Tex Mex Vegetarian Quesadillas
Vegetarian quesadillas will be a welcome entree for a meatless Mexican dinner or lunch. Each vegetarian quesadilla is stuffed with a spicy corn and black bean mixture and Mexican cheeses. This Tex Mex quesadilla recipe is delicious, easy to make, and ready to eat in 20 minutes. Includes Weight Watcher’s friendly options – substitutions and points noted in the recipe.
When it’s time for meatless Monday meals, this corn and black bean quesadillas recipe will become a favorite. It’s easy to customize the fillings and spice level, so it’ll be loved by everyone in your family.
Budget-Friendly Vegetarian Quesadillas
This quesadilla recipe is really economical. If you find items on sale and use coupons, it’s possible to feed a family of 4 this hearty meatless dinner for around $10. What’s better is how easy it is to make quesadillas.
I used a panini maker to grill these up. Seeing the hatch marks on the tortilla makes for great eye appeal.
If you don’t have a panini maker, you can use a skillet or grill pan to make them in, or you can even cook them on a grill outside. It’s a fun dish to use to get your kids cooking with you, too. Quesadillas are SO versatile! You can fill them with nearly any ingredients you want and they’ll taste fantastic. Heck, I used to babysit for a little boy who loved peanut butter and banana quesadillas.
Ingredients used in this vegetarian quesadillas recipe:
- whole grain tortillas – I use the taco size, but go big burrito if you want to.
- frozen corn niblets – You can use canned, but be sure to drain the liquid first.
- cooked black beans – I typically use drained and rinsed canned black beans, but if you have an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot), try my friend Barb’s recipe for pressure cooker black beans. It only takes 10 minutes to cook them!!
- shredded cheese – If you like really cheesy quesadillas, be sure to shred your own cheese. The pre-shredded cheeses at the store have a chemical agent applied to keep the cheese from clumping together. That same chemical also prevents the cheese from melting very well.
Vegetarian Quesadilla Serving Suggestions
When it comes to serving the vegetarian quesadillas, let your hunger control the situation. Make it a light and casual dinner, serving them with chips and salsa or Pico de Gallo.
Or for a more complete dinner, serve them with easy Spanish rice and make a healthy side salad to go along with the quesadillas, too. This Mexican Ranch salad dressing would be perfect!
Oh, and if you love black beans and corn together as much as I do, be sure to also check out my skillet dinner recipe for Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas Soup.
With some extra money in my pocket, maybe I can start saving up for us to take a trip someplace warm.
Where would YOU go to get away from the cold weather?
Tex Mex Quesadillas Recipe:
Tex Mex Vegetarian Quesadillas
Ingredients
- â…” cup green enchilada sauce
- 1 cup corn niblets frozen or canned
- 1 cup cooked black beans
- 1 jalapeno minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon lime juice
- 1 scallion finely chopped, more if desired
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 8 whole wheat flour tortillas (I use Mission Carb Balance)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the enchilada sauce, corn, black beans, diced chiles, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, green onions and cilantro. Stir occasionally until mixture is heated through.
- Cover one tortilla with a sprinkling of cheese and 1/2 cup of the mixture. Leave approximately 1/4″ edge to avoid the cheese from oozing out of the quesadilla. Top with another small handful of cheese and the other tortilla.
- Use a silicone pastry brush to apply vegetable or avocado oil to the bottom plate of the Panini maker and the outside of the top tortilla.
- Preheat a panini maker. Once preheated, place the prepared quesadilla between the plates and grill until the quesadilla is golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted.
- Serve with your favorite taco toppings such as sour cream, diced tomatoes, salsa, and guacamole.
Notes
- Use low carb whole wheat tortillas, such as Mission brand Carb Balance (2 Smart Points per tortilla)
- Use low fat cheddar cheese (2 Smart Points for 2 ounces)
- Watch the points on toppings like regular sour cream and guacamole – they add up quickly!
Nutrition
This post was first published 7 years ago, long before I owned a DSLR camera. I felt it was time to remake the recipe so I could update the photos.
For the memory book, here are the photos from back in 2011, when I first made the vegetarian quesadillas. Yikes! 😉
A quick, easy. delicious recipe!
Thanks for your comment and for rating the recipe, Barb!