Dinner in 20 minutes. Crispy tortillas. Melty cheese. No complaints from the kids. These easy chicken quesadillas are weeknight gold — minimal effort, maximum applause!
Let’s be honest — some nights, the best dinner is the one you can make while answering homework questions and rescuing socks from the dryer. Enter: Chicken Quesadillas. Crispy, cheesy, and endlessly customizable, they’re the ultimate family fallback. These come together fast, disappear faster, and make everyone at the table super happy!
Let's get started!
Jump to:
- Pull Up A Chair and Let's Chat!
- What Goes In It
- Easy Swaps and Add-Ins
- Top Tip: How To Shred Chicken With Zero Effort
- More Pro Moves, Zero Chaos
- Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas Recipe With Jalapeño Ranch
- Serving Ideas That Keep It Fun
- Reheat, Reuse, Rejoice
- You Asked, I Answered
- Other Kid-Friendly Recipes You'll Fall In Love With
- Hey, I'm Ruth!
Pull Up A Chair and Let's Chat!
This recipe comes straight from my real-life kitchen — the kind where kids snack while you cook and dinner happens between soccer practice and nightly bedtime stories. I’m all about food that’s cozy, doable, and actually gets eaten. This is one of those meals that keeps both your sanity and your skillet intact.
This is one of my favorite go-to's when I need something super tasty, but it's quick and easy.
Need something that's uber kid-friendly? Make this. Want something for a simple weeknight dinner? Throw these together. Looking for your next game day recipe that everything will love? Look no further!
What Goes In It
Instant Pot Taco Chicken - I use this super quick and easy chicken recipe for these chicken quesadillas. The chicken cooks in about 20 minutes and is shredded to perfection. It's flavorful, requires very little hands on work, and everyone love it!
Bacon - Because bacon makes everything better.
Homemade Flour Tortillas - Trust me here. Try this recipe once and you'll see. They are so easy, but the flavor and texture is superior to anything you can find at the store. I make a batch every week or so and keep them on hand for recipes just like this.
Cheese - I used a shredded cheddar because that's what I had in the fridge. Use your favorite! Just don't use the pre-shredded junk.
Jalapeño Ranch - Just the usual suspects for any good ranch plus some cilantro and jalapeño. This stuff is so good you'll be using it on everything!
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Easy Swaps and Add-Ins
Instead of chicken, Instant Pot Carnitas or Carne Guisada would be phenomenal substitutions.
Add veggies. Sautéed onions, peppers, and mushrooms are fantastic mix-ins! I also love using black beans, corn, and even tomatoes! Thinly sliced avocado also works great!
Make it spicy and add either fresh and sautéed jalapeños or serranos to the inside of the chicken quesadillas!
Use whatever cheese you have in the fridge. Everything from shredded cheddar to pepper jack would be great.
If you don't like cilantro, leave it out.
You can also use a rotisserie chicken for this recipe. Use what you love and what makes your life easiest!
Buy Now → Top Tip: How To Shred Chicken With Zero Effort
So, you've made your chicken in the Instant Pot and, now, you need to shred it. Of course, you can do it with a fork and knife. However, one of the easy and quickest ways to shred cooked chicken is with a mixer!
You can use either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Add the cooked chicken a large bowl or stand mixer bowl. Turn on your mixer of choice and let the machine do all the work. Within seconds the chicken will be perfectly shredded!
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More Pro Moves, Zero Chaos
If using my Instant Pot Taco Chicken recipe for the chicken, make sure to remove as much cooking liquid as possible before adding to the tortillas. This will prevent the chicken quesadillas from getting soggy.
Let the butter get nice and melted on a medium heat before you add the chicken quesadillas to the skillet. The tortilla will toast instead of absorb the butter. I like it toasty and a bit crispy and this is how you do that.
Add the chicken and cheese to half of the tortilla and then fold over to create the quesadilla. I find this to be much easier that making a full circle quesadilla during the toasting portion. You don't have to pick up and flip over an entire situation and risk slinging chicken everywhere.
Don't get the skillet too hot. That will cause the outside of the quesadilla to cook too quickly and the inside won't get nice and ooey-gooey. Go with a medium heat and be patient.
