This Loaded Veggie Quesadilla Recipe is one of the tastiest and full of veggies! It’s perfect for healthy dinner ideas for kids and adults.
This post was created in partnership with Applegate. All opinions are ours.
Alex and I try to avoid “stealth vegetables” in the food philosophy and go the other way: Loading them! And this loaded vegetarian quesadilla recipe is here to prove it. We designed it as a healthy lunch or dinner for kids. But honestly, this is one of my favorite things we’ve done lately! Let’s just say it extends to all people regardless of their age. Packed with sweet potatoes, black beans, spinach, cumin and garlic, it features a new natural flavor of American Colby cheese that has just hit the market. Top it off and make our Homemade Spinach Tortillas to boost your veggie quotient even more! This quesadilla is also great for wrapping a healthy lunch for kids. Read on for the recipe and a little more about the cheese.
Related: Easy vegetarian recipes for beginners
How to make a vegetable quesadilla
OK, maybe you’re thinking now why anyone needs a quesadilla recipe? A quesadilla is as easy as putting two tortillas together and adding cheese! We agree with you. On the other hand, we eat a lot of these quesadillas thrown together, and there’s not a lot of flavor nuance. They satisfy but lack depth. Well, I’m not exaggerating when I say this vegetarian quesadilla recipe is one of the best quesadillas I’ve ever had! The reason is that it is flavored very deliberately and each component adds something special. Here are all the secrets of this Loaded Veggie Quesadilla Recipe:
- Cheese: If you want to make an exceptional vegetarian quesadilla, it must contain quality cheese. We used the American style Colby from Applegate’s new Naturals line, which has a lot of flavor. While it’s a bit unusual to use cheese slices instead of shredded cheese in a quesadilla, we love how easy it is and that there was no mess on our stovetop!
- Sweet potato: Sweet potato is our new tip for preparing a wonderfully delicious vegetarian quesadilla. Why? Not only does it add a slightly sweet flavor, but it makes the entire quesadilla chewy and gooey without the need for additional cheese. In addition, it is full of nutrients.
- Black beans: No real secrets here, but who doesn’t love the perfect sweet potato and black bean combo?
- Spinach: Green vegetables are nutrient dense and undoubtedly one of the best things for you. This recipe doubles the spinach by using sautéed spinach in the vegetable filling and then spinach in the tortillas themselves! If you have the time, making our homemade spinach tortillas is a fun project, especially with kids.
We recommend making this vegetable quesadilla once and measuring out all the quantities so you can see the general idea. Later, you don’t need to measure and add your own veggie substitutes!
Related: 10 easy recipes for kids | Easy dinner recipes for the family
About the cheese
Alex and I created this healthy vegetarian quesadilla recipe using an American Colby from Applegate’s new Naturals line of cheeses. Alex and I are pretty picky about the brands we buy, as well as sustainability, animal welfare and overall quality. Applegate recently launched a new line of natural cheeses with higher standards of cheese sourcing and production. Find out more about what this cheese line has to offer:
- Applegate Naturals Sliced & Shredded Cheese is made from a clear, traceable pool of milk from grass-fed cows raised on independent farms in the Midwest.
- The cows are raised in small herds on the pasture in a species-appropriate manner and are never given antibiotics or growth hormones.
- The cheese contains no added colourings, preservatives or artificial ingredients.
- To ensure traceability and meet the highest possible standards for non-GMO, The Non-GMO Project’s new cheese line has been third-party verified.
Where can you buy it? Here’s Where You Can Buy Applegate Naturals; Enter your zip code to find stores.
Looking for healthier dinner ideas for kids?
This vegetarian quesadilla recipe makes a great healthy dinner idea for kids (and adults, to be honest). It worked very well for us! If you’re looking for healthier lunch ideas for kids, check out these recipes:
This recipe is…
This Loaded Veggie Quesadillas recipe is vegetarian.* Use for gluten-free corn tortillas.
The description
This Loaded Veggie Quesadilla Recipe is one of the tastiest ever – and it’s loaded with veggies! It’s perfect for healthy meal ideas for kids… and adults.
- Cook sweet potato: Cook it in an Instant Pot (Note that this method requires 4 sweet potatoes to be cooked at once to ensure accurate timing). or you can cook it according to this cooking guideor drill holes and microwave let soften over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. (Perform this step ahead of time and chill the sweet potatoes before preparing the quesadilla; the cooking time below does not include this step.)
- Cook spinach: Roughly chop the spinach. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the spinach, garlic powder, cumin, and a pinch of kosher salt. Cook until the spinach is wilted and light green, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl.
- Assemble the tortilla: Halve the sweet potato and remove the skin: place the flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork. Spread ¼ cup mashed sweet potatoes on a tortilla. Drain and rinse the beans, then garnish the sweet potato with ¼ cup black beans. Sprinkle sweet potatoes and black beans with a pinch of kosher salt. Then add a pinch of cooked spinach on top (use your hands and leave the liquid at the bottom of the bowl). Top with 2 slices of cheese, tearing as needed to fit the tortilla. Cover with the second tortilla. Then repeat these instructions for the second quesadilla.
- Cook Quesadilla (or Bake in Oven): Lightly brush a pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Place one quesadilla in the pan, cheese side down. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and serve. (Note: For lunch boxes, you can keep quesadilla wedges in the fridge for a few days and place them in lunch boxes every morning.)
Remarks
*Note: This cheese is made with rennet, which is not entirely vegetarian. If you are a vegan, look for vegetarian cheeses.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: quesadilla, veggie quesadilla, healthy quesadilla, quesadilla recipe, sweet potato, black beans, spinach quesadilla, sweet potato quesadilla
