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!
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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!
THESE WERE PERFECT!!!!!!! Made these last night since I had all the ingredients on hand. I used garlic paste from a tube since I had it in the fridge and I was worried that minced might not incorporate well enough to get rid of the “raw” and bitter flavor. My DH and grandkids scarfed them all down and declared them “make again” worthy. I had fajita-sized tortillas and got 9 beautiful quesadillas out of the recipe. I thought the home-made taco seasoning was spot-on ( and LOVE being able to control the salt content!). I had to laugh, because my 14-year-old granddaughter “hates” beans of any sort and she swooned over these. I’m sure there are many ways to “change these up”, but I’ll keep making them exactly as written until we get sick of them (if we ever do). Thank you, Beth!
Fantastic! These are a huge hit at my house. Plain bean and cheese quesadillas are a thing of the past! . Just as good out of the freezer which is so great for me. I have one kid who doesn’t like melted cheese, so I add a couple tablespoons of refried beans instead to bind everything together which is also a vegan option using vegetarian refried beans. Next time I’m making a double batch and freezing a ton. These didn’t make it 3 weeks in the freezer!
Yum! We loved these. I am going top try this as a tamale filling too. I love tamales but do not eat meat.
My Southern may be showing, but 2 t. of Blue Plate mixed in adds to the creaminess and also helps absorb some of the sharpness of the spice and red onion, without making it too greasy or adding too much to the overall calorie count. As my incredibly intelligent son says, mayonnaise makes everything better. :) Budgetbytes is my favorite, most reliable and most realistic site for recipes, for many years. Thanks, Beth!
Oooh, I never thought about adding mayo to this! Thanks for that great idea!
so delicous!!! thank you for this recipe!
Can you bake these instead of frying?
I haven’t tried it, but it might work. The only issue I can think might happen is that the top side of the tortilla might start to bend or curl up as it bakes. I didn’t fry mine though, I just toasted them in the hot skillet. I didn’t use any oil.
Just made them for dinner and it was a huge hit with the family. Super easy and delicious. This is my new go-to quick dinner from now on.
I just passed this recipe to a friend of mine. This is my go to food when I am too tired to book but still want more than a takeaway.
Thank you for this recipe! It is very kid friendly. My 5 year old says he could eat these every day. They freeze well and heat in a toaster oven frozen state on Bake/440 degrees, 5 minutes on each side.
These are so good. I have made them several times now and even my “meat & potatoes” husband loves them and because of the black beans he doesn’t miss meat and actually gets full! Thank you for sharing!
I have quite possibly commented on this one before sometime over the years (I just realized I’ve been reading Budget Bytes for about 6 years, how wild is that?!), but I just made these guys again and they’re just as good as ever! My store was out of cilantro which made me sad, but they were still yummy. I also used vegan cheese (RioLife brand) and it was fabulous! My pack of tortillas only had 8, but I used almost all the filling (probably could have done one more but I think I’m going to make some Tex Mex scrambled eggs tomorrow to use up the rest). Thanks as always!
Yum! I love the idea of mixing this with eggs! And believe it or not (I can hardly believe it), I started Budget Bytes over nine years ago! Crazy!
What are “taco sized tortillas”? How many inches across?
LOL, yeah the package said “taco size” but I now know that is not a standard measure. Haha. They were about 6 inches in diameter.
These were delicious! Didn’t have cilantro, so I omitted it, used about 2T of taco seasoning (almost too much). Used about 1c of cheese , which was enough for my taste. I will definitely make again and share this recipe!
I made these last night and they were quite good. Followed the recipe and made on whole wheat tortillas. I only got 9 all together but i do think the last one was a little extra full. I froze 5 of them and am excited to eat them again. I’ll probably make this recipe in the future and try to add shredded chicken and maybe some diced tomatoes… yum!
Again – another home run with your recipe!! I had half a red pepper in my fridge so I added that. Definitely didn’t need any additional seasoning, these were great. Even better that you don’t have to precook the filling – perfect weeknight dinner!!