I’ve had a couple cans of green chiles in my pantry that need to be used up, so I decided to toss them into my favorite breakfast—a tortilla, egg, and cheese quesadilla. I also had some leftover cilantro in the fridge, so I thought, “Why the heck not?” and tossed it in there as well. What are the chances that you’ll have all these same leftovers in your fridge and pantry? I dunno. But if you ever do, I highly suggest making these super simple, filling, and delicious Green Chile Breakfast Quesadillas.
And if you don’t have the same leftovers in your fridge as I do, just remember:
Tortilla + Cheese + *Wild Card* = recipe for deliciousness.
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Green Chile Breakfast Quesadillas
Servings 4 quesadillasIngredients
- 4 oz. Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack, shredded ($1.25)
- 1 4 oz. can diced mild green chiles ($0.87)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped ($0.24)
- 4 large eggs ($0.89)
- 4 fajita size 8″ diameter tortillas ($0.95)
Instructions
- Drain the green chiles well. Add them to a bowl with the shredded cheese and chopped cilantro, and stir until everything is evenly mixed.
- Cook the four large eggs over easy (or your favorite method) in a large skillet.
- Spread 1/4 of the cheese and chile filling over half of each tortilla, then top each with an egg. Fold the tortillas closed to make a half circle.
- Cook two quesadillas at a time in the large skillet over medium heat until the outsides are golden brown and crispy and the cheese is melted inside (cook on each side). Cut each quesadilla in half or into thirds to form triangles. A pizza cutter works well for this job. Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Green Chile Breakfast Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
First gather the ingredients for the filling. I used 4 oz. of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (pepper jack would also be awesome if you like things spicy), one 4oz. can of diced green chiles (drained well), and about 1/4 bunch or handful of fresh cilantro, chopped.
Mix these three ingredients together in a bowl. This is your quesadilla filling. This will last a few days in the fridge, if you want to just make one quesadilla at a time.
Cook four large eggs using your favorite method. My original intention was to scramble the eggs, but then I decided to cook them over easy instead. I wanted that creamy yolk and for the skillet to be left clean, so that I could use it to cook the quesadillas. For each quesadilla, spread 1/4 of the filling over half of the tortilla, top it with a cooked egg, then fold the quesadilla in half to make a half circle.
I must have been really distracted when I made these, because I forgot to get a picture of them in the skillet. Anyway, once they’re folded in half, just cook the quesadillas in a large skillet over medium heat until golden brown and crispy on both sides and the cheese is melted inside. Two quesadillas usually fit in the skillet at a time. After cooking, cut the quesadillas in half, or into thirds to make triangles. A pizza cutter works great for cutting quesadillas and if you cut from the outside edge in towards the fold, that will help keep the gooey insides IN, instead of squishing out. :)
Speaking of gooey insides… OHHHH YEAHHH. Green Chile Breakfast Quesadillas FOR THE WIN.
Great quick breakfast. Delicious and easy on the wallet.
What kind of green chili’s do you get? We went to Santa Fe, NM and there were roasted green chilies in everything. My husband was in heaven. I am hoping this will be similar.
If you were in New Mexico they were probably fresh green chiles that they roasted, which will taste a lot different than canned green chiles that you can buy in the store. I like them both, but for their own reasons. I used canned green chiles for this recipe, but when using fresh green chiles I use Hatch. They’re usually only available seasonally, though.
a must try
Holy cow these are so freaking delicious! I used hot chili and it was devine, monterey jack is the perfect creamy consistency and the crunch from the tortilla kicks butt. I’m going to use this for this week’s breakfast prep! So delicious!
Perfect. Will use low carb tortillas.
These are so good! And easy! I’ve had 3 days in a row now and plan on having again tomorrow.
Do you think I could make a bunch of these and freeze them? They look delicious and I am always looking for more make-ahead options
Yes, that should work well. I’ve freeze quesadillas quite often. :)
What’s the best way to reheat quesadillas after freezing them?
I like to take them straight from the freezer and put them in a skillet, over fairly low heat. I keep the heat low because that gives it time to thaw and heat through before the tortilla has a chance to brown on the outside. I use a non-stick skillet, so it doesn’t even need any oil or anything. :)
Made these for breakfast and it was so easy and quick. (And right now I’m finishing up last night’s Egg Drop Soup for my lunch.) I seriously have yet to find a “bad” recipe on your site.
I did not think that a cup of cheese would be enough. But after trying the recipe with more than one cup of cheese, I realized it would have been just fine. Hahaha
Delicious! Served with salsa and sour cream. I also added green onions to the filling. We had red salsa, but tomatillo would have been even better!
I wanted something super simple for breakfast and this fit the bill! The chilies made it so much better than a normal breakfast quesadilla. I love how quickly this came together and how filling it was. Thanks for another great winner!
These are my new favorites. I can’t stop eating them. In fact, I want some right now!
My wife is one of those mutants who thinks cilantro tastes like soap. Any suggestions for a substitute?
