These easy chicken pesto quesadillas are ready in just 10 minutes! My family loves them! Juicy chicken, basil pesto, and plenty of cheese all melted together in warm, crispy tortillas!
I’m not kidding around when I say my family goes bonkers for these pesto quesadillas, which makes me SO happy because they are ridiculously easy. Make these with rotisserie or leftover roasted chicken, and you’ll have dinner ready in about 10 minutes.
I love quesadillas for how quick they are to make. I love using homemade flour tortillas when I have them on hand, but store-bought work like a charm! This pesto variation isn’t authentic, but it is so tasty! See our green chile chicken quesadillas for a traditional take on a quesadilla.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: I make this recipe with leftover chicken from the fridge. It makes a great quick lunch or dinner! If you don’t have cooked chicken, here are three easy recipes that are perfect for you: quick poached chicken, slow cooker shredded chicken, and this stovetop shredded chicken recipe.
- Pesto: Store-bought pesto is a fantastic shortcut, but homemade is unbeatable if you have access to fresh basil during the summer. My go-to basil pesto recipe is a classic, or for something different, try my kale almond pesto, which I use for my kale pesto pasta!
- Spinach: I love sneaking in some greens to the middle of each quesadilla. Baby spinach or baby kale are perfect.
- Cheese: Any mild, melty cheese works for these. I love Monterey Jack, mozzarella, or queso de Oaxaca when I can find it (it melts so well).
- Tortillas: Use your favorite tortillas for this recipe. Homemade tortillas, particularly soft flour tortillas or corn tortillas, add an extra special touch.
How to Make Chicken Pesto Quesadillas
You’ll build your quesadillas by spreading pesto all over your tortilla, adding chicken (I usually shred it), lots of cheese, and a handful of spinach.
Then, cook them in a heavy-bottomed pan or skillet—think cast iron pan, heavy stainless steel skillet, or the more traditional comal (a flat griddle used in Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America).
When the outsides are toasty, and the cheese melts, transfer to a cutting board, slice into triangles, and serve! A perfect lunch or snack!
Chicken Pesto Quesadillas
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
My family loves these easy pesto chicken quesadillas. I know pesto chicken sounds strange to put pesto into a quesadilla, but trust me, it works! Use your favorite store-bought pesto or make your own. Here’s our homemade pesto recipe!
You Will Need
4 medium to large flour or corn tortillas, see homemade flour tortillas
4 tablespoons basil pesto
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 cup packed spinach leaves
4 ounces mild melting cheese like queso de Oaxaca or Monterey Jack, shredded, about 1 cup
Directions
1Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Lightly spray or brush the pan with oil, and then place one tortilla into the pan.
2Use a spoon to spread a tablespoon of pesto over the tortilla, then top with a quarter of the chicken, spinach, and cheese.
3Carefully fold the tortilla in half, using a spatula to press the top down to stay folded. Cook until the underside is toasted, about 2 minutes.
4Carefully flip the quesadilla and cook until the second side is toasted and the cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the quesadilla to a cutting board and cut in half. Repeat with remaining quesadillas.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- This recipe was originally shared with Betty Crocker and we are excited to be able to share it with you.
- The nutrition facts below are estimates.
I just made this tonight for my fiancé and I and it was so delicious! I used my homemade cilantro-jalapeño pesto, raw sharp cheddar, and I sautéed the spinach before adding it to the quesadilla. It came out amazing and I will definitely be making this, again. Thanks for sharing!
These looked great, made them tonight. Unfortunately it was kind of a mess. I had trouble when flipping the tortillas. However the quesadillas that sort of worked out tasted really good. Next time I think I’ll bake them. That way I don’t have to worry about flipping.
We do this quesadilla, too, but swap the cheddar out for feta. Love me some feta!!!
the pesto is a great idea – I make chicken quesadillas all the time, but never thought of adding pesto, yum
thanks Nancy, we use pesto in just about everything –love it!
This recipe was a breeze to make and very tasty. Doesn’t get much better than that!
These look so yummy and pretty darn healthy with the spinach. Amanda mentioned sun-dried tomatoes which sent me off thinking about pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese . . . Can’t wait till lunch time!
Adam and Joanne, have you ever tried making quesadillas on a panini maker? What do you think?
Thanks, Terry! We haven’t actually tried the panini maker, we think it would work great though — might have to try soon 🙂
Oh. My. Goodness. How did I never think of this awesomeness? Thank you! I’ll be adding some sun-dried tomatoes and calling this lunch tomorrow.