You guys. I didn’t know if anything could ever top my Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas, but we now have a very strong contender! These Ultimate BBQ Chicken Quesadillas are packed with tender chicken pieces, creamy cheddar, spicy jalapeños, black beans, cilantro, and red onion, and drenched in the tangy goodness of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce. They’re simply incredible.
Flexible Filling Ingredients
This recipe is quite flexible, too. If you’re not into black beans, just double the chicken. Not into chicken (or want a vegetarian version), double the black beans. Jalapeños too hot or does cilantro taste like soap to you? Either one of them can be skipped and you’ll still have a really rockin’ quesadilla. Want to try something fun? Add some crushed (and well drained) pineapple!
What Type of Chicken Should I Use?
Any pre-cooked chicken will work for these BBQ chicken quesadillas. If you’re in the habit of buying rotisserie chickens, just use one breast (from one side) and chop the meat into small cubes. Grilled chicken also works great and lends an even smokier flavor. Or, you could make a batch of my Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken and use that. I used one boneless, skinless chicken breast that I cooked on my countertop grill, but you could also just cook it up quickly in a skillet if needed. Just aim for about 1.5 cups of cooked chicken.
You ready for this awesomeness??
Ultimate BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
Servings 5 2 quesadillas eachIngredients
- 1.5 cups chopped cooked chicken ($1.50)
- 1 15oz. can black beans, drained ($0.95)
- 1/4 red onion ($0.19)
- 1 jalapeño ($0.12)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro ($0.23)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar ($1.99)
- 1 tsp chili powder ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce ($0.53)
- 10 7-inch flour tortillas ($1.58)
Instructions
- Add the chopped chicken and drained black beans to a large bowl. Finely dice the red onion. Remove the seeds from the jalapeño, then finely dice. Pull the cilantro leaves from their stems and roughly chop. Add the onion, jalapeño, cilantro, shredded cheddar, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and BBQ sauce to the bowl with the chicken and beans. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Place about 1/3 cup of the BBQ chicken mixture on each tortilla and spread it evenly over one half of the surface. Fold the tortilla closed. Cook the filled and folded tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, until the outside is brown and crispy, the filling has heated through, and the cheese has melted. Cut each quesadilla in half and serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make BBQ Chicken Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
Begin by chopping about 1.5 cups of cooked chicken into small pieces. You can use grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or even chicken that has simply been cooked in a skillet.
Finely dice 1/4 of a red onion. Remove the seeds from one jalapeño and also finely dice. Pull the leaves from the stems of about 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, and roughly chop them. Shred 2 cups of cheddar (if not already shredded).
Add the chopped chicken, one 15oz. can of black beans (drained), red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and cheddar to a large bowl.
Add 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, and 1/4 salt to the bowl.
Stir until everything is well combined and coated in BBQ sauce.
Place about 1/3 cup of the BBQ chicken filling on each 7-inch flour tortilla and spread it over one side. Fold the tortillas closed.
Cook the tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until they are brown and crispy on the outside, heated through, and the cheese is melted.
Slice each Ultimate BBQ Chicken Quesadilla in half and serve!
Serious flavor bomb!!
This is one I keep coming back to. So flavorful!
It is amazing how delicious these can be with so little effort—can’t recommend enough! When I ate meat I made the recipe as written, and now that I’m cutting down on meat, I substitute a can of pinto beans for the chicken. So good!
I swear this recipe has saved my life sometimes. It is my absolute go to for when I don’t have the energy to cook – it’s so fast and easy and flavorful.
Easy to prep: just mixing a bowl of the filling, and then for several evenings I’ll have dinner ready in a handful of minutes.
It hits that perfect sweet spot between low effort and high reward.
I cannot stop raving about these. Husband doesn’t like bbq sauce, so we did 1/4 cup just in the mix and none on the tortillas. We buttered the tortillas before cooking and used two 7 in tortillas per quesadilla (so no folding) . Amazing.
Fabulous! Needs a bit more cheese, but my family is super pumped! Love
I love this recipe. I have made it with chicken, but last time I made it I was batch cooking and accidentally added beef to the pan I cooked the onions in. I rolled with it and made this recipe with beef and it was just as good!
An easy crowd pleaser. Husband and kid-approved