Sesame Ginger Chicken Quesadillas
These chicken quesadillas come together in no time, making them perfect for busy evenings when you need a quick, family-friendly meal.
The sauce keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator, so, if you make the sauce ahead of time, you can have these ready in 10-15 minutes.
This recipe came for an old Southern Living Cookbook. The recipe was posted by Arthur Elizalde of Arturo’s in Austin, TX. I looked to see if Arturo’s is still open, and it is still open. I found that they are still serving these Sesame-Ginger Quesadillas, so they must continue to be a hit!
I used to make these when I was working full time, and had young boys at home, and we were going to soccer games, boy scouts, church activities, and school activities. I would make the sauce on the weekends, so that when we came in from school and extracurricular activities, late and tired, I could easily put a hot meal on the table. (I left off the onions then and did not add the pineapple salsa.) But now, my husband and I still love these, but with all of the extras!
Sauce Ingredients:
- Rice wine vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Canola or Avocado oil
- Toasted Sesame oil
- Honey
- Fresh ginger
- Minced garlic
About the quesadilla Ingredients:
- Sesame Ginger sauce (Make ahead to save time.)
- Cooked chicken ( I used a rotisserie chicken.)
- Shredded carrots (To make it easy, use the bagged shredded carrots.)
- Diced onion (Skip this if you don’t care for onions.)
- Flour tortillas
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese (Substitute your favorite cheese, if desired.)
I topped the quesadillas with fresh pineapple salsa, and it really takes the dish to the next level.
Sesame Ginger Chicken Quesadillas
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Quesadillas filled with chicken in a flavorful sesame oil, ginger, and soy sauce cooked in a skillet and topped with fresh pineapple salsa.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup canola or avocado oil
- 1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbs. honey
- 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 5-6 Tbs. Sesame-Ginger sauce
- 1 cup chopped cooked chicken
- 3 shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 4 (8 - inch flour tortillas)
- 1 (8 oz.) package shredded Mexican cheese blend
Instructions
Sesame Ginger Sauce Instructions:
- Whisk together all of the sesame ginger sauce ingredients listed above. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week until ready to use.
Sesame Ginger Quesadilla Instructions:
- Heat the Sesame Ginger Sauce in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add chicken, carrot, and onion.
- Cook, 2 to 4 minutes until thoroughly heated. Stir occasionally.
- Spoon chicken mixture over half of each tortilla. Spread it out on each half.
- Top with a handful of shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Lightly grease a skillet with oil.
- Place filled tortilla in skillet and fold over. Cook one side over medium-high heat until lightly browned (about a minute).
- Flip the folded tortilla and cook the other side until lightly browned.
- Top with fresh pineapple salsa. (Optional) Recipe:
Notes
1. Substitute shredded Monterey Jack cheese or other cheese for Mexican cheese blend.
2. Omit carrots and onion, if desired.
3. Rotisserie chicken works great for the cooked chicken.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2-4 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican