You guys. I didn’t know if anything could ever top my Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas, but we now have a very strong contender! These Ultimate BBQ Chicken Quesadillas are packed with tender chicken pieces, creamy cheddar, spicy jalapeños, black beans, cilantro, and red onion, and drenched in the tangy goodness of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce. They’re simply incredible.
Flexible Filling Ingredients
This recipe is quite flexible, too. If you’re not into black beans, just double the chicken. Not into chicken (or want a vegetarian version), double the black beans. Jalapeños too hot or does cilantro taste like soap to you? Either one of them can be skipped and you’ll still have a really rockin’ quesadilla. Want to try something fun? Add some crushed (and well drained) pineapple!
What Type of Chicken Should I Use?
Any pre-cooked chicken will work for these BBQ chicken quesadillas. If you’re in the habit of buying rotisserie chickens, just use one breast (from one side) and chop the meat into small cubes. Grilled chicken also works great and lends an even smokier flavor. Or, you could make a batch of my Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken and use that. I used one boneless, skinless chicken breast that I cooked on my countertop grill, but you could also just cook it up quickly in a skillet if needed. Just aim for about 1.5 cups of cooked chicken.
You ready for this awesomeness??
Ultimate BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
Servings 5 2 quesadillas eachIngredients
- 1.5 cups chopped cooked chicken ($1.50)
- 1 15oz. can black beans, drained ($0.95)
- 1/4 red onion ($0.19)
- 1 jalapeño ($0.12)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro ($0.23)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar ($1.99)
- 1 tsp chili powder ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce ($0.53)
- 10 7-inch flour tortillas ($1.58)
Instructions
- Add the chopped chicken and drained black beans to a large bowl. Finely dice the red onion. Remove the seeds from the jalapeño, then finely dice. Pull the cilantro leaves from their stems and roughly chop. Add the onion, jalapeño, cilantro, shredded cheddar, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and BBQ sauce to the bowl with the chicken and beans. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Place about 1/3 cup of the BBQ chicken mixture on each tortilla and spread it evenly over one half of the surface. Fold the tortilla closed. Cook the filled and folded tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, until the outside is brown and crispy, the filling has heated through, and the cheese has melted. Cut each quesadilla in half and serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make BBQ Chicken Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
Begin by chopping about 1.5 cups of cooked chicken into small pieces. You can use grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or even chicken that has simply been cooked in a skillet.
Finely dice 1/4 of a red onion. Remove the seeds from one jalapeño and also finely dice. Pull the leaves from the stems of about 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, and roughly chop them. Shred 2 cups of cheddar (if not already shredded).
Add the chopped chicken, one 15oz. can of black beans (drained), red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and cheddar to a large bowl.
Add 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, and 1/4 salt to the bowl.
Stir until everything is well combined and coated in BBQ sauce.
Place about 1/3 cup of the BBQ chicken filling on each 7-inch flour tortilla and spread it over one side. Fold the tortillas closed.
Cook the tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until they are brown and crispy on the outside, heated through, and the cheese is melted.
Slice each Ultimate BBQ Chicken Quesadilla in half and serve!
Serious flavor bomb!!
My family LOVED these! (Followed the recipe exactly, using a Costco rotisserie chicken. ) The recipe makes a generous amount so we had them for dinner one night and lunch the next day. Thank you!
These were AMAZING. I diced white onion and red pepper and sauteed it with jalapeno because I’m not a fan of raw onion, and we left out the cilantro….you are right, this recipe is really flexible, and it was SO GOOD. Everyone loved it, what a great way to use leftover rotisserie chicken!
Fabulous! I replaced the dead bird body parts with white beans. I call these Black and White BBQ Quesadillas. Thanks for another winner!
You ate dead bean body parts?!!!!
How well do you think these would freeze?
These should freeze great. What I do is fill and fold them, then stack them with parchment between each (you can do two quesadillas per layer, so they’re like a complete circle). Then place that into a freezer bag. Take however many you want out of the freezer at a time and heat in a skillet over medium-low. The lower heat gives them a chance to thaw and heat through before the outside browns too much.
Will this freeze as well as your black bean quesadillas? (which i eat for lunch nearly every day of my life!)
They should, yes! :)
Love your recipes! I wish you had an option to pin it on Pinterest, it’s the easiest way for me to keep track of recipes I want to come back to
You can pin using the buttons at the top or bottom of the post, or hover over any image until the big black pin button shows up (if on mobile, click the image once instead of “hovering”).
Thanks, you are a star ;)
One of the Staples in our house is your hearty black bean quesadillas plus chicken. (Or the Mediterranean…or the chicken pineapple, lol) Back when we ate sugar…I LOVED sweet baby Ray’s… Thanks for this recipe… My memory center just enjoyed a meal… 👍👍👍 Quesadillas for lunch! And dinner… Maybe even breakfast. Thanks again, awesome blog!
Made these tonight, vegetarian style, and they were so delicious. We kept all of the ingredients except for the chicken and it was really filling. Only thing we wished was that we had some ranch dressing or guacamole to dip them in. I have NEVER been disappointed by this website and am always excited about new recipes. Keep them coming!
A DRY skillet?! *gasp!* Haha my quesadillas are usually slathered in softened butter for the rich golden crispiness :)
The Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas are a STAPLE in my house. I make a double-batch at a time, and always have some in the freezer for a quick, healthy dinner. I can’t wait to try these and have a second, just-as-easy-and-tasty option. Thank you!
I’m a HUGE fan of the Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo Sauce. Their barbecue sauce is addicting!!! Looks like I’ll have to make the chicken quesadillas very soon!!! :-)
I love me some Sweet Baby Ray’s. Every now and then if I’m mixing it into something I also add just the lightest drizzle of honey. Try it, you wont regret it 😉 That 3 layer picture looks fantastic.
Sweet Baby Ray’s is my favorite BBQ sauce. These quesadillas look AMAZING
I meant maybe make my own sauce.
What a great concept. Since I have to watch my sugar intake, I’ll have to check the label and make my own sauce but I appreciate your great ideas. I really miss buying pocket sandwiches but I have plans to make and freeze some of your quesadillas and burritos. Probably less expensive and much easier to control sugar and salt. Thanks.
Agreed on making your own BBQ sauce! This is a great recipe, but SBR sauce has HFCS (last time I looked at the label), which I stay away from. Making your own sauce is so cheap and easy! I love BBQ, so I’m excited to adapt this concept for quesadillas!