Baked Chicken Corn Tortilla Quesadillas
If Chicken Enchiladas and Cheese Quesadillas had a baby, it would be this incredible Corn Tortilla Quesadilla Recipe! To save time, they are all baked on a sheet pan in the oven for crispy edges, a soft gooey center, and mouthwatering flavor. I filled corn tortillas with hearty shredded chicken, flavored with warm and smoky Mexican spices. Then layered in shredded Pepper Jack cheese and Cheddar that gets so melty and oozy and delicious.
Servings 8 Round Quesadillas
Calories 402kcal
Ingredients
Chicken
- 16 ounces Chicken Breast, skinless and boneless
- 1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Salt (divided - 1 teaspoon before roasting, 1 teaspoon after shredded)
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 tablespoons Water
All Other
- 16 5-6" Corn Tortillas
- 12 ounces Shredded Cheddar, Pepper Jack, or Jack Cheese
- 1 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil or spray
Instructions
Prep-Ahead Steps
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Drizzle a little bit of Olive Oil on the chicken and rub it all around. Then sprinkle all sides of chicken with Salt & Pepper and roast in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes until temperature reaches 165 degrees in center. Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, shred it with 2 forks or with fingers.
- Add the shredded chicken to a bowl with the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, and water. Mix to combine and coat the shredded chicken with the seasoning.
Assembly and Cooking Steps
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Lay out 8 tortillas on an oiled large sheet pan or split the tortillas 4 and 4 on two oiled sheet pans. Over each of the 8 tortillas, sprinkle a layer of the shredded cheese. Then add shredded chicken and sprinkle more shredded cheese. Then top with the second tortilla and spray or brush with olive oil.
- Bake the quesadillas in the oven for 10 minutes, then take the pans out and flip the quesadillas over with a large spatula. Bake for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, cut them into four triangles each, serve with your favorite accompaniments (guac, sour cream, tomatoes, etc), and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The recipe includes 8 round quesadillas, yielding 4 triangles each. As an appetizer, it has 16 servings of 2 triangles per serving. As a main dish, it can serve 4-6 people. Nutritional Content and Calories based on 5 servings.
- What other fillings could I use? Any taco meat you would use, you can use here! So, aside from shredded chicken, you could add chorizo, ground beef, shredded beef or pork, or even leftover Thanksgiving turkey! If you want to add veggies, sauteed onions, green peppers, red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, or any other veggie that you can slice thin and then cook to soften. To pre-cook the veggies, slice thin and then cook with a touch of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until glistening and slightly softened.
- Are there other cheeses that would work? Cheese options that melt the best in this recipe are shredded cheddar, monterey jack cheese, colbey, pepper jack cheese, or even mozzarella or Manchego.
