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Avocado makes this chipotle quesadilla recipe creamy without overloading on the cheese, and the chipotle tahini sauce sends it over the top.
I’m a strong believer in baby steps. You know, those small steps that when added together, propel you toward a major change? I’m impatient by nature, so it’s taken me a while to get on board with that theory. But when Alex and I set out to change our diet from fast and processed food to home cooking, there’s no way we could have gone cold turkey.
What inspired us was a book that said we didn’t have to change all at once: just start taking small steps in the right direction. It took a lot of the pressure off, and helped us to feel free to experiment and find what worked for us. Recipes like this avocado black bean chipotle quesadilla are exactly what helped us to eat more plants in a delicious way. Keep reading for how to make this quick weeknight dinner!
Related: What Should I Make for Dinner? | 12 Quick Dinner Recipes
Why make this quesadilla
This vegetarian chipotle quesadilla recipe is about small steps toward a major diet change. If you aren’t quite ready for one of those hippie style Buddha bowls of vegetables but want to start cleaning up your diet, this one’s for you. It’s a familiar recipe with mass appeal, but it’s homemade with natural whole foods and full of both nutrients.
Most importantly, this chipotle quesadilla is bursting with flavor — the kind where both Alex and I both mutter “Whoa” while still chewing the first bite. The star ingredient here is creamy avocado, which adds healthy fats and richness to the filling without the need for a massive amount of cheese. And the zesty chipotle lime tahini sauce is the showstopper. I may have licked the bowl clean (ok, I did).
Eating this chipotle quesadilla isn’t a health elixir, but research is beginning to show that eating well has a major effect on preventing conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Simply cooking whole foods at home can add up to making a huge impact on your health and those around you. Baby steps. But someday, those baby steps may add up into a giant step towards sustainable health.
Key ingredients in the chipotle sauce
The chipotle in this chipotle quesadilla comes from a bit of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilis. Chipotles in adobo sauce are sold in most mainstream grocery stores here in the US, available next to the Mexican products. The small can includes chipotle chiles, which are smoked and dried jalapeños that then are rehydrated and canned in adobo sauce, a purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and some other spices.
Most of our recipes call for a very small amount of adobo sauce, because it’s super potent! In this sauce, we’ve called for only 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce (which includes little bits of chipotle chilis). You can freeze the remainder of the chipotle chile in adobo sauce for future use.
Related: Try these quesadillas with homemade Mexican Crema or Cashew Cream drizzled on top!
Dietary notes
This chipotle quesadilla recipe is vegetarian. For gluten-free, use corn or gluten-free tortillas.
Chipotle Quesadilla with Avocado
Avocado makes this chipotle quesadilla recipe creamy without overloading on the cheese, and the chipotle tahini sauce sends it over the top.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Spicy Chipotle Sauce
- 15-ounce can black beans
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 avocados
- 1 ½ cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh
- 8 whole wheat tortillas (or gluten-free tortillas)
- Cilantro, for a garnish
Instructions
- Make the Spicy Chipotle Sauce.
- Drain and rinse the black beans. In a small bowl, stir them together with the cumin, olive oil, and kosher salt.
- Thinly slice the avocados (see the video instructions).
- For each quesadilla, place a tortilla on a plate and evenly spread with cheese, black beans, corn, avocado slices, chipotle sauce, then additional cheese.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet* over medium heat for a few minutes. Place the loaded tortilla on the griddle and add another tortilla on top. Cook until browned, then flip and cook until browned on the other side, a few minutes per side.
- Remove the tortilla and cut into wedges with a pizza cutter. If making several quesadillas at once, keep them warm in a 300°F oven until ready to serve. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro and additional chipotle sauce.
Notes
*Alternative method: If you’ve cooking for a crowd, you can bake quesadillas in the oven.
More avocado recipes
Outside of this chipotle quesadilla with avocados, here are a few more healthy avocado recipes on A Couple Cooks and beyond:
This was a great recipe for the whole family, everyone loved it! As a new vegetarian I loved the simplicity and how delicious it was. However I do have quite a bit of leftover filling. Can y’all recommend something else I could use it for?
Oh that’s great! It would be tasty as a burrito bowl with rice, or you could use it as a taco filling!
i would be cautious w/ this though- a serving is very high in cals and fat
Made these last night for dinner — my husband and I loved them!! Thanks!!
SO glad to hear this, Elyse! Thanks for writing!
I love your blog and have marked several of your recipes because we are really working to change our eating patterns and quick healthy after work meals seem to be the biggest challenge.
This recipe was fabulous, easy to follow, nourishing … and the sauce! Yum. My husband and I loved it. Good job. I am a fan.
Yes, after work meals are our biggest challenge too. SO glad this one hit the mark! Thank you so much for letting us know. Let us know if you try anything else, or other things you’d love to try — We’re always happy to take recommendations and play with them :)
I was curious about the book and what the book is called and the author? I would love to know as I always have a struggle and would love to read. I printed out the recipe and intend to make, looks so good.
Hi! The book is Food Matters by Mark Bittman: http://amzn.to/1kD0gTz It’s still one of our favorites :)
I loved it, and ate the leftovers for days. The sauce was addicting. The only problem was that there wasn’t enough of the chipotle sauce for the 4 quesadillas when I first made it, so I had to basically double it.
You could also substitute yogurt for the tahini.
Oh that sauce sounds so so good! Quesadillas are on our regular rotation of quick meals and I’m pinning this for the next time I make them. :) Just out of curiosity, what is your favorite brand of whole wheat tortillas?
Good question! I can’t say we have a resident favorite whole wheat tortilla brand offhand! Now I’ll have to start comparing and get back to you :)
The flavor combo of these quesadillas are out of this world!
I love homemade quesadillas! And I REALLY love all of those avocado facts. In case I needed any more reasons/justifications to eat them (I don’t) I now have them! :-)
Exactly my thought — who needs more motivation to eat these little guys?! :)
This looks amazing as, despite being a vegetarian and fairly healthy, I’m not quite up to the bowl-of-quinoa level healthiness yet :)
Haha, perfect! We created this one just for people like you, which was us not so long ago! :) Let us know if you try it out.
I think as a a culture we have this delusion that healthy foods are weird and taste strange, and “normal” foods can’t be healthy. We need recipes like this, ones that are delicious and wholesome and can make someone think twice about what they put in their bodies. This sounds like the sort of quesadilla I’d happily make.
I couldn’t agree more, Allyson! That was a huge learning to us when we started trying to change to a healthier diet, and it’s a big reason behind why we do what we do. Thanks for helping to spread the word too! :)
Looks wonderful and weeknight simple. Thanks for being an inspiration you guys!
Yaay for baby steps! I approve of your soap box. ;-) And I’m a huge fan of that tahini-based cream!
Me too! Tahini is my favorite for sauces — it’s creamy without being dairy-based. Now I want to try out some more uses — do you have a favorite tahini sauce?
This one with apple cider vinegar and tamari is one of my favorites. http://www.wholenourishment.net/blog/2015/3/16/lunch-power-part-2-kale-snacking-salad
I also love adding it to pesto to make it creamier. :)
http://www.wholenourishment.net/blog/2015/3/23/lunch-power-part-3-roasted-walnut-beet-sauce-2-ways
Every post of yours makes me want to come over for dinner. I’ll bring the cheese and wine!
You are welcome anytime!
This looks great!! I especially love that you used tahini for the sauce. Totally delicious flavour combo!
Thanks Katrina — the tahini really ads a wonderful flavor :)