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
Video
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!!
These are great! I caramelized my onions with some peppers and added a roasted poblano in place of the jalepeno. We loved it!
I am not sure I would have made this recipe myself, but I asked my husband what he wanted done with some chicken. He said how about BBQ? I asked if he wanted BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (because I do trust your recipes), and the answer was yes! So I did, and it was a big success! There were some alterations (didn’t have Sweet Baby Rays, so my 16 yo daughter made her “Abby’s World Famous” BBQ sauce, and I made my own Instant Pot black beans with a hint of cumin), but followed the recipe overall. Thanks for another success! I’m not sure I’ve made one of your recipes that didn’t make it into the “keeper” list.
Do you think you could freeze these and cook them like your freezer bean quesadillas?
I do think that would work. :)
Love this recipe! Though we usually sub out the barbecue sauce for enchilada sauce.
I have the worst time thinking up sides for entrees, what would you suggest with this?
Honestly I’d just eat this one by itself. It has so many ingredients inside so you’ve got a lot going on. Maybe some sweet potato fries?
Spanish rice, refried beans and a salad.
Yum-Yum-YUM!!!! Made this for supper last night and wow was it good!! I swapped out the jalapeno for a couple T of chopped green chiles and skipped the cilantro (hubby is not a fan) and loved the result! Full of flavor and just the right amount of “heat”. Did I mention this was yummy?? :)
This recipe has become one of my go-to recipes. I love it. It’s easy and quick and taste like you actually put a lot of effort into it. Thanks!
Really nice recipe! I hate jalapeno and cilantro so I substituted with a bell pepper and green onions. Really yummy! Thank you for another great recipe :)
Sooooo delicious! Like everything on your site, of course! My family is loving these so much that we’ve been eating them for snacks every day for two weeks!
These are amazing! They freeze so well and reheat perfectly in the toaster oven so I don’t even have to wash a pan (I freeze them wrapped in foil – then can just unwrap and reheat on the flattened foil)!
First off thank you for all of your recipes, I’ve loved every one I’ve tried! I have some shredded chicken to use up and was unsure what to make, these are now on the menu for dinner : )
Instead of chicken I put in some broiled pineapple and they were quite delicious! I was excited to eat these for lunch all week!
Hi Beth! These look great. Do you think they freeze well? :)
Yep, I think they would freeze great. :)
Tweaked it a bit. Grilled the onions, shreded the chicken, and added some corn for extra flavor. They were delicious!
I love your recipes, and this one sounds good. I’ll substitute the Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce for one that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup in it. I steer clear of that stuff. Barbecue sauce doesn’t have to be so unhealthy to taste good.