Basic Vegetarian Quesadilla Recipe

Quesadillas are a favourite Mexican dish for both restaurant and home cooks. Consisting of a largetortilla half-covered with toppings and folded over itself, the quesadilla is quick and easy to make forany meal. Quesadillas are often served as a main dish (lunch or dinner) or as an easily shared snackor appetizer.

This is a recipe for a basic vegetarian quesadilla. Like a Mexican pizza, the fillings can be changedbased on each person's individual tastes. For a balanced meal, make quesadillas with vegetables anda protein source like beans or tempeh bacon. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and spicy guacamole.

However, quesadillas must contain cheese, as their name suggests ("quesa" meaning "cheese" inSpanish), not just for authenticity but also to hold the sides of the folded tortilla together.

Don't Use Vegan Cheese for Quesadillas

While vegan cheese products are available, they're not recommended for quesadillas because theydon't melt like dairy cheese. Non-milk cheeses that melt are likely to contain casein, a milk protein,and aren't vegan. The fillings will fall out of the tortilla if there isn't gooey cheese there to hold themtogether.

Cook Quesadillas Different Ways

In this recipe, quesadillas are pan-fried without oil or butter - it's not necessary. But the quesadillascan also be barbequed (carefully!) or oven-baked until the cheese is melted and tortilla is light crispybrown.

Dessert Recipes

Basic Vegetarian Quesadilla Recipe

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Makes: 1 tortilla; multiply ingredients for multiple servings.

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Ingredients:

One tortilla: white, whole wheat or low-carb (high fibre) flour¼ cup cheese. Choose one or acombination of:CheddarMonterey jackMozzarellaCream cheese (only use in combination with one ofthe above cheeses)¼ cup protein:Black beansKidney beansRefried beans Taco-flavoured texturedsoy protein Cooked tempeh bacon stripsCooked vegan faux chicken strips¼ cup vegetables:Green,red or yellow bell pepperHot (jalapeno) pepperFresh tomatoesGreen onions or cooking onionsFreshcilantroCorn kernelsDirections:Cut all vegetables into uniform pieces about the size of afingernail.Place the tortilla on a large plate. Top half the tortilla with fillings/toppings: cheese,beans/protein and vegetables.Preheat a large skillet over high heat.When the skillet is hot, fold thetortilla over so the half with no toppings is on top of the half with toppings.Gently slide the foldedtortilla into the skillet, being careful not to spill toppings.Cook the tortilla until the bottom is goldenbrown and the toppings are starting to melt.Using a large spatula, gently flip the tortilla over. Cookon the other side until it's golden brown and the cheese is melted.Serve topped with sour cream,guacamole and salsa.