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!
A delicious, easy meal! I happened to have all the ingredients on hand save for the red onion & the fresh cilantro, so I subbed extra onion powder in the homemade taco seasoning (soooo much better than store bought!) and refrigerated cilantro paste. I used 8-inch whole wheat tortillas and made 6 hearty quesadillas. I loved the in-depth tips on freezing them—I frequently cook for one and often work late so having a delicious, easily-prepared meal at home that isn’t overly-processed is an absolute dream. I’ll be using this recipe many times over!
Amazing Quesadillas!! So simply yet SO GOOD! Thank you☺️❤️❤️
This is one hell of a hit here! Very easy to do and really cheap with ingredients that we always have on hand. I use what was left of the cheese mix and put it in eggs the next day. My 6 yo said it was a perfect meal. Thank you Beth. I tried a lot of your recipes and i had to comment this one. I will be making it on a regular basis.
Just wanted to share… I have been making these for years! The filling is great to keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Yesterday I had some to use up and ran out of tortillas, so I used it as a nacho topping! It was great. I just dolloped it on chips and added some more shredded cheese on top, then broiled for a few minutes. Delicious!!
I also like to make the batch and keep the filling in the fridge for a few days.
So easy and super delicious. I cooked some chicken strips with taco seasoning for the meat lovers of the family to add to theirs.
Super easy and delicious, first time making Quesadillas.Thanks for the recipe.
pretty decent!
I made these last night and froze them as a meal prep for work. I let them thaw and popped them in the toaster oven for a few mins, and finished up under broil to brown and crisp the tortilla. These are so good! Next time I’ll probably add a tiny bit more cheese, but I love that these were so quick to prep.
I ended up having these as leftovers the next day. They were in the refrigerator and to reheat them, which turned out excellent, I put them in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes, and then flipped it and heated for another minute. It was as good as freshly made.
I did these tonight and they turned out great. The recipe and the workflow worked out well. Instead of taco seasoning, I saved a little time and bought Walmart’s shredded cheese with taco seasoning added.
This looks so good! Just wondering that have you tried to use uncooked tortillas before? Should I cook the tortillas first and then follow your instructions? Thank you so much!
Hi Summer! Yes those uncooked tortillas are delicious. Definitely precook them to just cooked then proceed with the recipe as noted above.
Delicious! I took advantage of Aldi prices plus a flash sale 99¢ for the cheese and fed four for $4.45!
This was AMAZING. Honestly never thought I’d find something so good that I didn’t miss meat tacos, but this recipe knocks it out of the park.
Followed it to a tee, zero adjustments needed or wanted. So happy, thank you for sharing!
So I got too excited, didn’t read all the instructions, and then realized (after cooking them all) that you said to freeze them BEFORE you cook them 😬 Any advice on how to freeze them now they’re cooked?
Hi Anna! Not to worry, we all get a little excited sometimes! My suggestion would be to wrap them in parchment paper and then put them in a freezer safe bag. Then you can just reheat them as you’d like in the parchment.
First of all, let me congratulate you on your website. I continually come back for great butget friendly meal ideas.
NOW, as for this quesadilla recipe, it is the JAM in our household. I do variations on your basic recipe. I leave off the cilantro b/c no one in my family likes cilantro much. My daughter doesn’t like black beans. So when she is home from college I make the mixture w/o black beans for her and add a bowl of black beans and lime juice on the side for us to make individual quesadillas. I always add chicken. My sister has sworn off quesadillas from anywhere else. This recipe is the BOMB!!!