Shred your own cheese. Please. I beg you. This is a ooey-gooey cheesy recipe. If you use the junk in the bag, it won't get ooey-gooey cheesy.
If you don't like a lot of heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeños. You can also leave them out. I don't find that one pepper makes the ranch spicy at all.
Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas Recipe With Jalapeño Ranch
Equipment
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
The Jalapeño Ranch
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3 green onions rough chopped
- 1 jalapeño rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- juice of 1 lime
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
The Chicken Quesadillas
- 1 recipe Instant Pot Taco Chicken chicken shredded and liquid drained away
- 1 recipe flour tortillas
- 6-8 strips cooked bacon diced
- 2 cups shredded cheese of choice
- butter approximately 1-2 tablespoons per quesadilla
Instructions
The Jalapeño Ranch
- Add all of the ranch ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Set aside or in the fridge until serving.
The Chicken Quesadillas
- Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Spoon shredded chicken and diced bacon over half of a flour tortilla, top with cheese, and fold.
- Toast the quesadilla on both sides or until the filling is warm and the cheese is melted.
- Cut in half, drizzle with the ranch, and devour!
Notes
Nutrition
Serving Ideas That Keep It Fun
Mexican food is my love language. We eat it at least 3 times a week. It will take me about a week to tell you all my serving ideas, because they are plentiful. I won't keep you that long, but with chicken quesadillas...I have options.
- Salsas - Pico De Gallo or Salsa Verde are family favorites.
- Sour cream or Mexican crema - Tangy, creamy, and perfect for a dollop.
- With Instant Pot Pinto Beans - Another super simple recipe I love. Great for freezing, too!
- What is a Mexican-themed dinner without queso? My queso fundido is just the thing. It's cheesy and creamy and super easy because you just stick everything in the oven to melt!
- Never underestimate the power of a simple, classic tortilla chip. Dip it in the jalapeño ranch. See what I'm sayin'?!
- Guacamole. Always and forever.
Whatever you decide to serve with your chicken quesadillas, you just can't go wrong.
Reheat, Reuse, Rejoice
The components of these chicken quesadillas will stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to keep everything separate and assemble just before ready to eat. Heat and toast in butter in a cast iron as instructed in the recipe card.
The chicken freezes wonderfully. It will stay good for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
You Asked, I Answered
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
All you need to do is swap out the tortilla situation. You can use your favorite gluten-free flour tortillas (almond flour tortillas are delicious) or a corn tortilla!
Can I make chicken quesadillas dairy-free?
Sure! You just need to swap out the cheese for your favorite dairy-free option that melts well. For the jalapeño ranch, simply use a dairy-free sour cream that you like!
Can I make these in the oven?
Sure! Construct your quesadilla and lay out onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush the outside with a little melted butter. Let them bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 10-15 minutes or until the filling is warmed through and melty and the tortillas are toasted!
Thank you!
I hope you try my Chicken Quesadillas recipe and fall in love with it. If you make this recipe, please share and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or YouTube!
I absolutely love seeing each and every one of your kitchen masterpieces. It makes my heart so happy! And, as always, if you ever have any questions about any of my recipes, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Other Kid-Friendly Recipes You'll Fall In Love With
- Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef - A true zero effort meal that everyone loves! The flavors are incredible and you don't have to worry about the delivery fee!
- Smash Burger Tacos - Dinner in 30 minutes, that everyone will go nuts about, and is so very easy. With my tangy burger sauce, you'll be making this all the time!
- Taco Bake - A one-skillet dinner recipe for when you need good food on the table in no time! My kiddos love, love this one!
hey there!
Hey, I'm Ruth!
Hi, I’m Rufus, the home cook behind Rufus for Real — where real food meets real life. Around here, dinner’s about comfort, not perfection. So grab a tortilla, embrace the cheese pull, and let’s make chaos taste good.
Cindy P says
very good quesadilla recipe, we've cooked it several times now and everyone loves it!
Rufus says
Thank you, Cindy!
Kimberley Smith says
Easy and so tasty!
Rufus says
So glad you liked them!