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 AMAZING!!! I didn’t think they would be as good as they were!! Full of flavour. It is my first time on your site and I am loving the rest of your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing them!! :) xx
My 14 yo son is getting frustrated with my lack of meal planning for us. (Only him and I). My idea of meal planning is to pick a restaurant and plan on what time to go and what to eat. Last night it came to a boil (pun intended). So next day – I’m searching for meal planning ideas, determined to help my son become less frustrated with me and to help us eat healthier and cheaper. I came upon this site, and my son and I are going to cook this tonight. I’m excited I found this site. Excited to use other recipes here.
That is so awesome! And this is such a great recipe to start with. I hope it worked out well for you. :)
Amazing how something so tasty could be so simple! I prefer to heat up the mixture and then make a burrito with it though. I forgot to buy cilantro but added some sour cream and avocado and it was incredible. This is definitely entering regular rotation!
These were fantastic!!! So much flavour and just the right amount of filling!
Super yummy, cheap, and easy to make! I used two small shallots instead of red onion and garlic because that’s what I had available to me. I made one and stashed the rest in the freezer. I also added a note that soft scrambled eggs could be added partway through reheating. (note: I haven’t tried this yet but imagine it would be tasty.)
Wasted so much money on this as none of them stuck together. Find other recipes on the internet. This one made me actually angry. So frustrated and terrible meal made for my family.
that’s mean
Overall flavour super delicious, but a bit too spicy for me. I used your taco seasoning recipe and I think 1Tbsp of chilli powder is too much for my liking or my chilli powder is too hot.
Will do this again, but will definitely reduce chilli amount.
Chili powder doesn’t have heat in it.
I love these. I have made with canned or frozen corn and it works both ways. I’ve also made with pre-made taco seasoning and Beth’s seasoning (which I prefer). I use mission flour taco size tortillas and get 8 quesadillas from this recipe.
Really good! Used cheddar cheese. Adding a jalapeno, as suggested by others sounds good. I found that my corn tortillas cracked when I folded them over the filling prior to cooking. Next time I’ll either microwave the tortillas to increase flexibility prior to filling or wait to fold them until I’ve started cooking them. I found that 2.5 to 3 minutes per side in a medium heat (350 F) cast iron skillet lightly wiped down w/avocado oil got my tortillas nicely browned.
Good way to solve cracking problems is to put one tortilla in your greased cast iron pan, put your filling on top, adjust filling accordingly, put second tortilla on top of filling. Flip when cheese melts and hold tortillas together. The only way I make quesadillas.
This recipe is so yummy and easy! I add chopped jalapeno peppers and lime zest. Delish!
Loved them! So good I shared the recipe link with several people. Thank you for sharing.
Love love love them
Even my kids picky eats loved them
Ohhh lord, this was good. I had some cooked from dry black beans and wasn’t sure how many to use, so I just went with about two cups, which seems to have worked. Used a burrito-sized tortilla and filled it with a cup of filling, probably gonna take that down to 3/4 cup next time. Added jalapeño, used frozen white onion because it was all we had, and used cheddar cheese. Flavor was incredible, and it was so easy to mix up. This is a keeper!
Thank you!!! I just assembled this and had one for lunch and the others are in the freezer. So simple to make and I know I’m going to enjoy every one of these when I just don’t have the imagination or energy to prepare anything else. And they are delicious!!!
Delicious
I put manchego and mozarella.
More tasty
Thanks for sharing the recipe 🥰