Chicken Fajita Quesadillas with sautรฉed onions, green peppers, seasoned chicken, and melted cheese in a crispy tortillaโan easy home recipe with everyday ingredients.
A fast and delicious restaurant-quality dish.
๐Ingredients
Chicken breasts
Onion and bell peppers
Pantry ingredientsโchili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt
CheeseโTex-Mex cheese mixture or cheddar cheese
Tortillas
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Featured Comment from Dina:
"I loved this quick and delicious recipe. I made it with rotisserie chickenโฆ"
As good as any restaurant, these chicken fajitas quesadillas are packed with fajita flavor and vegetables. You get that excellent 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.
๐จโ๐ณHow to make a chicken quesadilla
Everyday ingredients. You could use pre-cooked chicken or thighs.
Slice 1 medium onion into ยผ inch slices and 1 green or red pepper into ยฝ inch wide slices. You can cut the strips into shorter strips to make serving easier.
Trim ยพ to 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast into ยผ 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, ยฝ teaspoon each of cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
Stir frequently. Cook until chicken is done to 165ยฐ and onion and pepper are tenderโabout 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 the top with about ยฝ cup of shredded cheese over the entire surface and about ยพ cup of the chicken mixture over half 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.
Serve with your favorite toppings and side dishes.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
How to serve
Serve with refried beans, Mexican rice, and chunky guacamole. Top with sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, or your favorite taco toppings.
Related Recipes
Don't forget to check out some other easy fajita recipes like Easy Chicken Fajitas, Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas, and Grilled Chicken Fajitas. Or try out Marinated Steak Fajitas or Pork Tenderloin Fajitas.
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โ๏ธLeftovers and reheating
Store leftovers in the refrigerator, sealed airtight, for 3 days or freeze them 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.
Using rotisserie chicken
Yes, add pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken after a few minutes of cooking the bell peppers 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.
โ๏ธFAQs
Aย 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. 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.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
๐The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
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
- ยฝ teaspoon cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
- ยฝ teaspoon garilc powder
- ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 8-inch tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cheese of choice
- 3 tablespoons oil - for fry pan use
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Slice 1 medium onion into ยผ inch slices and 1 green or red pepper into ยฝ inch wide slices. You can cut the strips into shorter strips to make serving easier.
- Trim ยพ to 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast into ยผ 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, ยฝ teaspoon each of cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
- Stir frequently. Cook until chicken is done to 165ยฐ and onion and pepper are tenderโabout 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 ยฝ cup shredded cheese over the entire surface and about ยพ cup of the chicken mixture over 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.
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.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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