These super tasty Black Bean Quesadillas have been a runaway Budget Bytes hit since they were first posted in 2012. The spicy mix of cheese, beans, corn, cilantro, and onion makes and incredibly flavorful quesadilla that’s perfect for dipping in some cool sour cream or salsa. Make up an entire batch and freeze some for later!
Why I’m In Love with These Quesadillas ❤️
I love these quesadillas for three reasons:
- they’re bursting with flavor
- incredibly EASY to make
- perfect for the freezer!
Students and other busy people take note: this recipe is perfect for you!
I called them “hearty” black bean quesadillas because they are surprisingly filling. I hastily ate two and then promptly felt like my belly was not just full, but full-full. This is one of those vegetarian recipes that meat-eaters won’t feel deprived when eating. Promise.
How to Freeze Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas
These quesadillas are perfect for freezing and will last two to three months in the freezer. Just fill and fold your quesadillas, but before you cook them, stack them with parchment paper in between each quesadilla. Place the stacked quesadillas in a gallon-sized freezer bag (or two) and pop them into the freezer. When you want to eat one, take a quesadilla out of the freezer and reheat it slowly over medium-low heat until the outside is crispy and the inside has melted. Using a lower heat gives the black bean quesadilla time to thaw and heat on the inside before the outside overcooks or burns.
Or, for a faster method, microwave from frozen for 30-60 seconds, or until the inside is thawed, then finish in a skillet to crisp up the outside and melt the cheese on the inside.
What Kind of Taco Seasoning to Use
To make these black bean quesadillas super fast and easy, you can use a packet of store-bought taco seasoning. Or, if you have a well-stocked spice cabinet, you can use my homemade taco seasoning recipe
What to Serve with Quesadillas
I love to have something like Cumin Lime Coleslaw on the side for an extra dose of vegetable freshness. Warm Corn and Avocado Salad or Charred Corn and Zucchini Salad are also great choices. And don’t forget a little salsa or sour cream for dipping. :)
Make it Meaty
These black bean quesadillas are incredible on their own, but if you DO decide you want to add some meat, try adding some Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, ground beef, Carnitas, or something as simple as chicken breast cooked in a skillet, then diced. They’d all be delish!
Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas
Servings 10 quesadillasIngredients
- 1 15oz.can black beans ($0.49)
- 1 cup frozen corn ($0.20)
- 1/2 cup red onion ($0.22)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (about ½ cup chopped) ($0.20)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese ($1.69)
- 1 batch taco seasoning* ($0.67)
- 10 flour tortillas (7-inch diameter) ($2.00)
Instructions
- Drain the black beans and add them to a bowl along with the frozen corn (no need to thaw)
- Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic, and roughly chop the cilantro.
- Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, shredded cheddar, and taco seasoning to the bowl with the beans and corn. Stir until everything is evenly combined and coated in seasoning.
- Place a half cup of the filling on one side of each tortilla and fold over. Cook the quesadillas in a skillet over medium heat on each side until brown and crispy and the cheesy filling has melted. Slice into triangles then serve.
- To freeze the quesadillas, stack the filled and uncooked quesadillas with a piece of parchment paper between each quesadilla. Place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months. To reheat either microwave (for a soft quesadilla) or cook in a skillet on low heat (make sure to use low heat so that the filling has time to thaw and melt before the outside burns).
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos
How to Make Black Bean Quesadillas – Step By Step Photos
Add 1 cup frozen corn (no need to thaw) and one 15oz. can of black beans (drained) to a large bowl.
Next, finely dice about ½ cup red onion, mince one clove of garlic, and roughly chop about ¼ bunch fresh cilantro. These ingredients are super flexible, so you don’t need to be exact on the measurements.
You can use either one packet of store-bought taco seasoning, or make your own using my Homemade Taco Seasoning recipe.
Add the taco seasoning and 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese to the bowl. The cheese is the “glue” that holds the quesadillas together.
Stir the ingredients until everything is mixed.
Now it’s time to stuff the quesadillas. You’ll need about 10 7-inch diameter flour tortillas for these quesadillas (the tortillas I had today were slightly larger so my quesadillas ended up being a bit thinner). Place a half cup of filling in each tortilla and fold it over. You can either cook them or freeze them at this point (see instructions for freezing in the post above the recipe).
