Chicken and Spinach Quesadilla (Printable)

Golden quesadillas with tender spinach, juicy chicken, and melted mozzarella—a quick 30-minute meal perfect for lunch or dinner.

# What You'll Need:

→ Filling

01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced
02 - 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
03 - 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 1 small onion, finely chopped
06 - 1 clove garlic, minced
07 - ½ teaspoon salt
08 - ¼ teaspoon black pepper
09 - ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

→ Assembly

10 - 4 large flour tortillas, 10-inch
11 - 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil for grilling

# Cooking Steps:

01 - Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant.
02 - Add spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes until wilted. Add chicken, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine and heat through. Remove from heat.
03 - Wipe skillet clean. Place a tortilla on a flat surface. Sprinkle ¼ of the cheese evenly over half the tortilla, then top with ¼ of the chicken-spinach mixture. Fold tortilla in half. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
04 - Heat ½ tablespoon butter or olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Grill each quesadilla for 2-3 minutes per side until golden and cheese is melted.
05 - Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then cut each quesadilla into wedges. Serve warm.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • Everything cooks in one skillet, so cleanup is almost as quick as dinner itself.
  • The mozzarella melts into creamy pockets that hold the filling together beautifully.
  • You can make it with leftover rotisserie chicken and whatever greens are sitting in your crisper drawer.
  • It tastes like you spent an hour in the kitchen, but youll be eating in less than thirty minutes.
02 -
  • Dont overfill the tortillas or the cheese will ooze out and burn on the skillet, a light hand with the filling keeps everything neat and crispy.
  • Medium heat is your friend here, too high and the outside burns before the cheese melts, too low and you lose that satisfying crunch.
  • If your spinach is wet from washing, pat it dry first or it will make the filling watery and steam the tortilla instead of crisping it.
03 -
  • Press down gently with the spatula while grilling to help the cheese melt evenly and seal the quesadilla together.
  • Use a pizza cutter to slice the quesadillas into wedges quickly and cleanly without squishing the filling out.
  • If youre making several at once, keep finished quesadillas warm in a low oven while you cook the rest so everyone eats at the same time.
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