Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie
Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie is a quiche/quesadilla which means you can eat it for breakfast or dinner. The flavors in this Mexican recipe are simple but tasty. If you love all things Mexican you’ll love this chicken dinner.
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CHICKEN AND CHEESE QUESADILLA PIE
My oldest son turned eight today. I can actually remember turning eight so the fact that I produced a human (with some help) that is that old is a weird feeling to me. That probably means from now on out he’ll remember everything too so my parenthooding mulligans are over. I’ve gotta be perfect from here on out.
We usually have a birthday party with friends and then a family party with just us. For the family party the birthday kid gets to pick their favorite meal for me to fix followed by cake and a sugar fueled rendition of a spank line sound-tracked by Sugar Hill Gang’s “Jump on It“.
If you don’t know what a spank line is it’s where the whole family makes a tunnel with their legs while the birthday kid crawls through being zealously spanked by the whole family. I’m sure it’s illegal in some states but it’s tradition for us.
So that was my night. What did you do?
I finally subscribed to Cook’s Country magazine. I love that they explain their testing and experiments for each recipe. It really appeals to the nerd in me and consequently I want to make everything because hello, it’s been thoroughly tested. How could it not be good?
This Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie is a quiche/quesadilla which means you can eat it for breakfast or dinner. We chose dinner and we all loved it. The flavors are simple but tasty. The original chicken recipe calls for canned jalapenos but I knew no one in my family would go for that so I left them out.
Instead of a pie crust…a large tortilla! Simple.
Fill it with rotisserie chicken, cheese, and cilantro.
Then cover it with your egg/milk mixture and bake. Done!
OTHER MEXICAN RECIPES:
- Chicken and Black Bean Flautas
- One-Pan Chicken Enchilada Skillet
- Chicken Enchilada Roll-Ups
- Baked Chicken Chimichangas
- One-Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice
- One-Pan Chicken Tortilla Bake
Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie
Ingredients
- 1 10-inch flour tortilla, burrito size
- 1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- optional 1/3 cup drained jarred pickled jalapeños, chopped
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease 9-inch pie plate. Press tortilla into prepared pie plate and spray lightly with cooking spray. Toss chicken, cilantro, jalapeños (optional), 1 cup cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl until combined. Spread filling over tortilla.
- Whisk eggs, milk, flour, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt in bowl until smooth. Slowly pour over filling. Bake until surface is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes, and when knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese on top and bake for about 3-5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let cool 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. Top with sour cream, salsa, and guac if desired.
Notes
Loved this recipe! Will definitely make it again. I left out the cilantro (not a fan!), but added some adobo seasoning. Next time I would leave out the 2nd 1/2 teaspoon of salt as it was a little too salty for my taste. Another reviewer shared that they added corn and I think I’d try that as well. Simple and delish!
Thank you!
This recipe is easy and delicious.
Thank you!
How does this freeze?
Great!
This is such an easy, go to recipe. Tastes great and easy to put together with basic ingredients (as long as you have fresh cilantro, which I think is a requirement). I have made this many times over the years. The other night did not have tortillas, so I used a flat roll-up, worked great.
Glad you liked this!!
We make something very similar but with Bisquick (big fan of their Impossibly Easy Dishes). I like the idea of adding a tortilla as a base, probably makes cleanup easier too. If they don’t like the jalapenos, maybe try adding a can of diced green chiles. Not as spicy but still add a little kick.
Great tip! I agree!
Love this recipe. Always a good go-to for leftover chicken.
Thank you!
Just made this, everyone really loved it! I made a second one and subbed the chicken for black beans for my vegetarian daughter and she loved it too.
Thank you! I love this one.
I found this recipe in the America’s Test Kitchen “Best Simple Recipes” magazine (same recipe as here). I made it tonight. The recipe has promise but I think it contains way too much flour. I was afraid of that as I was making it… It has an odd, gummy texture even after baking for the full 20 minutes. More baking wouldn’t help. In addition, the flour has a slightly undercooked taste.
If I were to do this again I’d bump the eggs to 3 and cut the four to 1/3 Cup for a more quiche-like texture and flavor.
Sorry you didn’t like it. We love it.
Great Recipe. Sort of like a Mexican quiche, that amends itself to different options depending preferences. After making this a couple times, I use a little less flour so I don’t taste it as much. Thanks for sharing!
I just found your recipe on Pinterest while searching for some new ideas for my turkey leftovers. I love the idea of this pie recipe and can’t wait to give it a try with our turkey from Thanksgiving. Thanks for the great ideas and I will continue to look thru your other posts 🙂 Hope your family had a great holiday yesterday!
Thank you Tonya. Happy holidays to you!
Can you make this into individual pies using muffin tins?
I haven’t tried it but it’s a great idea.
I don’t care for cilantro. Would there be another ingredient to substitute for it?
You could definitely just leave it out.
Try Italian parsley or chives for a little flavor and color.
Is that nutrition info right for one serving? 40 grams of fat doesn’t sound right…
The nutrition info comes from Cooks Country so I’m assuming it’s right.
