These chicken fajita quesadillas are the answer to two of our favorite Mexican dishes. Crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside, these quesadillas are lunch box friendly, and even make a great party appetizer! I love flipping fajitas as you can see in the recipe video below 😂
Crisp and amazing - our quesadilla game is strong, thanks to many practice sessions that went into the making of this recipe video.
I've made quesadillas a few times and it's our favorite way to use leftovers mostly. They are generally clean-out the fridge kind of quesadillas where I chop up veggies + protein, season them with a mexican style seasoning and stuff up a tortilla with them.
These chicken fajita quesadillas are a more organized attempt at a great tasting quesadilla! This has layers of chopped up chicken fajitas, leftover mexican rice and lots and lots of cheese! Dinner in 30 minutes that disappears in 3 minutes. We really chomped these down.
Let's take a look at some basics for this recipe so that you guys can become quesadilla pros.
Chicken Fajita Seasoning
The seasoning for the chicken fajitas is a mix of chilli powder, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, cumin and salt. We add chopped garlic separately so that the flavor is nice and strong. This is the same seasoning that I've used in my chicken fajita meal prep bowls.
How to make Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
These chicken fajita quesadillas start off by cooking chicken thighs with fajita seasoning and garlic after which we add onions and bell peppers. Everything is chopped up nice and small so that when you bite into a quesadilla you don't get a big piece of chicken or veggies that you struggle with. Once the fajita mixture is ready, a tortilla is heated on a skillet (I recommend cast iron skillets because they get the crust really crispy) and the filling is placed on one half of the tortilla. Then some mexican rice and cheese. The other half is flipped on top and you just press it all down. I like to use one tortilla versus placing another tortilla on top because this is easier to flip (though I still screwed the flipping up in the video below).
Chicken Thighs vs Chicken Breasts for Fajitas
I recommend chicken thighs for fajitas vs breasts simply because they don't dry out or become stringy while cooking/reheating. The thighs are also juicier when you bite into them. When we've used chicken breasts in the past, and tried reheating the fajita filling, the chicken always becomes a little dry. That said, if you absolutely want to, go ahead and use chicken breasts, although I recommend cooking them whole and then chopping them up.
There are no rules with these chicken fajita quesadillas. You can make these vegetarian by using more veggies or beans in the filling, or if you want a different protein, use the fajita seasoning with ground beef or pork. And if you want to save even more time, use shredded pre-cooked chicken.
The Quesadilla Formula
The way I've tested this recipe, you need approximately ½ cup of filling + ¼ cup cheese per quesadilla (two triangles). Any more than that and the filling tends to spill out. But I also like to get messy so go ahead and fill them more if you like overflowing but delicious quesadillas.
More Mexican Recipes:
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- One Pot Mexican Rice and Sausages
- Mexican Prawn/Shrimp Avocado Taco Salad
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Portobello Mushroom Fajita Tacos
- Chicken Fajita Meal Prep Bowls
- Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Chipotle Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Chipotle Chili
- Instant Pot Mexican Rice
Watch this Chicken Fajita Quesadillas Recipe Video
Chicken Fajita Quesadillas - Fast and Easy!
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken Thighs skinless and boneless
- 2 tablespoons Oil divided
- 3 tablespoons Fajita Seasoning See Note 1
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- ¾ cup Onions chopped
- ¾ cup Bell Peppers chopped
- 6-7 Flour Tortillas 8 inch
- 1 cup Leftover Mexican Rice or white rice
- 2-3 cups Cheese I used mozzarella and mind cheddar (grated)
- Sour Cream for serving
Instructions
- Dice the chicken thighs into small pieces (between ¼" to ½" in size) and add a teaspoon of oil, fajita seasoning, minced garlic and salt. Mix it up and marinate for 15 minutes.
- Once the chicken is marinated, heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet and add the chicken. Cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes till its cooked through and slightly crispy on the outside. Add the onions and bell peppers and stir fry them on high heat with the chicken for another 2 minutes.
- To make the quesadillas, place a tortilla on a lightly oiled skillet. Place approximately ½ cup chicken filling on one half of the tortilla. Top this up with 2-3 tablespoons mexican rice and at least ¼ cup grated cheese. Make sure the cheese covers all the filling. Flip the other half of the tortilla over the filling, press it down and cook the quesadilla till its golden brown from the bottom.
- Now take two spatulas and use one as support below the quesadilla to flip it (watch the video to see how I do this). Cook it on the other side for a few minutes till its golden brown. Cut them in half so that you have two triangles and serve them hot with sour cream.
Notes
- Fajita Seasoning: I have the recipe for fajita seasoning here, or you can use store bought seasoning
- Chicken Thighs vs Breasts: I recommend chicken thighs because they don't dry out and stay juicy. If you want to use chicken breasts, I recommend slicing them in half lengthwise, marinating them and then cooking them whole so that they retain their juices. Cook them for 4 minutes on each side (this can vary based on the size) and then chop them up.
King Moe says
I have tried this amazing quesadillas recipe and i found this recipe really easy to make and very delicious in taste. Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us. Even i have a special fajitas style quesadillas recipe. Check out the recipe here: https://www.recipespack.com/quick-and-easy-fajita-style-quesadillas/
Richa Gupta says
Thanks a ton, King Moe! We'll have fajitas anyday!