This Quesadilla Pie is an EASY casserole made from layers of flour tortillas and shredded cheese with beans, chilies, tomatoes, and onions that are baked in a pie dish until browned and crispy. So good!
At our house, quesadillas are the ultimate quick comfort food. If you’re unfamiliar with quesadillas, consider a flatbread version of a grilled cheese sandwich — toasted flour tortillas with melty cheese filling.
I am the quesadilla queen! (In my opinion at least, having held that title since college, where I regularly cooked giant quesadillas atop burrito-sized tortillas with tons of add-ins for myself and friends.)
The two basic ingredients in a quesadilla are cheese (queso is cheese in Spanish) and tortillas, either flour or corn, although in the US quesadillas are typically made with flour tortillas.
Want to make your own tortillas? Try these recipes:
- Homemade flour flat cakes
- Homemade corn tortillas
My version of a quesadilla cake is a casserole made in a pie pan with stacked flour tortillas and layers of cheese filling and baked until browned and crispy.
The beauty of quesadilla pie is that it’s a great way to use up leftovers and odds and ends. The essentials are the tortillas and cheese; After that, it is up to you which type and type of filling you want.
Black beans are good, as are onions, chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, or summer squash. Anything can be layered with the cheese. Add as much chili as you like for spiciness and flavor.
Quesadilla Pie
Butter the bottom of the pan to keep the tortillas from sticking and the top of the last tortilla to flavor and brown them.
Tip: don’t skip the butter.
ingredients
basic ingredients:
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4 big flour tortillas (9 to 10 inch diameter)
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butter
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1/2 lb Cheese, either mild or hot Cheddaror Monterey Jack, grated
Possible ingredients for the filling:
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beanscooked (black beans, pinto beans)
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tomatoeschopped
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summer squashchopped
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onions (spring onions, red onions, green onions)
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Mushrooms (if using a lot, sauté first to remove moisture)
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Shredded cooked Chicken, pork or beef
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Chileanseither cooked green chiles, chopped pickled jalapenos, or salsa
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cumin and/or chili powder for extra spiciness
Garnishes:
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Chopped avocado
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Chopped coriander
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Sliced thin iceberg lettuce seasoned with vinegar and salt
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sour cream
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salsa
method
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Preheat the oven and prepare the cake tin:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a cake pan about the same size as your tortillas (I used a 10-inch Pyrex cake pan for 10-inch wide tortillas).
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Layer the pie pan with tortillas, cheese and fillings:
Place a tortilla on the bottom of the cake pan. Sprinkle some grated cheese over the tortilla. At this point, start adding your filling ingredients of choice and layering the tortillas. Just make sure each layer is generously sprinkled with cheese.
In the example pictured, I used cheese, black beans, and onion greens on the first layer. Then I added another tortilla and tossed in chopped zucchini, chopped tomatoes, chopped pickled jalapenos, and more shredded cheese.
I also sprinkled a bit of cumin and chili powder on top of this layer. I added another tortilla and added more shredded cheese, more black beans, tomatoes and onions.
Top off your layers with a final flour tortilla. Spread a little butter on the surface of this tortilla.
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Bake in the oven:
Cover the bowl with aluminum foil. Place in the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and increase the heat to 400°F. Roast for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbling.
Take out of the oven. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into quarters.
Serve with chopped avocados, shredded lettuce, cilantro, salsa, and/or sour cream.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 1162 | calories |
| 56g | Fat |
| 122g | carbohydrates |
| 48g | protein |
