Italian quesadillas pack simple ingredients like mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, basil, and rotisserie chicken into an easy meal your family will love! A quick weeknight meal that is ready in less than 15 minutes!
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Quesadillas are our go-to for a quick and easy weeknight meal that the whole family will eat without complaints! I’m a huge fan of making quesadillas in the air fryer, but this one is super easy to make in a skillet or griddle, you can even make it in a panini press!
Serve these Italian quesadillas with a yummy soup like Tomato Basil & Quinoa Soup or Veggie Chili for a super simple and flavorful meal.
What Makes This Recipe Work
- Crowd pleaser! Simple ingredients that are great for a kid friendly option or can be jazzed up by adding in some Italian peppers, pesto, onions, garlic or red peppers.
- Quick to make – done and on the table in less than 15 minutes.
- Easy ingredients – many of which you may already have on hand in your pantry or fridge and uses precooked rotisserie chicken for easy meal prep.
Ingredients for This Recipe
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.
- Cheese: I used mozzarella cheese, however what ever Italian cheese blend you prefer will work, just make sure it is a melty cheese.
- Chicken: I used rotisserie chicken, however you can also use another meat such as ground sausage, beef, pepperoni, salami or prosciutto. You could also use canned chicken if you prefer.
- Basil: I used fresh basil but you can also use pesto if you have it or prefer.
- Tortillas: Use whole wheat tortillas or spinach tortillas.
- Pizza Sauce: May also use spicy tomato sauce or mozzarella if you prefer.
How to Make This Recipe
This is a step by step walkthrough of how to cook this recipe. Exact cook time and temperatures are available in the recipe card at the bottom.
To begin, heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray or brush olive oil onto the skillet.
Place your tortilla on the skillet. Add toppings and cheese to one half.
Allow tortilla to cook for a few minutes until you notice the cheese is beginning to melt and the under side of the tortilla is starting to brown.
Flip over the half of the tortilla without toppings on to the half with toppings making a half moon shape.
Allow tortilla to cook for a minute more then flip. Cook until tortilla is browned to your liking and cheese is melted.
Expert Tips
- To help the cheese to melt and get super cheesy, place a skillet lid over the pizza quesadilla when you first put it on the skillet. Keep an eye on it so it does not burn but this will help the cheese to melt easier.
- Use a pizza cutter to easily cut Italian quesadillas in half or in quarters.
- Reheat by placing on a skillet and heating over medium heat until cheese is re-melted and chicken is heated through.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Not recommended for freezing.
FAQ
You don’t need a special appliance to make these. You can use a griddle, skillet or even a panini press to easily make them. Also you can try the air fryer if you have one.
Omit chicken and add in more veggies if desired. Spinach, red peppers and zucchini would be great additions. Check out my veggie quesadilla recipe for more inspiration.
To make a pizza with tortillas top your tortilla with your desired toppings and then use a toaster oven or oven to bake at 425F for 8 minutes.
Sure, this recipe is customizable to add any pizza toppings you would like. A few ideas would be mushrooms, onions, garlic, pepperoni or peppers.
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Italian Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 4 tortillas
- 16 oz rotisserie chicken chopped or shredded
- 2 TB fresh basil chopped or chiffonade
- 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ½ jar Pizza sauce about 135 grams
Instructions
- To begin, heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray or brush olive oil onto the skillet.
- Place the tortilla on the skillet. Add toppings and cheese to one half.
- Allow tortilla to cook for a few minutes until you notice the cheese is beginning to melt and the under side of the tortilla is starting to brown.
- Flip over the half of the tortilla without toppings on to the half with toppings making a half moon shape.
- Allow tortilla to cook for a minute more then flip. Cook until tortilla is browned to your liking and cheese is melted.
- Cut in half or into quarters and serve immediately.
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