These are hands down the best vegetarian quesadillas. They are loaded with cheese, roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, corn, bell peppers, red onion, and seasoned to perfection! I promise you won’t miss any meat at all! They’re also super simple and quick to make as all the veggies are being roasted in the oven. Serve with a simple 3-ingredient yogurt garlic dip for the best flavor.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make these amazing vegetarian quesadillas:
- Veggies: sweet potatoes, canned corn, canned beans (black beans or kidney beans), bell pepper, red onion. Instead of sweet potatoes butternut squash could be a good substitute.
- Seasoning: I used my homemade Fajita seasoning (it contains just 6 spices that you probably already have in your pantry!) and it works here perfectly but you could also use your favorite spice mix (like taco seasoning), or just season the veggies to your liking with the following spices: chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano. I also seasoned the roasted veggies with melted butter mixed with fresh garlic and lime juice for extra flavor.
- Cheese: I used sharp cheddar and this is what I encourage you to use but mild cheddar will also work. You can substitute cheddar with Emmentaler (Swiss cheese) or Gruyere cheese.
- Tortilla: you can use wheat or corn tortillas for this recipe (I used wheat tortillas).
How to make it step by step
Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas Mark 7 (if you have a fan option or a convection oven, bake the vegetables on two baking trays at 400°F/200°C).
STEP 1: Prepare the vegetables: Peel the sweet potato and cut into 3/4-inch (2cm) cubes. Cut the bell pepper into 3/4-inch (2cm) cubes. Peel the onion and cut into 1/4-inch (5mm) slices.
STEP 2: Bake the vegetables: Toss the vegetables with olive oil and fajita seasoning, season to taste with salt and pepper. Distribute evenly on a baking sheet. Make sure the vegetables are not overcrowded or they won’t brown properly – it’s better to bake them in two batches (on the photo 2 you can see only 1 batch). Bake them for about 20 minutes – they should be soft and nicely browned.
STEP 3: Melt the butter in a small pot, add pressed garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Take the pot off the heat and add the lemon juice.
STEP 4: Add the drained corn, beans, and shredded on the large holes of a box grater cheese into a very large bowl. Stir everything together.
STEP 5: When the vegetables are done, pour the butter-garlic-lemon mixture over them, toss with the liquid, then transfer to the bowl. Scrape with a wooden spatula all the brown bits at the bottom of the baking sheet, add them to the bowl.
STEP 6: Season the filling with salt and pepper, stir everything together.
STEP 7+8: Assemble: Place 2-3 heaped tablespoons filling over a half of a large tortilla (leaving some border so that the filling won’t fall out when frying), then fold it in half.
STEP 9: Pan-fry quesadillas: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Add two fold in half tortillas. Cook over medium heat on both sides until the tortilla is golden and the cheese is melted (when adding tortilla to a pan, move with them to make sure they are not sticking to the pan). Transfer to a plate, sprinkle the tortilla lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Serve: Cut into triangles (cut each tortilla into 2 or 4 parts) and serve with yogurt dip (mix the yogurt with lemon juice, pressed garlic clove, and season with salt and pepper).
Enjoy!
How to cook quesadillas in the oven
If you’re making more quesadillas you can also finish them in the oven instead of on the stovetop (no flipping necessary). Here’s how to do it:
- Brush the quesadillas on both sides with melted butter.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 425°F/220°C for about 10 minutes or until golden.
Serving suggestions
- My absolute favorite way is to serve these quesadillas with the yogurt lemon garlic dip that is already suggested in the recipe. It really works best with these quesadillas.
- You can eat them on their own – they’re really good!
- You could make easy blender salsa: mix all the ingredients in a blender/food processor until just a little chunky: 1 can crushed tomatoes (14 oz/400ml), 1 handful fresh cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 1 large clove garlic, 1 deseeded jalapeno or some hot pepper flakes to taste, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 small white or yellow onion, salt, and pepper to taste.
- what would be also great: guacamole or pico de gallo.
Storage
This recipe is perfect to make ahead but make sure to store the filling and tortillas separately or the tortillas will be soft and mushy (they will absorb the moisture from the filling). You can store the filling for up to 3 days in the fridge or freeze it for 6 months. Fill the tortillas and fry them in a pan just before serving.
More quesadilla recipes
- BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
- Mushroom quesadilla with caramelized onions
- Easy breakfast quesadilla recipe
- Zucchini Quesadilla
- Chicken fajita quesadillas
- Broccoli cheddar quesadillas
- Chicken quesadilla recipe with mushroom bell pepper and corn
Check out all my quesadilla recipes here.
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
The Best Vegetarian Quesadillas (sweet potato and black bean quesadilla)
Ingredients
quesadillas:
- 1.5 lbs (700g) sweet potatoes, or butternut squash
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 medium red onion
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2.5 tablespoons homemade fajita seasoning or 2 teaspoons chili powder*, 1 teaspoon EACH: onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano)
- 1/2 (14oz/400ml) can corn
- 1/2 (14oz/400ml) can black beans or kidney beans
- 10 oz (300g) sharp cheddar cheese
- 1.5 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon lime juice or lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 large tortilla
- 2 tablespoons frying oil
yogurt-garlic-lemon dip:
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas Mark 7 (if you have a fan option or a convection oven, bake the vegetables on two baking trays at 400°F/200°C).
- Prepare the vegetables: Peel the sweet potato and cut into 3/4-inch (2cm) cubes. Cut the bell pepper into 3/4-inch (2cm) cubes. Peel the onion and cut into 1/4-inch (5mm) slices. Toss the vegetables with olive oil and fajita seasoning, season to taste with salt and pepper. Distribute evenly on a baking sheet. Make sure the vegetables are not overcrowded or they won't brown properly – it's better to bake them in two batches. Bake them for about 20 minutes – they should be soft and nicely browned.
- Melt the butter in a small pot, add pressed garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Take the pot off the heat and add the lemon juice.
- Add the drained corn, beans, and shredded on the large holes of a box grater cheese into a very large bowl. Stir everything together.
- When the vegetables are done, pour the butter-garlic-lemon mixture over them, toss with the liquid, then transfer to the bowl. Scrape with a wooden spatula all the brown bits at the bottom of the baking sheet, add them to the bowl.
- Season the filling with salt and pepper, stir everything together.
- Place 2-3 heaped tablespoons filling over a half of a large tortilla (leaving some border so that the filling won’t fall out when frying), then fold it in half.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Add two fold in half tortillas. Cook over medium heat on both sides until the tortilla is golden and the cheese is melted (when adding tortilla to a pan, move with them to make sure they are not sticking to the pan). Transfer to a plate, sprinkle the tortilla lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Cut into triangles (cut each tortilla into 2 or 4 parts) and serve with yogurt dip (mix the yogurt with lemon juice, pressed garlic clove, and season with salt and pepper).
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Homemade Fajita seasoning: combine 2 of Tbsp chili powder and 1 Tbsp of EACH: paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano.
- Chili powder is a spice mix and not a pure chili !
- Storage: This recipe is perfect to make ahead but make sure to store the filling and tortillas separately or the tortillas will be soft and mushy (they will absorb the moisture from the filling). You can store the filling for up to 3 days in the fridge or freeze it for 6 months. Fill the tortillas and fry them in a pan just before serving.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe) = 1.5 quesadillas. The yogurt dip is also included. This is only an estimate!
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