Cheese quesadillas
Buttery, golden tortillas stuffed with a gooey blend of jack and cheddar, cut into wedges for dipping in salsa, the easiest dinner you will ever make.
- 20 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $2.18 a serving
- 720 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- ¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar
- 4 flour tortillas, 8-inch
- 1 tbsp butter, divided
- ½ cup salsa
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
Each serving has about 720 calories, 29 g protein, 49 g carbs and 46 g fat, and costs about $2.18 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese works.
- No flour tortillas? Whole wheat tortillas work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the two cheeses together in a bowl.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Lay the tortillas flat. Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over half of each and the empty half over.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Dolly’s tip: Keep the cheese an inch from the edge so it melts inward instead of oozing out into the pan.half the butter in a large nonstick over medium heat. Add two quesadillas, edges toward the middle, and cook until and underneath, 2 to 3 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Flip them carefully with a wide spatula and cook 2 minutes more, until and the cheese has completely .
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Hold the top down with your fingertips on the spatula as you flip.Move to a board and cook the other two the same way with the rest of the butter.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Let them sit 1 minute, then cut each into 3 wedges and serve with the salsa, sour cream and avocado.
Dolly’s tip: The one-minute wait keeps the cheese from sliding out when you cut.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