To cook the black bean quesadillas, place the quesadilla in a skillet over medium heat and cook on both sides until golden brown, crispy, and the filling has melted. I don’t use any sort of oil or butter, but you certainly can if you want more of a fried finish to the quesadillas.
Slice then serve! You can slice each quesadilla into two or three pieces. I find that if I cut starting on the outside edge going in toward the center fold, I get less of the filling oozing out. A pizza cutter also works great!
Just made these- they were so good! I think I used larger tortillas or too much filling, since I only ended up getting 7 quesadillas, but they were seriously delicious and filling! They were also super easy too- I made my beans in my Instant Pot (which took a bit of time), but other than that everything came together in just minutes.
Great recipe!!!
Question – how about a recipe for bbq chicken quesadillas? I put the following in mine:
shredded cooked chicken
sweet baby ray’s bbq sauce
grated sharp white cheddar cheese
cilantro
caramelized onions
sriracha for some spiciness (if desired)
so yummy!
Excellent idea, Josh!! I’ll be doing that soon. :)
My spouse made these for the first time about a year ago. Since then, they circle our staple-recipe rotation. He loves how easy they are to make, and I love that they can be frozen and reheated. We add diced cooked chicken breast occasionally for added protein, and love eating them with sides of avocado and salsa. Since I don’t love raw red onion, I cook it a little before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
Recently, we had several servings of filling in the fridge from the night before’s dinner, and made breakfast quesadillas by adding scrambled eggs to the inside before toasting the tortilla.
I am literally just finished making these and they are fantastic! So flavorful and filling. I wanted a little heat so added some diced green chili peppers and half the juice of a lime. Definitely making again!!
Just as an FYI to all: These work splendidly with vegan shredded “cheese” (I used Daiya brand cheddar-style, which I find pretty much tastes like Kraft Singles, which to me isn’t really a bad thing lol). I’m lactose intolerant so I try to avoid real cheese whenever possible (though of course sometimes nothing beats the real thing, in which case I brave the upset tummy!), and I wanted to try one of my old BB faves without the stomachache. Plus, replacing the cheese makes the recipe vegan! Hooray!
Though I’ve loved your blog for years, I recently started grad school and have been working my way through a ton of your recipes. I finally got around to making this BB classic – it did not disappoint! I used fresh corn since it was on sale and added some lime and avocado that I had. So delicious.
I made these last night they are delicious and recie is simple to follow. I never can cook anything so give it a try. Thank you.
I made these yesterday and they turned out great, even with a few below average ingredients. I had to work with frozen coriander, and a quickly put together taco seasoning that was missing a few key ingredients.
For cheese I used Tilsiter which is readily available in Germany and bakes really well. Made a quick salsa from canned tomatoes and it made a great meal.
Would cooking these in a skillet and *then* freezing them to nuke later work? I love the thought of freezing them, but a soft and potentially soggy quesadilla doesn’t sound as good as a nice, crispy one.
If you cook first, then freeze, you’ll either end up over browning the tortilla on the outside when trying to reheat in a skillet, or have a soft tortilla if you reheat in the microwave. Browning first in the skillet won’t keep it from being soft after thawing, unfortunately. If you freeze before cooking in a skillet you can brown/crisp the tortilla as it reheats without having it brown twice or over brown. That’s hard to explain, so I hope it made sense! :)
I made these even though I don’t like black beans (I told myself I would try it once and then modify if needed). However, these were so delicious that no changes were needed. My husband, who is a devoted carnivore, also said they were absolutely delicious.
This is my favorite recipe on your site. It’s so quick and easy, but equally delicious. They re-heat so well, you’d never know they were frozen. Both times I’ve made the recipe, I ended up with more filling than tortillas.. BUT, the next morning I used the excess as an omelette filling. Also an AWESOME filling for southwestern omelettes, just add a little sriracha on top for an extra kick to start the day.
Love this recipe, quesadillas are the best. Thanks simon.
Could you add rice to it and skip the corn?
Sure! :)
Do you think it would work cooking these in a sandwich press instead of a skillet?
Yes, probably! As long as the grooves in the press are not too deep. :)
This is my favorite recipe from your blog (and I really like a lot of them)! I share it with friends and they’re psyched about it too. Thank you!