Eggs and vegetables, or just the pan
Quick Vegetable Quesadillas
Tortillas, cheese, and a vegetable you have already cooked or can soften in five minutes. The pan should be hot enough that the tortilla browns before the cheese leaks everywhere. Salsa on the side.
Prep: 8 minutesCook: 12 minutesServes: 4Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil, plus a little more for the pan if it is sticking
- 1 bell pepper, sliced, or 1 1/2 cups leftover cooked vegetables
- 1 small onion, sliced
- Salt
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, such as cheddar or Monterey Jack
- Optional: a beaten egg stirred into the vegetables if you want more in the filling
- Salsa, for serving
Instructions
- If the vegetables are raw, warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the pepper and onion with a pinch of salt until they soften, about 6 minutes. If you are using an egg, push the vegetables aside, pour the egg in, and scramble it into them. Move the filling to a plate and wipe the pan.
- If the vegetables are already cooked, skip to the pan and just season them.
- Set the skillet over medium heat. Lay in one tortilla. Scatter cheese on half of it, add a quarter of the vegetables, and fold it closed. Cook until the bottom is spotted brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is brown and the cheese has melted.
- Repeat with the rest. Cut each quesadilla in wedges. Serve with salsa.
Substitutions
- Bell pepper: leftover broccoli, spinach wilted in the pan, or beans mashed with a fork.
- Cheese: a smaller amount still works. Without any cheese the tortilla will not glue shut, so use at least a little, or spread a spoon of beans as the glue.
- Flour tortillas: corn tortillas, cooked more gently so they do not crack. Eat them as soft tacos if they will not fold cleanly.
Storage
These are best the day you cook them. Leftover wedges can be refrigerated one day and reheated in a dry skillet. The tortilla will be firmer the second time, which some people like and some do not.