This is like, “the week of quesadillas” at my house. LOL. When the concept for these super easy creamy quesadillas first came into my head I couldn’t decide whether to make them with chicken or do a vegetarian version, so I just made both! While I love both versions of this quesadilla, the incredible ease and low cost of these Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas might make them the winner. They literally only take about 20 minutes and are so freaking good.
If you want the chicken version, head over to the post for Creamy Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas.
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What to Serve with Spinach and White Bean Quesadillas
Because the filling for these quesadillas is so rich and creamy, they really benefit from being served with a nice tangy salsa or pico de gallo. The salsa I used is a smoky chipotle red salsa, which paired so well with the flavors of the quesadillas. Normally quesadillas would be served with some sour cream or guacamole dolloped on top, but there is so much creaminess already that I think that would be overkill.
What type of white beans should I use?
I definitely suggest using cannellini beans for this recipe because of their large size, firm texture, and ability to hold their shape. Other white beans, like navy beans, tend to break down and are better suited for use in soups, stews, or recipes where they’ll be mashed. If you want to read more about the common types of white beans and how they’re best used, check out this helpful guide from Camellia Beans.
Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas
Servings 4 quesadillasIngredients
- 1 15oz. can cannellini beans ($0.69)
- 3/4 tsp chili powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 cups fresh spinach ($0.87)
- 4 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded ($1.00)
- 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.35)
- 4 8-inch flour tortillas ($0.96)
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the cannellini beans well. Once well drained, transfer them to a bowl and add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Stir to combine the beans with the spices.
- Roughly chop the spinach into smaller pieces. Add the spinach, cheese, and sour cream to the bowl with the beans, then stir to combine.
- Divide the spinach and bean mixture between the four tortillas, then fold them in half to close.
- Cook the quesadillas, one or two at a time, in a skillet* over medium heat until the tortillas are brown and crispy and the filling is melted and gooey (3-5 minutes each side).
- Cut the quesadillas in half, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Spinach and White Bean Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
Begin by rinsing and draining a 15oz. can of cannellini beans. Make sure they’re drained well, then place them in a bowl with 3/4 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, and 1/8 tsp salt. Stir to coat the beans in the spices.
Roughly chop about 2 cups of spinach into smaller pieces.
Combine the seasoned beans and chopped spinach in a bowl with 4 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese and 1/2 cup sour cream. Stir to combine these ingredients.
Divide the spinach and bean mixture between the four tortillas, covering half of the tortilla, then fold them in half to close.
Cook the quesadillas, one or two at a time, in a skillet over medium heat until the tortillas are brown and crispy, and the filling is melted. I don’t add oil to my skillet, but you can if you prefer a more fried-like texture to the tortillas. (The residue you see in the skillet is splatter from juices coming out of the quesadilla.)
Slice the cooked quesadillas in half and serve!
As mentioned above, I LOVE these Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas served with a nice tangy salsa!
These are delicious, fast and filling. I used barbeque seasoning and colby jack cheese because that is what I had on hand but I love how fast, easy and versatile this recipe is. Thank you!!
Made these this evening and they were great! So quick and little clean up. I followed the recipe, but see lots of potential for changing it up depending what I have on hand. I’ll definitely be sharing this recipe.
We had these for dinner today. It was a hit with the whole family! Used frozen chopped spinach and cottage cheese instead of sour cream. Turned out great! And I used enchilada sauce instead of salsa, cuz that’s what we had 😄
Thanks for the recipe!
I love this idea, but just don’t care for the texture of cooked spinach. Do you have any other vegetable suggestions?
Diced green chiles would be awesome in this!
I want to make these for some friends tomorrow but wondering if I could bake them instead so I can pop them in the oven when we’re ready instead of hovering over the stove. They sound delicious! Love the green chiles idea too!
I actually tested baking these before I used my usual skillet method and I found that the bottoms got quite soggy when I tried. There may be a way around that (maybe flipping them?) but I think the skillet definitely works better.
Should I use baby spinach or mature spinach? Could I use frozen spinach?
You’ll probably want to use baby spinach, since it’s more tender. You could potentially use frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed of all excess moisture), but the texture won’t be nearly as good.
Can I use white kidney beans? That’s all I have on hand.
Never mind, they’re the same thing!!
Yummy and quick pleased picky hubs and 4 kiddos under the age of 8 :) I did use nonfat Greek yogurt. Next time I may more add more heat to my portion because I love spicy but the rest of the family definitely enjoyed this recipe as is.
These are soooo delicious! The only change I made was adding green chilis before I cooked it, because I like it spicy! But my first quesadilla didn’t have any chilis and it was delicious also. Such good seasoning, I love your recipes! Thank you, Beth.
Simple, quick and delicious.
I am always looking for new ideas for our weekly meatless meals. These are definitely going in the rotation. I followed the recipe exactly and they were easy and delicious.
Could you sub Greek yoghurt for sour cream to make it a bit healthier? We made it today with Sour cream and itnwas delicious of course!
I think that’s going to just be a matter of personal preference, whether you mind the flavor change or not. :) I’m not usually a fan of swapping yogurt for sour cream for most things, but I know a lot of people don’t mind it. If you do, I would definitely not use a low-fat because it will end up being too acidic and not creamy enough.
I’ve always made this recipe with greek yogurt and its delicious
Also made with nonfat Greek yogurt turned out delish still, loved the recipe :) crowd pleaser for my family of 6.
Would frozen broccoli work instead of fresh?
This recipe doesn’t have broccoli. Did you mean spinach?
Did you have a salsa recipe to go with these?
That’s just a store bought salsa in the photos, but if you want to try a homemade salsa you can try my Fire Roasted Salsa.
We didn’t have pepper jack or sour cream but I subbed sharp cheddar and used gluten free tortillas. They were picky-8-year-old approved
Love, love, love these. Made for the first time this spring and now in the regular rotation of dinners. I make my own tortillas and between their size, the fact I cook for one (keep the filling for 2 additional nights) and the deliciousness I find I only get three servings. But that’s three great dinners prepped in a flash.
We don’t have this cheese where we live. Can I replace it with some other cheese?
Yep, you can replace it with other cheese as long as it’s a variety that melts decently well. If you have Monterrey Jack, to my knowledge, that’s the same thing just without the pepper bits, which you could add in separately if you wanted to be as close as possible to the recipe, but a Mexican blend would probably work well (or just whatever is available).
I thought this recipe was great, but I thought it was kind of odd to mix the sour cream in, so I left it out and drizzled it on top instead. Tasty!