Mini Chicken Quesadillas
by Chungah
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Crowd-pleasing mini chicken quesadillas! With refried beans, rotisserie chicken and cheese! Perfect as an appetizer, snack or quick dinner!
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Why you’ll love these mini chicken quesadillas
- Repurpose leftover chicken. This is a great recipe to transform leftovers into irresistible mini snack-size quesadillas, cooked until melted, golden brown, and perfectly cheesy.
- Crowd-favorite. Whether it’s snack time with the kids, a quick weeknight dinner, or game day, these mini quesadillas just hit different. It’s the best kind of finger food, and they are fantastic on their own or you can serve them with a dollop of guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream.
- The most flexible recipe. This recipe can easily be tweaked and adapted to what you have on hand, adding in any leftover protein or veggies for a clean-out-the-fridge meal.
How to make mini quesadillas
- Prep the filling. Combine the rotisserie chicken, cheese, salsa, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
- Assemble. Spread the refried beans on half of the warmed tortilla, then add about 1-2 tablespoons of the filling to each quesadilla, folding over to seal.
- Cook. Cook the mini quesadillas, in batches, in a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown and gooey, about 2 minutes per side.
- Keep warm. Transfer the quesadillas to a baking sheet and keep warm in a low oven at 200°F.
- Serve. Serve warm with desired toppings.
Pro tip
Keep the filling from falling out.
Layer the refried beans on the bottom of the tortilla before adding the filling on top for each quesadilla. The beans will serve as the glue to keep everything together!
toppings for quesadillas
- Creamy toppings: guacamole, sour cream, Mexican crema, or Greek yogurt
- Salsa toppings: pico de gallo, salsa verde, corn salsa, or cilantro jalapeno sauce
- Garnishes: shredded iceberg lettuce, lime wedges, or cilantro
More quesadilla recipes
- Greek Quesadillas
- Easy Chicken Quesadillas
- Chicken Fajitas Quesadillas
- Cheesy Avocado Quesadillas
- Guacamole Quesadillas
Tools For This Recipe
Mini Chicken Quesadillas: Frequently Asked Questions
Small street taco flour tortillas are best. If small tortillas are not available, substitute large-sized tortillas (ex. burrito size) and cut out mini rounds using a large biscuit cutter.
Use a cheese with a high melting point such as Mexican blend, Monterey Jack, or sharp cheddar.
Absolutely! To cook multiple batches at once for a large crowd, brush or oil the outsides first and then bake in a single layer on a sheet pan at 400°F for 10-12 minutes.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. For a quick reheat, the microwave is best, whereas the air fryer will be more suitable to revive that favorited light exterior crispness!
Mini Chicken Quesadillas
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups leftover finely shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 ½ cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
- ⅓ cup restaurant-style salsa
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup refried beans, homemade or store-bought
- 16 street tacos flour tortillas, warmed
- 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
For serving
- 1 cup guacamole
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cheese, salsa and cilantro; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Working one at a time, spread refried beans on half of the tortilla; top with chicken mixture, folding over to seal. Repeat with remaining tortillas to make 16 quesadillas.
- Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Working in batches, add quesadillas to the skillet in a single layer and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side; keep warm in oven up to 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining canola oil and quesadillas.
- Serve immediately with desired toppings.
Equipment
Notes
- Use flour tortillas. While corn tortillas can certainly be used, flour tortillas is generally preferred for flexibility and ease of handling without splitting.
- Cook in batches. This is key to avoid overcrowding the pan, ensuring a crispy texture, even cooking, easy flipping and fully melted cheese throughout.
- Keep warm in a low oven. The mini quesadillas can be transferred to a baking sheet and kept warm in a low oven at 200°F while additional quesadillas are cooked or until you are ready to serve.
- Reheat in the oven or air fryer. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F until warmed through, about 5-8 minutes, or in the air fryer at 350°F until warmed though and crisp, about 10 minutes, flipping halfway.
Did you make this recipe?
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I like this recipe mainly due to the fact that it’s easy and good in a pinch. But from a flavor standpoint I think adding taco seasonings is something i will do next time. It was a little bland. I used a mild organic salsa (from Publix) because I am not a fan of heat but with just some salt and pepper as the seasoning just wasn’t the wow that i had hopped. I fought the urge to add it when cooking it the first time just so i could see what i should do the next time. I would highly recommend adding taco seasoning unless using a hot or super favorable salsa.
If you answer questions, can these be made in advance? thanks
Thumbs up from the whole fam! We all enjoyed these. Easy recipe and loved the instructions to keep them warm. Thanks for another great recipe!
Can I bake these? What temp and for how long?
Came out great! Had some leftover grilled chicken and wanted to find a recipe to utilize it. Used leftover jalapeño, tomato, onions, and cilantro to make salsa and refried beans from leftover black beans. Through together some guacamole and wella! Such a great way to clear out the fridge at the end of the week. Thank you for another great recipe!
This Mini Chicken Quesadillas recipe is absolutely fantastic! As beginners in the kitchen, it took us a bit longer to make, but the instructions were clear and easy to follow. The end result was delicious and a HUGE hit at the party we attended. Everyone loved them, and we received so many compliments. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
They turned out fabulous! The whole family loved this recipe!
These were so good!! Perfect for a weeknight meal. Easy and delicious! A family favorite. Highly recommend!
These were delicious and were the hit of the party. The fresh cilantro and refried beans added a nice touch! My Spanish husband is picky, and he wants me to make them often! Thank you for posting this recipe!
I made mine in the air fryer, and they are delicious. 350 for maybe 10 min, flipped once. Sooooooooooo scrumptious.
We love that you adapted this to be made in an air fryer!
Easy and yummy
Great recipe! I’ll make them again!
What are the calories in these per serving?
How did I never think to make mini quesadillas! My kids would absolutely love these!!
I actually made these full size with taco tortillas for dinner. They were super easy to make and so delicious! Nice quick dinner that doesn’t sit heavy on the stomach. I will be making these again!
OMG OMG OMG. These are so so delicious. Easy quick and pretty cheap to make. Got to try these.
These are SO delicious! Huge hit with parents and kids!
Can these be baked?
Can these be baked if you brush them with olive oil? If yes, what temperature? 400? I want to make a large batch. Can they be frozen?
Can you put up your recipe for the Pico De Gallo & Guacamole you used for this recipe?
These were DAMN DELICIOUS!!!
So easy and so delicious! Wonderful.