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).
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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!
I was looking for a cheap and easy dinner to make last night, and these were perfect! The ingredients cost about AU$12 – about the same as what I usually spend on dinner, except these were so filling there’s leftovers :D
Hmm, I used homemade beans and they still had some goo. Do you freeze your beans in some of the liquid that they cooked in? I don’t drain mine completely before freezing. I leave enough liquid to just cover the beans. That starchy liquid turns a little gooey like the stuff in the can, although not as much so. Also, you can try mashing the beans up a little. That should help hold things together! :)
This was delicious. However, I had some trouble with mine because I used black beans that I made myself so I didn’t have that goo that glued it together. It was harder to freeze and work with until the cheese started melting when it was in the skillet. I used the cornstarch and everything.
I’m tempted to use canned black beans so it’ll stay together but I love, love that homemade beans are so much better for you. Suggestions?
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Made these tonight – OM NOM NOM NOM!!! Fantastic!!! I used taco-seasoned cheese, but I think next time I’m going to cut the cheese in half just to try to cut down on fat/calories. My husband added Sriracha sauce to his and said they were “awesome” – and he had to leave the kitchen to keep from eating 3. :) GREAT recipe – thank you so much!!!
Made these last night. Awesome! I had some chopped green pepper already stored in my freezer so I added that too.
Tried these…THREE TIMES this week. Shared them with company, plus leftovers, we enjoyed these on three separate occasions. My husband keeps saying, “Its a keeper, its a keeper.” So thank you for sharing such a great recipe.
And like Kristin, I found that half of your taco seasoning recipe (which is AMAZING!) was more than enough flavour.
these are SO good! i’ll definitely make them again. i used about half a packet of taco seasoning, and canned corn instead of frozen. i also cooked my frozen leftovers in the oven! 10-15 minutes at 375 did the trick.
these were amazing – the whole family loved ’em from 3yrs to adults – thanks!! (and what a great after-school snack for the teenager freezer to micro in nothin flat)
I made these for a quick lunch for my brother and boyfriend – 2 different people =) – and tried to freeze some leftovers but they didn’t make it the rest of the day. I’ve since been making up a batch a week to keep in the freezer. They never last the whole week! This are so good and inexpensive (we’re all college students with limited funds). Thank you so much!
just made these for dinner and absolutely loved them! my hubby is a vegetarian and he loved it too, and so filling! I didn’t have red onion so substituted with white onion and i also added a little green pepper :)
Thanks so much for this, will def be trying more stuff!
p.s.
made the taco mix from scratch too! yum!
I made these last night and LOVED them!!! They so rock. They were so good, I had to pull one out of the freezer for breakfast. Thank!!
If you could ballpark a calorie count for one quesadilla, what do you think it would be? Just curious to see if you had figured it up. Thanks for such amazing, cheap and healthy recipes. You know me better than I know myself!
I made these tonight and they were delicious! They made a ton too. I am looking forward to the leftover the rest of the week!
amazing! i’ve made this for the 2nd time in one week and my fiance requests that i make it m,w,and f’s . thanks!! :)