BBQ Chicken Quesadillas are great for a quick and easy dinner. Stuffed with cheese, chicken, onions, cilantro and your favorite bbq sauce, they take minutes to prep and cook.
Quesadillas are a great way to use up leftovers in your fridge. Grab some leftover chicken and whatever cheese and BBQ sauce you have on hand and have yourself a BBQ Chicken Quesadilla party! This recipe would be great with shredded pulled pork or beef from a pot roast, too.
What’s in a BBQ Chicken Quesadilla?
- Chicken – I find chicken breast works best for quesadillas; the dark meat tends to be a little too greasy. Make shredded chicken in your slow cooker or instant pot, or use leftovers from a roast chicken dinner or a rotisserie chicken.
- Cheese – For BBQ chicken quesadillas, my preference is Jack cheese or a cheddar-Jack blend.
- BBQ sauce – Use your favorite or whatever you have in your kitchen. I love Sweet Baby Ray’s so I always have some on hand.
- Red onion – I don’t like raw onions so I sauteed these in some butter first. I love how they add a little bite with a little sweet.
- Flour tortillas – Try your hand at making homemade flour tortillas or grab your favorite brand at the store. I like to get the burrito size for quesadillas, but any size will work.
How to Make BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
Prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking. Shred the chicken and mix with the sauce, shred all of the cheese and chop the onion. Butter all of the tortillas you’re going to use on one side. Cook the onions to soften, then mix with the shredded chicken and bbq sauce. Set this aside while you heat another skillet.
Place one tortilla butter side down in a large skillet. Layer cheese on half, then chicken filling, then more cheese. Fold the tortilla in half over the filling and press down gently to make sure all of the tortilla is touching the surface of the skillet. Once it’s golden brown, flip with a large rubber spatula.
Once the chicken quesadilla is golden on both sides and the cheese is melted, remove it from the skillet and start on the next one. Each quesadilla should take no more than a couple of minutes per side.
If you are just making a couple of them, transfer each one to a cutting board as they finish cooking. If you are making several, keep them warm on a cookie sheet in the oven at the lowest temperature.
Serving Suggestions
BBQ Chicken Quesadillas are a fun and easy recipe to use for parties, lunch, or a simple weeknight dinner. They can be served as part of an appetizer-style menu with other finger foods like French Bread Pizza, Greek Salad Pinwheels and Everything Bagel Pigs in a Blanket.
Or, serve as a light meal with some Cilantro Lime Rice and Fresh Corn Salad.
What do you dip quesadillas in?
My kids will dip anything in ranch, but you can spice it up with some Jalapeno Dill Dip or Chuy’s Copycat Jalapeno Ranch Dip. Make sure you have extra BBQ sauce too! A BBQ-ranch combo would also be delicious.
Chicken Quesadilla Recipe Tips
- Start with a whole tortilla and fold in half. When you stack two tortillas with filling, it’s difficult to flip without all of the filling falling out.
- For a golden, crispy exterior, use butter and spread it all over the outside of the tortilla instead of melting it in the pan.
- Sandwich the filling between layers of cheese so the sides will stick together.
- Keep the heat at medium. Too low and the exterior won’t crisp up, too high and it will cook too fast.
- Use a nonstick skillet or a cast iron if you have one. I’ve found that cheese tends to stick to stainless steel or enamel pans and makes a mess.
- Let them cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing or risk the gooey cheese melting out the sides.
More Easy Recipes to Love
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Barbecue Chicken Pizza Pinwheels
- Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Easy Meatball Sliders
BBQ Chicken Quesadilla
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil
- ½ cup sliced red onions
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast shredded into big chunks
- 1/2 cup bbq sauce
- 2 tortillas 10-12 inch burrito size
- 2 tablespoons Butter room temperature
- 2 cups shredded cheddar-jack cheese
- Optional for serving: cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, ranch dip
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and onions. Cook onions until soft; about 5 minutes. Add shredded chicken and bbq sauce. Stir to combine and remove from heat.
- Spread butter onto one side of each tortilla.
- Heat another skillet over medium heat and add one tortilla, butter side down. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the cheese on one half of the tortilla, then layer half of the chicken mixture and another ¼ cup of cheese. Fold the tortilla in half, and cook until golden on the bottom. Carefully use a flat spatula to flip the quesadilla over and cook the other side until golden. Gently press down to cook evenly. Transfer to a wire rack or cutting board while you cook the other quesadillas.
This recipe was no exception. Had some tortillas and leftover shredded chicken from a pot pie and slapped these together for lunch! Another awesome, easy, and delish recipe. Love it. Thanks!
Awesome feedback Richard! Thank you so much for stopping by.