, these chicken fajitas quesadillas are packed with fajita flavor and vegetables. You get that great fajita taste at home inside a crispy, cheesy quesadilla.
Nothing special goes in, but something extraordinary comes out. It is not a hard recipe and uses common pantry ingredients and kitchen utensils. Plus, you can use leftover rotisserie chicken and vary ingredients and spicing to your taste.
Serve with refried beans and chunky guacamole. And don't forget to check out some other easy fajita recipes like Stovetop Chicken Fajitas, Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, Crockpot Chicken Fajitas, and Grilled Chicken Fajitas. Or try out Marinated Steak Fajitas or Marinaded Flank Steak Fajitas.
🐓Ingredients
- Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts
- Vegetables—onion, red or green bell peppers
- Pantry ingredients—chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt
- Cheese—Tex-Mex cheese mixture or cheddar cheese
- Tortillas—usually 8-inch flour tortilla, but you can use corn and different sizes
- Serving toppings—sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese
👨🍳How to make a chicken quesadilla
- Saute the trimmed veggies and chicken in a large skillet with the spices.
- In a large skillet with shimmering oil, add an 8-inch tortilla. Working quickly, sprinkle top with shredded cheese over the entire surface and the chicken mixture over one-half of the surface.
- When the cheese starts to melt, fold the half of the tortilla without the chicken over the chicken half. Remove to plate and tent lightly with foil to hold while you cook more quesadillas.
✔️FAQs
A quesadilla is usually a grilled tortilla filled with cheese but can have meat or vegetables. They can be made with corn tortillas, although wheat is more common now. It can be either two whole tortillas or one folded.
A fajita is that sizzling hot dish you see at a Mexican restaurant. It is grilled strips of meat with stripped peppers and onions served on flour or corn tortillas.
The simple quesadilla becomes a fajita quesadilla when fajita seasonings with meat and vegetables are added.
Yes, add pre-cooked chicken after a few minutes of cooking the pepper and onion, then add the spices and chicken simultaneously. Cook until vegetables are tender.
A rough rule of thumb is one pound of raw chicken is about 3 cups of cooked shredded chicken.
Yes. For other meats, use carnitas, Mexican shredded beef, or shrimp. You can also skip the meat.
In addition to Mexican cheese blends or cheddar cheese, you can use Monterey or pepper jack cheese.
Somewhat. It is better to cook the meat and vegetables and refrigerate or freeze them. Then, the meat and vegetables must be heated before adding them to the quesadillas.
❄️Leftovers and reheating
Store leftovers in the refrigerator sealed airtight for 3 days or freeze for 3 months.
To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen, then heat in hot oil on the stovetop to crisp up the tortilla.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Everyday ingredients. You could use pre-cooked chicken or thighs.
Slice 1 medium onion into ¼ inch slices and 1 green or red pepper into ½ inch wide slices. You can cut the strips into shorter strips to make serving easier.
Trim ¾ to 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast into ¼ inch thick slices cross-grain and then into small bite-size pieces.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil, and when shimmering, add the veggies and chicken. Mix in 2 teaspoons of chili powder, ½ teaspoon each of cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
Stir frequently. Cook until chicken is done to 165° and onion and pepper are tender—about 10 minutes. You can stop here and refrigerate or freeze for later, but it needs to be hot when used in the next step.
In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. When shimmering, add an 8-inch tortilla. Working quickly, sprinkle top with about ½ cup shredded cheese over the entire surface and about ¾ cup of the chicken mixture over one-half of the surface.
When the cheese starts to melt, fold the half of the tortilla without the chicken over the chicken half. Remove to plate and tent lightly with foil and continue to repeat cooking more. You will probably need to add a teaspoon of oil for each new tortilla.
Recipe
Chicken Fajita Quesadillas in 30 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts - a bit more or less
- 1 onion - medium
- 1 green or red pepper
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garilc powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 8-inch tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cheese of choice
- 3 tablespoons oil - for fry pan use
Instructions
- Slice 1 medium onion into ¼ inch slices and 1 green or red pepper into ½ inch wide slices. You can cut the strips into shorter strips to make serving easier.
- Trim ¾ to 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast into ¼ inch thick slices cross-grain and then into small bite-size pieces.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil, and when shimmering, add the veggies and chicken. Mix in 2 teaspoons of chili powder, ½ teaspoon each of cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
- Stir frequently. Cook until chicken is done to 165° and onion and pepper are tender—about 10 minutes. You can stop here and refrigerate or freeze for later, but it needs to be hot when used in the next step.
- In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. When shimmering, add an 8-inch tortilla. Working quickly, sprinkle top with about ½ cup shredded cheese over the entire surface and about ¾ cup of the chicken mixture over one-half of the surface.
- When the cheese starts to melt, fold the half of the tortilla without the chicken over the chicken half. Remove to plate and tent lightly with foil and continue to repeat cooking more. You will probably need to add a teaspoon or so of oil for each new tortilla.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can vary the chicken. You can use more or less. You can use thighs.
- If you want to use pre-cooked chicken, start cooking the onion and peppers, then add the chicken and spices after a few minutes.
- Consider one pound of raw chicken approximately equal to 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken.
- I like to use 8-inch flour tortillas for this but 10-inch works fine. 12-inch is a bit big to handle.
- Be sure the meat mixture is warm when adding it to the tortilla.
- Use the cheese you want.
- You can refrigerate the meat mixture for 3-4 days or freeze it for 3-4 months. Consume the final quesadilla when hot.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally published on May 2, 2017, as Chicken Fajita Quesadillas. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Dina
I loved this quick and very tasty recipe. I made it with rotisserie chicken meat from Costco. My vegan son made a version with plant based meat and plant based cheese. Very satisfying and delicious. I love your recipes in general and your emails often inspire what I make for dinner that night. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and know how.
Lara
Yum! My best quesadilla tip - when flipping, slide the spatula or fish-turner (my fave tool) and roll it over the closed edge. Flips right over without spilling the filling.
Nicky
This looks delicious! I can't wait to try it. By the way, I love your blog! Thank you for posting so many great recipes and making them easy to follow even for less experienced cookers like me. You do a great job!
DrDan
Hi Nicky,
Welcome to the blog. You seem like my "target audience". I'm aiming for the relatively inexperienced cooks that just some step by step photos will give them the confidence to do it themselves.
Thanks for the note and let me know if you have any questions
Dan