Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas

5 from 6 votes

Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas

These chipotle chicken quesadillas are made with a spicy, smokey chipotle sauce layered into a tortilla with chicken and cheese and pan fried until crispy, melty, and dripping with sauce.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings: quesadillas

Calories: 413kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

Ingredients

7 oz jar chipotle peppers in adobo
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 small limes, juiced
½ orange, juiced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup olive oil + more for the pan
4 chicken breasts, sliced into thin cutlets
1 lb Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
14 whole wheat tortillas

Toppings

Extra chipotle sauce (from the ripe above)
sour cream
avocados or guacamole
refried black beans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a blender, combine the entire contents of the can of chipotle peppers in adobo, peeled garlic cloves, lime juice, orange juice, soy sauce, cumin, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. The sauce should be fairly thin, easy enough to use as a marinade, and thin enough for dipping and drizzling over the chicken when assembling the quesadilla.
Divide the sauce in two. Set aside half the sauce for assembling the quesadillas and as a dipping sauce when serving. The other half will be used when cooking the chicken (next step).
In an oven-safe casserole dish, coat the chicken in the remaining half of the sauce.
Bake the chicken at 350° F for 20-25 minutes, or until fully cooked. Allow to cool, then dice the chicken. Discard any excess sauce in the casserole dish.
Heat a large sauté pan to medium heat (I find that medium heat is best at "4" out of a "1-10" scale, not 5, which is more likely to burn food). Add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Allow to warm through for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Add a tortilla to the pan laying it flat and adding the diced chicken, a handful of grated cheese, and a drizzle of the extra sauce over half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half to make the quesadilla.
Then add a second tortilla to the pan (it will overlap the first one while you are filling it). Fill it with chicken, cheese, and sauce, and fold it in half. Allow both quesadillas to cook until crispy, about 3-5 minutes, then flip and allow the other side to get crispy. Cook for 1-2 more minutes.
Remove and repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese, etc.
To Serve: Slice the quesadillas into thirds or quarters and serve with the remaining chipotle sauce, refried black beans, sour cream, avocado or guacamole, or any toppings of your choosing.

Notes

Sauce Consistency: The recipe calls for ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil. I find that this is the exact right amount. However, if you feel that the sauce is too thick, add extra olive oil to thin out the sauce and temper the spiciness.

Crispy Quesadillas: I love to make my quesadillas crispy. To do this add a small amount of extra virgin olive oil to a pan at medium heat – about ½ to 1 tablespoon, then build the quesadilla in the pan. Using a small amount of olive oil in the pan toasts the tortillas making them crispy. If you have a good tasting olive oil it adds an extra savory layer of flavor to the crispy tortilla.

Make Ahead: The chicken and the sauce can both be made ahead, or even the night before to ease up logistics around dinner time. Even the quesadillas can be made ahead and then added to a pan right before serving to warm through, melt the cheese, and crisp up the tortillas.

Nutrition