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
Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper finely chopped
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast cooked and chopped
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- ½ cup canned black beans rinsed and drained
- 3 cups shredded cheese Mexican blend
- 3 large tortillas
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet on medium heat, and sauté pepper and onion until just soft. Add chicken, taco seasoning and black beans, and heat until warm. Set aside
- Heat tortilla in a skillet or griddle on 1 side until just warm. Flip over, and add some of the cheese, and spoon about ⅓ of the chicken mixture on half of the tortilla. Add more cheese over the chicken
- Fold the tortilla over the chicken mixture, and press down with spatula to flatten. Flip over if needed, and heat until tortilla is golden brown and crisp on both sides. Remove to a plate and cut. Repeat 2 more times with remaining ingredients
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
Recipe originally published in 2014 and updated in 2021
Cathy says
Not your average quesadillas! These are so flavorful!
Tisha says
These quesadillas are amazing! We love making quesadillas!
Beth says
This is so delicious and very tasty! My hubby and I absolutely love this recipe! I'll definitely be making this a lot more now!
Dee says
Thank you, Beth! I'm glad you liked them!
Erin says
These Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas are so good!