Smashed black bean quesadillas
Smoky mashed black beans and plenty of melted cheddar in a crackly golden tortilla, dinner in 20 minutes from a can and a block of cheese.
- 20 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $2.11 a serving
- 860 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 flour tortillas, 8-inch
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese, grated
- ½ cup salsa (optional)
- ¼ cup sour cream (optional)
From your pantry
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
Each serving has about 860 calories, 40 g protein, 80 g carbs and 43 g fat, and costs about $2.11 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No flour tortillas? Whole wheat tortillas work.
- No cheddar cheese? Shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese or mexican blend cheese works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
- No sour cream? Plain greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the beans in a bowl with the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and water. Mash with a fork until mostly smooth, with a few whole beans left.
Spread a quarter of the beans over half of each tortilla. Scatter the cheddar on top and the tortillas over into half-moons.
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: Cheese on top of the beans is the glue. It melts and holds the two halves shut.Heat half the oil in a large over medium heat and lay in two quesadillas.
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.
Medium heat
Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until deep and the cheese has . Move them to a board.
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 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: If they brown before the cheese melts, turn the heat down a notch and cover the pan for a minute.Add the rest of the oil and cook the other two the same way.
Medium heat
Let them sit 1 minute, cut into wedges, and serve with salsa and sour cream for dipping.
Timer: 1 min
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.
