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The Best Chicken Quesadillas Recipe

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The beauty of this recipe is that you can make the beans and grilled chicken a couple of days ahead of time and store in the fridge. Then, when you’re ready to make quesadillas, combine the cheeses and assemble! You can also completely assemble the quesadillas, store in the fridge for the day and then pull them out when you’re ready to put them on the skillet!

Ingredients

Units
For the Chicken:
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice, about 1 lime
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic powder
For the beans:
  • 1 (13 ounce) jar Jovial black beans, drained and rinsed (I like this brand because the beans are soaked before cooking, but you can use whatever brand you'd like)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
For the Quesadillas:
  • 8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 8 gluten free, sourdough or grain-free tortillas

Instructions

Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, and garlic then toss until the chicken is well coated. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour. Grill or broil chicken for 4 minutes on each side, or until a thermometer reads 160°F (70°C) when inserted into thickest part of the breast. Tent with foil.

Shred the chicken when it’s cool enough to handle. (Shredded chicken can be prepared a day or two in advance and kept in the refrigerator, or store the cooked and shredded breasts in a covered container in the freezer for up to 3 months.)

Place the drained beans, lime juice, garlic powder and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. You can also use a potato masher and do this by hand.

Toss the cheeses, lime juice and cilantro in large bowl.

To assemble: Place 4 of the tortillas on a flat work surface. Spread a thin layer of beans on each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and top with shredded chicken. Make sure not to put the cheese too close to the outside of the tortillas to prevent it from oozing out. Complete the assembly by placing a tortilla on top of each quesadilla.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place 1 quesadilla in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip quesadilla and cook until bottom is golden brown and cheese is melted. Serve alone or with some salsa or a generous dollop of guacamole.