Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas are easy, cheesy and budget friendly. Use leftover rotisserie chicken for a quick lunch or dinner recipe the whole family will love. You only need a few ingredients for this simple recipe!

I’ve been making this cheesy chicken quesadilla recipe for years. It’s one of my favorite ways to use up leftover chicken because they’re super easy to make and everybody loves them. Even my pickiest eater has zero complaints when quesadillas are on the dinner menu! We also like Leftover BBQ Chicken Quesadillas and Chicken Caprese Quesadillas!

This recipe is super budget friendly and a great way to stretch out leftover chicken. Black beans add flavor, texture and protein, so you don’t need as much meat to make these!

If you don’t have leftover chicken, you can use baked chicken breasts or cook chicken breasts in the Instant Pot or air fryer. Or, just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store. Since you only need a cup of chicken for this recipe, use the rest to make Easy Chicken Pot Pie Casserole or Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Casserole– super easy!

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients to make quesadillas with chicken:

• Cooked chicken
• Black beans
• Jalapeño peppers — optional if you don’t like spice
• Onion — optional, but adds flavor
• Taco seasoning — Homemade taco seasoning or a packet
• Cheese — I use Mexican blend
• Tortillas

How to Make Chicken Quesadillas with Black Beans

First, cut up your chicken into bite-sized pieces. You only need a cup of chicken and a half a cup of black beans.

Finely seed and chop up a jalapeño pepper, and dice an onion. You only need about half a cup for this recipe. Tip — I keep chopped onions in the freezer to make meal prep super easy!

Add a little oil to a pan, and sauté the onion and pepper until just soft. Then, add the cooked chicken, beans and taco seasoning.

Heat until just warm. Then, set the pan aside while you make the quesadillas. I use a griddle for this part, but you can use a skillet if that’s what you have.

Heat the tortilla one side. Then, flip and add some shredded cheese to one half of the tortilla. Spoon about a third of the chicken mixture over the cheese, and sprinkle more cheese over the chicken.

Now, fold the tortilla over the filling. Press down with the spatula to flatten and make the tortilla stick to the cheese.

You may have to flip the quesadilla over again to make sure it’s crispy on both sides. When it’s golden brown and crispy, it’s done!

Cut the quesadilla in half or into thirds. Keep the quesadillas covered until you’re finished or serve them as you go.

Now, just repeat the process until you use up all of the ingredients. You should be able to get 3 quesadillas from this recipe.

What to Serve with Quesadillas

Cheesy chicken quesadillas are amazing on their own. But they are even better with toppings and dips!

• Spicy pico de gallo
• Simple guacamole
• Sour Cream
• Diced avocado
• Salsa
• Extra cheese
• Chopped tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, lettuce

Recipe originally published in 2014 and updated in 2021