Fast, low cal, and delicious Easy Quesadillas!

When I was learning how to cook, one of the early dishes my mother taught me was the quesadilla. Her version was simple, shredded taco cheese stuffed in a tortilla and fried on both sides, eaten with mild sauce or – once I went to college – Tostito’s cheese sauce. It was simple, cheesy, and delicious.

As I get older, I still crave those delicious, fried, and cheese filled tortillas. Unfortunately as I work a sedentary job and approach 30, I can’t eat a quarter of a bag of cheese fried in a big flour tortilla anymore. I haven’t calculated those calories, but I can’t imagine they’d fit into my day. So I started searching for a way to bring back those memories in a diet conscious way.

Use a low cal tortilla

Scouring the tortilla shelves at the grocery store, I found what I still consider one of the best diet food inventions on the market: Ole brand Xtreme Wellness High Fiber Tortilla Wraps. These things are a delight. They have multiple flavors, with a texture almost identical to a regular flour tortilla and only 50 calories! Sure, they’re not quite as fluffy as the flour tortillas I used as a child, but for 50 calories they’re incredibly close. And the best part is that they’re 8 inches (or very close to that) in diameter, so you can substitute them in a lot of recipes. Enchiladas, breakfast burritos, even regular wraps can be made with these. It’s a great way to get all of the fillings you want with a fraction of the tortilla calories.

Making an Easy Quesadilla, with Chicken and Cheese

Using these wraps is much the same as using a tortilla. To make my quesadilla, I layer half of my cheese on one side of the wrap, then I add chicken on top, then cover that same side with the rest of the cheese. Then I fold it up, and it’s ready for the skillet.

I like to fry my quesadillas in just a bit of canola oil, maybe a ½ tbsp at most. As a child I would use 1 tbsp of butter, and that was also good, but I prefer the way the canola oil crisps the wrap for this recipe. So I let the oil heat on the pan until hot, then put the folded quesadilla on, press to make sure it stays closed, and then I cover the skillet with a lid. This helps the cheese in the center of the quesadilla really start melting.

After a minute (a little less or only slightly more depending on how hot the skillet was) I remove the lid and gently flip the quesadilla to the other side. Using the lid has helped the cheese throughout the quesadilla melt, so flipping should be easier, but still be careful to keep all your fillings on the inside. Now fry the other side until golden brown and the cheese has finished melting. You can flip it back to the first side for a minute if it needs a little more color.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it, a calorie friendly quesadilla that you can top with anything you can think of. I’ve listed some of my favorite accompaniments. Another great side is my fried chickpea salad, which gives this meal even more protein. You can also add additional fillings like diced bell pepper, onion, cilantro…really anything you can imagine. That’s the best part about quesadillas, they’re easy to make your own.

Update Aug 2022 Check out my Chilis Copycat Brisket Quesadilla

I recently went a little overboard finding fun ways to use up some leftover brisket. I wrote a recipe for a brisket quesadilla that I think came out really well. Check it out for more quesadilla tips!

Recipe for an Easy Quesadilla