Would skim milk work vs. whole milk or even 1%?
Yes of course! It will be fine with those.
kids didn’t like it. I liked it some thing different
I think ground beef might get the kids liking a little more maybe my younger 2 out of four seemed to like it. So we will try ground beef and see how it goes it was still a good idea though except the topping is bread and if your on a diet bread is not the best thing for you
I love these kind of recipes because you can do multiple different things to them. I just used what I had at home. I had ground beef i needed to use so used that instead of chicken. Luckily I had cilantro bc I do love that! I added chopped onion while browning my ground beef and added taco seasoning. I also made some salsa the other day that I added to it. I made the rest as directed. It was great!
Oh and I didn’t put cheese on top. My kids love it!!!! My 22 month old can’t get enough!
I think ground beef would be amazing here.
Are there any nutritional facts for this
Not yet! I’ll add them now Jill.
Thank you for the information on Cook’s Country Magazine! I often look up Food Lab recipes because they do and explain their recipe testing as well. Good to know that there is a magazine out there that does that as well. I will check it out! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
You’re welcome. It’s so interesting to read all of their findings.
Made this tonight and it was awesome. Everybody loved it. I made a few changes. I didn’t use the tortilla in the bottom. I added cumin. I didn’t have jalapenos, so I used frozen, chopped peppers I grew and some chopped red sweet peppers. I think adding some corn would be good too. Next time I will bake it until almost done before putting the cheese on top as it got pretty brown. I also didn’t have any rotisserie chicken, so I cooked a couple of large chicken breasts in the microwave and chopped them up. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re welcome and good job at adjusting to what you have.
Sounds like a dish for my family.
As far as perfect mom, don’t put that much pressure on yourself. There’s no such thing, as long as you love your kids, they will love you back. After having my 2 sons, I asked my mom when they start to appreciate you. Her response was… She was still waiting. Yes, I felt terrible and showed my appreciation for her much more openly from then on. Parents… appreciate them now, some day they won’t be around, not ready for that.
I totally agree. It’s sad that it is that way. I’ll have to be better to my own parents.
Yummmmmmmmmy!! Such an easy and tasty recipe!! Thanks so much!! I used Rotel, instead of jap’s and no cilantro (i’m probably 1 of about 2 people in the USA, who does not like it attttt allll!!) ;o)
That’s ok. We still love you.
hee hee hee thanks…;o)
I used green chilies when I didn’t have the jalapeños on hand. Great dish!
Thank you!
Hi! This recipe is amazing!! I made it, ate all of it, and featured it on my new food blog! A few readers have also made it and fallen in love!
Thanks!
Emily
So glad you loved it! I’m gonna have to check out your blog!
Can you make this the night before and cook it the next day??????
I think you could!
plis… White in spanish, so much easy!!!
Hi Christy. Been following you for quite some time and have made many of your suggested dishes. It’s long overdue that I tell you that this Chicken & Cheese Quesadilla Pie was just outstanding. Made it for dinner last night and even my wife, a very picky eater now, loved it. I’m looking forward to the leftovers. Thanks for your continued great recipes!
Malcolm Northrup
Thank you malcolm! Glad you enjoyed it.
Is there a gluten-free option for the all-purpose flour? Thanks!
I’m not an expert with gluten-free. I’m sure there’s a gluten-free flour you could use…
Hi! I was just wondering how well this freezes?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried freezing this but I’ve have done it with other similar recipes and it works great.
I was wondering the same thing. I send frozen (ready to cook) meals to my son at college.
Do you think it should be defrosted overnight first? Would you cook it on a lower temperature for
a longer amount of time? So wish all recipes would give this information.
Yes, you could definitely freeze it. I would defrost in the fridge overnight and cook at the same temperature. Just make sure you cover it so it doesn’t get too brown.
I have never posted before, but I just had to share. I came across this post today and I can’t wait to try it. My mother gives me her old copies of Cook’s Illustrated and I too, for some reason, find everything they say to be much more credible.
My main reason for posting though was that the date of this post caught my eye – my daughter’s birthday is also March 3. Her name is Payton after my favorite player (Peyton Manning, who did me the huge favor of moving to my home town Broncos), feminized a bit to humor my husband!
I love the name Payton! It’s so pretty! I’m actually watching the Broncos right now.
Made this today and it was good. We topped it off with some salsa.
How many servings does this pie have?
The actual recipe says 4 servings but I think you could definitely get 6 out of it.
It’s a quichadilla!
I am kicking myself that I have never thought of doing this before. So simple and it looks SO good! Xx
Thanks for this great recipe! I do a monthly meal exchange with 3 other girls in the neighborhood. We each choose one recipe and quadrouple it which allows each cook to keep one dish for themselves and share the other three! I just took 4 of these out of the oven and they look and taste great! I subbed green chilis for jalapenos and added some red and yellow bell pepper to get some more veggies in there! Keep the great ideas coming!
