Ever since my mum had Quesadilla last year, we have been experimenting with so many flavors. As we can make them eggless, meat-free, we often make these for our beach picnics. These healthy vegetable and vegan quesadillas are crowd-pleasers too – make a big batch and serve with a simple sauce!
Although I will share a recipe below, this is how we make whatever we got at fridge quesadillas.
- Bread – I am told in Mexico that corn is used mostly for tortillas, but we pick flour tortillas for flavor. When they are deep-fried to golden brown with a bit of oil – it’s just beyond words!
- Filling – Matt taught us to keep the filling on the lesser side as more means they will fall out when you try to eat. Our few favorites are onion & mushroom (Vegan), Paneer Bhurji (recipe below), and butternut squash & black beans (vegan). That said, there is no rule to this. You can add onion, bell pepper, zucchini, summer squash, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage, root vegetables!
- Cheese – We eat whatever cheese we have at home, and sometimes we skip it too! Monterey Jack, Oaxaca, or any melting cheese will work.
- We use one tortilla (8 or 12 inches), fold it in half, and serve it into triangular wedges. However, you can use two tortillas on top of each other with the filling and cheese between them.
- We use a cast iron pan to make tortillas. However, any heavy-bottomed pan or skillet works nicely.
Now let talk EXTRAS!
- We make a super-hit avocado crema to go with our quesadillas.
- Chopped Onion, Jalapeno, Cilantro finely and served with lime juice and salt.
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
- Cilantro
These Vegetable and Vegan Quesadillas are made with Filippo Berio Olive Oil.
THe Best tasting olive oil
I have shared a recipe of paneer bhurji (fresh cottage cheese stir-fried with vegetables) before here. The steps of paneer making are shown here.
Fussy Toddler Approved – Healthy Vegetable and Vegan Quesadillas with Leftover
4
servingsEach recipe will serve four. Fresh paneer is a must in Paneer (Vegetable) Quesadilla recipe as that is the main ingredient. However, life happens. So store-bought paneer will also work if you can crumble it into a small texture. As this recipe can be prepared ahead I am not sharing the total time. However, we both cooked these for under an hour during developing this recipe.
The spice blend can easily be doubled or quadrupled. You can increase the amount in this recipe per your liking.
Ingredients
- Paneer (Vegetable) Quesadilla
Fresh paneer from 1 liter milk or 100 gram paneer, crumbled
1 medium red onion, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
¼ red bell pepper, diced
green chile to taste, super-finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
4 tortillas
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Butternut Squash and Black Bean (Vegan) Quesadilla
4 tablespoon Olive oil
1 pound butternut squash, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
½ can black beans, drained and washed thoroughly under running water
4 tortillas
¼ cup or more melting cheese
- Spice Blend
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon onion granules
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
½ teaspoon oregano
Directions
- Paneer (Vegetable) Quesadilla
- In a non-stick pan over high heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onion, green and red pepper. Cook it for 2-3 minutes or until they are slightly soft (we don’t want a mushy texture). Add green chiles, cook it for another minute.
- Add fresh paneer and cook it for 4-5 minutes or until there is little to no liquid left.
- Season with salt, pepper and take it aside.
- Butternut Squash and Black Bean (Vegan) Quesadilla
- Make the spice mix ahead. In a bowl add all spices, with a spoon mix it well. Keep it aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add butternut squash in batches and spread into one layer. Cook, without moving, until browned on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan. Take it aside.
- Heat another tablespoon of oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, onion. Cook the vegetables until the onions have softened and smell sweet for about 5 minutes.
- Add butternut squash back in the pan. Add ½ of spice mix and gently toss it to coat well. Take it aside on a plate.
- Heat another tablespoon of oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add black beans. Season it well with salt and the rest of the spice blend. Toss it to cook well. Black beans tend to get mushy easily so I don’t recommend cooking this longer than 2-3 minutes. This veggie mixture can be made ahead or stored for another day.
- Let make the Quesadillas
- Take one tortilla. Spoon some of this mixture. Add cheese if you are adding. Fold in half.
- Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Brush it with ½ teaspoon oil, and then place one tortilla down into the pan. Cook until the underside is toasted, about 2 minutes.
- Carefully flip the quesadilla and cook until the second side is toasted 1 to 2 minutes.
