Easy bean quesadillas recipe and spicy salsa

I have been working from home this past week which has given me a lot of time to think, walk around to take breaks and to also experiment a lot with my cooking. In less than a week I will be traveling for christmas (if the transport strike allows me to, and I truly hope it does) which means I am busier than ever with planning for tofucado. In the midst of all of this thinking and planning, and hoping, I realized that I had never made a homemade quesadillas at home. And I love quesadillas. Which is why today I bring you my easy bean quesadillas recipe and spicy salsa, tried and tested during my week working at home.

Quesadillas are a Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla filled with cheese and sometimes other fillings. Most mexican quesadillas are made with Oaxaca cheese, which is a gluey-like white cheese. The type of tortilla used is generally a corn tortilla. The basic quesadilla is cooked in under 5 minutes: One tortilla, put cheese in the middle, wrap it and reheat it so the cheese melts.

Easy Bean Quesadillas Recipe: The ingredients

For 3 quesadillas:

• 1 red onion
• 1 red bell pepper (leaving some unused for the salsa) and 1 green bell pepper (leaving some unused for the salsa)
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1 cup kidney beans
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Tons of shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheedar, mozzarella and emmental)
• 6 tortillas

For a lot of salsa:

• 1 yellow onion (diced)
• The remaining green and bell pepper
• A handful of cherry tomatoes (ripe)
• 1 can of peeled tomatoes with its juice
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1/2 cup of veggie broth
• 1 tbsp of chili (If you don’t want it to be too spicy, I’d suggest not adding this tbsp of chili)
• 1 tbsp “mexican spice mix (garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, chili)

If you want more spicy food…
Korean mandu and kimchi stew

Easy Bean Quesadillas Recipe: The How-to

I’d say this is one of the easiest recipes to be featured in the blog. The first step is to prepare the ingredients. Chop all the vegetables in dices (onion, bell pepper and tomatoes) and cook them for 5 minutes. Add the beans and the corn 5 minutes after you started cooking the vegetables. Continue cooking until all the mixture is nicely cooked (around 10 minutes). I added a bit of salt & pepper for seasoning.

The easy bean quesadillas recipe preparation

Now, we are making full tortillas, which means we are going to use 2 tortilla for 1 quesadilla. Place 1 tortilla in the pan, put a layer of cheese, followed by a layer of veggies, then a last layer of cheese. Cover with another tortilla. Remember you are making tortillas, not calzones, so don’t put a lot of bean veggie filling.

Reduce heat and cover with lid. The tortilla shouldn’t burn, so be careful with the smoke. If there is a lot of smoke, remove from heat and repeat until the cheese is starting to melt. I flipped my quesadillas mid-way through cooking with the help of a plate that was the same size as my pan.

The salsa for the bean quesadillas recipe

To make the salsa, put a bit of olive oil in a non-stick pot. Then add all the veggies and the spices (without the canned tomatoes). Cook for around 5 minutes then add the canned tomatoes and the 1/2 cup of broth. Cook for about 20 minutes stirring every now and then.

Easy Bean Quesadillas Recipe: Yes or No?

I’d say: grab your wallet and go get the ingredients needed for this because this was glorious. I don’t think it was such a great idea to try this recipe at home because I will want to make it all the time now. Specially that mexican spicy sauce I improvised.

These easy bean quesadillas are a great thing to prepare if you have people over as well. They are great for sharing and unless your friends don’t like cheese, these will be a success. And talking about not liking or eating cheese…

How can I make these vegan?

Your friends might either be vegan or just not like cheese at all, so… what are the alternatives?

You can totally swap the non-vegan cheese with vegan cheese, or even add some tofu sauce to the quesadillas to get that creamy consistency. You can also just not add any cheese at all, but I don’t think those would still be considered quesadillas.

How long can I store them in the fridge?

Yes you can totally store them. I’d say max 2 to three days. It all depends on the freshness of the ingredients, but I wouldn’t fridge store it for too long.

If you want to freeze them, you can do the entire preparation, let them cool to room temperature and then wrap them in plastic or silicone bags. To re-heat them after freezing them, take out the wrap/silicone bag, and reheat them in microwave.

What to eat these quesadillas with?

Quesadillas are quite versatile and they can go with many things. I’d say a good guacamole and sour cream are great dips, like the salsa I prepared myself. If you want to go less salsa-ish and more healthy-ish, go for some side salad. But if you are more into cheese, you can side these easy bean quesadillas with some delicious cheese dip.

Tag @tofu_cado on Instagram and hashtag it #tofucado and tell me your experience with this recipe!

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