I made this last night – I probably should have measured the chicken (I just used all of it), because it overfilled the 9-inch pie plate and was spilling over the sides. I got out my grandmother’s iron skillet and slid the whole thing into there and it was perfect. Very tasty, too. I’m taking it for lunch today.
This is genius…I love that you don’t need a pie crust and the chicken and cheese filling make it hearty enough for dinner. I must make this!
Had this for dinner tonight. Had to bake it for much longer than 20 minutes. And am I the only one who found this to be unbearably salty? 1/2 tsp in the chicken mixture, plus 1/2 tsp in the flour mixture, right? Ugh, I couldn’t even finish my serving.
add one half tsp of red pepper flakes instead of original pepper it makes it taste better
Is it really 1 cup of flour? Seems like a lot of flour for the same liquid measure.
Yep. It’s one cup.
I wondered the same thing. That’s a ton of flour for very little liquid.
Hi, one of my friends shared one of your recipes on facebook (I’ll thank her later) , I’m so glad she did!
I love what I’ve seen and can’t wait to try some of your recipes 🙂
Made this last night for a potluck with some friends. Big hit. Convenient, too, since yesterday was Pi Day! Thanks for the recipe!
LOL your parenting shenanigans are over ;).
I love America’s Test Kitchen!! Never failed at one of their recipes. I have the slow cooker book. Great.
Oooh, that looks mighty tasty, and super easy!
I scored big time when I sent this recipe on to my mom, and she made it, and brought me a piece. It was DELICIOUS! Thank you for a great time saver–I never would have thought of a tortilla in place of a pie crust! It made a delicious breakfasty food, too!
I made this and my family liked it! I change it a little and used chopped bell pepper and red onion and turned it into a Fajita Pie. I will be making this again. Thanks for the recipe. I linked back here to your site.
You can see our results here: http://mybiscuitsareburning.blogspot.com/2013/03/chicken-fajita-pie.html
Having company tomorrow night. I asked if they wanted to try something different and, they said yes. So, this recipe is my plan. It sounds de-lish.
Yes, it’s difficult to realize that your son is now an age at which you developed a functioning situational awareness. I always saw that as the time at which I became terminally stupid and, after 10 years, I figured I’ d be smart, again. I guess I was a little slow on the uptake; it took until he was 25 before I regained my mental faculties.
I love that magazine too! This dinner looks outstanding. YUM!
You’re so funny on the part about being “perfect” from now on because your son will probably remember everything! And that is so true though cos I was think about the same thing the other day. Although my son is only 5 now, he has really good memories (probably genes from daddy, and not me) so…help! LOL…
I love your family B-day tradition, totally fun. 😉 This Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla Pie is gorgeous and sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try it. Take care and have a wonderful rest of the week.
This looks delicious! I’d love to try packing some veggies in there too–peppers, onions, tomatoes. I guess that’d be more like a taco pie..haha!
A quesadilla pie is such a great idea!
I love the idea of a tortilla for the crust! Gotta try this one for sure!
This sounds amazing.
I am having this for dinner tonight!! It’s in the process of being made 🙂
Happy birthday to your son! This looks like a delicious meal idea!
I just made something very similar to this with a friend the other night, it was so good! Love that yours has jalapenos in it
Love the idea of turning a quesadilla into pie!
This looks great, but have a question. Did you mean to spray the pan with cooking spray and add the tortilla and ingredients. Never head of spraying the food with the cooking spray. Just wondered. Thanks, my family would love this.
That’s what the original directions said but I don’t think I sprayed the tortilla on top either. Maybe it’s so the filling doesn’t stick? Great question.
spraying food with cooking spray (like olive oil, coconut oil) is a great alternative to dipping your food in oil. It limits your oil use. Its perfect for making “fried” chicken in the oven. The coating on the chicken comes out crisp and crunchy.
Yep! You’re exactly right.
This looks awesome and so simple, love that! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made this recipe from Cook’s Country/ATK and it’s delicious. On a sidenote, I’m totally adopting the spank line tradition. Love that and my boys will, too, I have a feeling.
Yum–this looks so tasty! I think this would be a winner for my family! Gonna add to next week’s menu! Thank you!
Cindy
crazylou
This looks so good and easy! I’m not usually a quiche girl, but I’m so making this one! I do something similar in mini muffin tins just without the chicken and I add salsa…it’s a Biggest Loser recipe. This one sounds like a nice change from my usual! Thanks!
Happy Birthday to your son!
I absolutely love Cook’s Country. For the last 8 years for Christmas, my husband has bought me the book form of the magazine (they bind the year’s worth of magazines into a hardbound book – comes with an index – super helpful).
This recipe looks fabulous – I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks!
This sounds great!
Delish!
I love this concept of a quesadilla pie… More filling, less crust… Win win!
If it makes you feel better I don’t remember much before about 10, so you might still have a couple years grace left.
I’ve been looking for a way to use up all the cheddar cheese I have–this is going to be it!
Well I loved quesedillas and love quiche so It’s gotta be good. Happy birthday to Austin! Good to know I have until Owen is 8 to figure out this parenting thing before he remembers anything!