BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
Crisp, golden tortillas stuffed with smoky barbecue chicken and melty cheese, ready in about ten minutes from chicken you already cooked.
What you'll need
- 3 cups Crock Pot Shredded Chicken, cold or warm
- 0.5 cup barbecue sauce, plus more for dipping
- 2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (about 8 ounces)
- 0.25 cup sliced green onions
- 0.25 cup thinly sliced red onion (optional)
- 4 large (10-inch) flour tortillas
- 1 tablespoon butter or neutral oil, for the pan
- sour cream or ranch dressing, for dipping (optional)
How to make it
Stir the shredded chicken and the barbecue sauce together in a bowl until every strand is coated. The chicken is already seasoned, so there is nothing else to add.
Lay the tortillas flat. Over one half of each, sprinkle a little cheese, spoon on about 3/4 cup of the saucy chicken, add green onions and red onion if using, and finish with more cheese. Fold each tortilla over to make a half-moon and press down gently.
Melt a little of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook one or two quesadillas at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, until the underside is golden.
Flip carefully with a wide spatula and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and the chicken is hot all the way through. Add a little more butter to the pan before each new batch.
Let each quesadilla rest for a minute so the cheese sets, then cut into wedges. Serve with extra barbecue sauce, sour cream or ranch for dipping.
Chef's secrets
A wide spatula, or a plate to slide the quesadilla onto and back into the pan, makes flipping easy.
Medium heat keeps the tortilla from burning before the cheese melts.
Pat the red onion dry, and do not overfill: too much sauce makes the tortilla soggy.
Good to know
Refrigerate leftover quesadillas within 2 hours, in a covered container, and eat them within 3 to 4 days of the day the chicken was first cooked, which makes Thursday the last day for a Sunday batch. If Thursday falls more than 4 days after you cooked the chicken, freeze a portion on Sunday and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Reheat until hot all the way through (165 degrees F).
Sauce the chicken and fill the quesadillas up to a few hours ahead, stacked between sheets of parchment in the fridge, then crisp them just before dinner. Only use chicken that is still within its 3-to-4-day fridge window.