Green onion would also be fantastic, or you can just leave it out. :)
I stumbled onto this recipe from Pinterest and I am a total sucker for a good breakfast recipe. Your recipe inspired me to make this with a twist: fried egg, on a spinach tortilla, with shredded hash browns, cheese, and a dash of siracha!!
I’m a newbie blogger so check out some of my stuff sometime! Love your blog ❤️
http://www.lovinglywrong.com
I’ve never made an egg without scrambling it or frying it, how did you prepare the egg without oil? (Sorry kitchen newbie)
I usually just do a quick spritz of non-stick spray and use a non-stick skillet. :)
Thanks a lot :)
Just made these this morning and they were a big hit!
Brilliant! I desperately needed something uncomplicated to feed my crew tomorrow morning, and of course, I come here and find a fantastic idea. You rock, Beth!
I forgot to add 5 stars!
This is in my Top 10! I have three teen athletes who eat non-stop. I have 22 free range chickens and a plethora of fresh eggs. This quesadilla satisfies like nothing else. The kids add salsa out of the jar instead of the chiles and cilantro. This is a healthy, high protein snack or breakfast for them! I never thought of adding an egg to a quesadilla. Thanks Beth.
I don’t eat eggs at all in any form lol. But the rest of the recipe sounds amazing. Do you think I could make it without egg, or do you have any suggestions on something I could substitute? Thank you in advance
Yes, absolutely! It would be like a regular cheese quesadilla, plus the extra yummies. :)
Thank you! I always have to ask because Ive tried several recipes over the years with out eggs n had them come out odd lol.
Can these be frozen? And if so, can I pop them in the microwave to heat them up in the morning?
You can freeze them although they’ll probably reheat better in a skillet on low heat so that the outside gets nice and crispy. :)
These look amazing! I’ve been sitting here racking my brain about what I should take to work tomorrow for lunch, nothing has sounded good until I found this! I can’t wait to try it!
Did this and variations of this (without eggs but with chicken) and all of them were delicious!
I did it on a george foreman grill (which can act as a panini press) and it was perfect
Wow! These are soooooooo good. My new favorite recipe. I have made this recipe 3 times now. I make 1 for dinner with salsa & then have a quick breakfast to take to work for the next 3 days. Thanks!!!
Oh gosh, this was great! I subbed green onions for the cilantro, because that’s what I had, but I’ll have to try the cilantro way sometime soon. :) I feel all protein-rich and ready to face the day now.
The are AMAZING. I threw in some jarred nopales for extra texture and oh man are these good or what.
We made these for breakfast yesterday and they were delicious! As usual, this was another fantastic recipe that we will use often. We might try adding some sausage or pulled chicken and make it for dinner one night. Thanks for posting this!
I LOVE YOUR BLOG. I can’t think of a recipe I have tried that I didn’t like. Wondering if you could clue me in to where you get the prices? Do you just use the price that you actually pay at the store and keep a spreadsheet? As the prices differ everywhere, I’d like to track on my own, but didn’t know if you might have an online resource for the prices?
Girl, I’ve got you covered. I made this tutorial about how to calculate your own recipe prices because it’s probably the most eye opening thing you can do. I use the most recent price I paid for each ingredient and just use the blog to keep record, rather than an actual spreadsheet. :)
Thanks for the idea! I didn’t have green chiles so I used sriracha. I also had a ton of spinach on hand and some leftover parmesan so I threw that on there too. It’s delicious. It’s perfect for a quick dinner.
wow, this looks great!
Call me inspired! I, too, found a can of green chiles in my pantry and made a quesadilla this morning! I added some seasoned up pinto beans to mine and had green onions instead of cilantro.
These look amazing! Think I’ll make them this weekend and maybe add some Chorizo and black beans.
I know these are supposed to be for breakfast, but I think I’m going to make them for dinner and serve them with a black bean and avocado salad.
I don’t know why, but I never make breakfast quesadillas. I make breakfast burritos pretty regularly though. This looks like a great change of pace. In terms of pizza cutters, this is going to sound geeky but, the enterprise pizza cutter (yes, from star trek) is the absolute best pizza cutter I’ve ever used. In case you were looking for the best one out there ;)
That looks fantastic! Going to try it soon. Thanks. :)
Haha, I definitely have all of these in my fridge right now from making flautas. So this is perfect! Thank you! I always need new breakfast ideas.
I happened to have the same leftovers in my fridge, and I just came home starving from my morning run, so I made one for a midmorning snack. Absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to have another tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe, I loved it!
Thank you once again for helping me think creatively on a budget and get healthy food into my SIX hungry boys!!!!
We are boring breakfast people, scrambled eggs & bacon and maybe fruit. Same thing every morning! I think you’ve just spiced up the routine with this breakfast quesadillas! I love a good dillas! I’m going to ask Olaf to give you a nice warm hug for me, thanks for sharing =)
This looks like an absolutely wonderful breakfast!! I’m going to have to make sure I have the same “leftovers” in my fridge!