Creamy avocados and hearty black beans make a great pairing. Layer them on quesadillas, add a cheese mix, and dinner is served in minutes! This is such an easy and kid-friendly weeknight dinner.
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The tortilla is one of my favorite culinary treats. The question is not what you can put there. The question is instead, what CANNOT you put in there?
One of my favorite combinations is black beans and avocado. I almost always have a can of black beans in the pantry and tortillas in the fridge. If you have these too, you’re already partially there!
What can you prepare in advance?
Quesadillas—and tacos, for that matter—come together quickly because the components are easy to assemble. This means that you can also easily prepare these components separately in advance. You can assemble the black beans, peppers, and onions in the evening or the day before. Just keep them covered in the fridge. (Want to take it a step further and make your black beans from scratch? Here’s how to do it on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker.)
This recipe also caters to producing a little bit of leftover black bean filling, mainly because my kids always want some sort of Mexican food at least once a week. Tacos fit the most naturally, but you can also take the filling and load it over tortilla chips. Pop them in the oven with some shredded cheese and boom, nachos for dinner! (Just slice the avocado and top the nachos as soon as they come out of the oven!)
If you’d like, you can spread the filling over multiple meals by using one whole bell pepper and adding another whole can of black beans. The recipe still works and you’ll have leftover quesadillas for days.
How to make quesadillas
You may think you don’t need a word on how to make a quesadilla, but I’ll tell you how it’s usually done, and then I’ll tell you what I did and why.
Typically, you’ll warm the tortilla on both sides until you see an air bubble, then place the cheese on half of one side, leaving enough room to fold in half. Then you add the rest of the ingredients. Putting the cheese on the bottom first can make a good melty base.
For this recipe, however, I first apply the filling, place the avocado on top, and then sprinkle the cheese on top. I liked this the best, as unorthodox as it may seem, because the cheese and avocado are friendly and blended.
A downside to this method is that some cheese will fall out of the tortilla when it’s time to flip it to brown the top. But let’s face it. Quesadillas aren’t the most elegant of edibles, are they? A little chaos never hurt anyone.
The best kind of tortillas to use
Typically, flour tortillas are larger and hold up better than quesadillas, so I use those.
- Want to make your own tortillas? Try this recipe: Homemade Flour Tortillas
Tips for avocado TLC
- When your avocados are hard, put them in a brown paper bag. Add a banana. In another day or so, you’ll have a ripe avocado suitable for mashing. (And a banana that might be ready to go in banana bread.)
- Store unused avocados in a glass of water in the refrigerator, a tip I learned from cookbook author David Joachim. Yes, your avocado will get wet, but it also won’t overripe it and reduce browning on the outside. When you’re ready to use your avocado, simply discard the water, pat dry, and proceed as directed.
What do you eat with quesadillas?
Sometimes I serve these with plain white rice; sometimes with cilantro-lime rice; sometimes it’s extra tortilla chips to catch anything that might fall out of the tortilla, or a simple green salad. Sometimes it is eaten just like that.
These babies are filling, so don’t worry too much about adding a bunch of extras.
How to serve quesadillas
If you plan to serve the quesadillas all at once, preheat the oven to 300°F. While you prepare the quesadillas, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Gradually add more until it’s time to serve.
You can also serve with some sour cream and some fresh tomato salsa – aka pico de gallo.
More Quesadilla Recipes to Try!
- Broccoli and Cheddar Quesadillas
- Apple Chicken Quesadilla
- Crispy Cheese and Mushroom Quesadillas
- “Kale” satilla
- Kimchi Avocado Quesadilla
Easy Avocado Black Bean Quesadillas
Queso fresco doesn’t exactly grate or shred easily if you use a box grater — it kind of crumbles. I grated it because it gave me a more even distribution of the cheese, but you can crumble it with your fingers if you prefer.
ingredients
For the avocado puree:
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2 big or 3 small ones avocados
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Juice from 1/2 lime
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prize kosher salt
For the quesadillas:
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2 tablespoon olive oildivided
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1 Cup Red onioncut into 1/4 inch crescents
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
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1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
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3/4 teaspoon coriander
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1/2 yellow, red or orange pepperscored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
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Juice from 1/2 lime
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1 (15.5-Ounce) can black beansdrained and rinsed
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4 (8 inches) flour tortillas
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1 Cup Quarkcrumbled or grated
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1 Cup sharp cheddar cheesegrated
Serve:
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sour cream
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Pico de gallo or salsa
method
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Make the avocado puree:
In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a fork and add a pinch of kosher salt and the juice of half a lime. It’s supposed to reach a consistency that feels similar to guacamole—a little chunky, but still spreadable. Put aside.
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Cooking Vegetables and Beans:
In a cast-iron skillet or other large, heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and cook, stirring every minute, until the onion softens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the salt, cumin, oregano, and coriander and stir until the onions are completely coated.
Add the peppers and stir to combine. Cook for a further 3 minutes until the peppers are just beginning to soften. Add the lime juice and black beans and stir the whole mixture together. Cook for about 2 minutes, just to warm the black beans through.
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Warm tortillas:
Heat the second tablespoon of olive oil in a separate skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Add 1 flour tortilla and let it heat for about a minute. Using tongs, turn the tortilla over and repeat the process for the other side until you see a few bubbles appear in the middle of the tortilla.
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Assemble the quesadilla:
Layer the filling, then the avocado, then the cheese – about 1/4 cup of each, but if you want more cheese I’m not the cheese police so go for it!
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Cook Quesadilla:
Fold the tortilla over to seal the quesadilla. Bake 2 to 3 minutes per side, until crisp and cheese is melted. Repeat the process for the other quesadillas, although if your pan is large enough, you can make two at a time in the same pan.
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Serve quesadillas:
Cut quesadillas into triangular portions and serve with sour cream, avocado and/or pico de gallo, if desired. Quesadillas are best served and eaten immediately.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 1176 | calories |
| 57g | Fat |
| 134g | carbohydrates |
| 39g | protein |
