Quesadillas de Pollo (Chicken Quesadillas)

You need three main ingredients to make delicious and easy Quesadillas de Pollo (Chicken Quesadillas): Cheese, Chicken, and Tortillas. I seasoned and cooked my chicken ahead of time using my chicken taco seasoning recipe. Then I combined them with the best cheese for quesadillas: chihuahua cheese. It melts so easily and has a nice mild taste. I stuffed that into a tortilla and cooked it in a pan until the cheese was nice and melty. You will love these!

What is a Quesadilla?

A quesadilla is a tortilla stuffed with meat, beans, and/or cheese. It is then folded into a half moon shape, and heated on a griddle or pan until the cheese is melted. Traditionally, a corn tortilla should be used, but I prefer flour tortillas for this dish. A lot of people then top their quesadillas with avocado, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, or hot sauce. I am a purist and just dunked my warm quesadilla de pollo in my favorite hot sauce.

Quesadillas de Pollo y Queso (Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas)

Chicken is one of the most popular types of filling for quesadillas. Chicken and cheese quesadillas are on the menu at most Mexican-American or Tex-Mex restaurants and they can be dressed up with lots of fun toppings or be super basic and just include chicken and cheese. A lot of kids find comfort in Chicken Quesadillas because it is made from a few foods that they already know they like.

My favorite type of cheese to use to make for a quesadilla de pollo is chihuahua cheese. This type of cheese is really similar to monterey jack cheese. It has a mild flavor and it melts very easily. This type of quesadilla is popular in northern Mexico where the use of flour tortillas is popular. The use of corn tortillas for quesadillas are more popular in southern and central Mexico.

To make my chicken, I seasoned chicken breast using my chicken taco seasoning recipe, and then I cooked them and let them rest. Then, I chopped up the chicken, mixed it with my cheese and grilled my quesadillas. I like to dip my chicken quesadilla in a jalapeño hot sauce that I got from Trader Joes. It is super spicy, so a little goes a long way.

Simple Quesadillas de Pollo (Chicken Quesadillas) Recipe

You can either use leftover chicken, chicken from a rotisserie chicken, or make your own chicken for this dish. If you are cooking your own chicken, you can use the spice blend that I included in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS  

Chicken

• 1 lb chicken breast there should be about 4 chicken breasts in a lb. If there are only 2, then these are thicker and may require longer cooking time.
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Quesadilla

• 2 flour tortillas This should make 2 or 3 quesadillas, depending on how much chicken you use in each quesadilla
• 12 oz shredded chihuahua cheese or monterey jack
• butter or olive oil for cooking

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Add your seasoning to your chicken breast and cook each breast in a lightly oiled pan over medium heat for 6-7 minutes on each side. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
• chop up your chicken
• Heat up your pan on medium heat, add 1/2 tbsp of butter or oil to a pan, lay a tortilla down and on one half of the tortilla add about 1/4 cup of cheese, followed by a 1/3 cup of chopped chicken, and another 1/4 cup of cheese. You can use more cheese if you like. 
• Flip over the other half of the tortilla so that it covers your cheese and chicken. Cook on one side until it starts to brown and then carefully flip over your quesadilla so that the cheese can melt on the other side. Once both sides are golden brown and melty, remove from heat and set aside. 
• Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve with topping of your choice.