Italian Chicken Quesadillas

I love doing griddle meals in the summer when it is just way too hot or rainy to grill outside. That’s how I usually like to make quick and easy quesadillas on a busy weeknight. Then back when I made my breakfast quesadillas, I had the revelation that my waffle iron was the PERFECT size for soft taco shells. The way the waffle iron gave them such a fun texture was fantastic. So this time, I broke out the waffle iron again to make these delectable Italian chicken quesadillas. They were such a perfect combo of my favorite Italian flavors packaged up in one of my favorite weeknight meals! They were so quick and easy too.

The filling for the quesadillas was such a wonderful, flavorful mixture. I used ground chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, onion, spinach and lots of seasoning. Cooking everything in some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes gave it that extra special something.
I scooped a generous layer of the filling on one of the tortillas before I piled on a generous heap of both asiago and parmesan cheese. Finally, I just closed it up with another tortilla to assemble these babies.
After I formed the first one, it went right into the waffle iron for 5 minutes to make the outside golden and the inside nice and melty. While it cooked, I assembled the next one, and so on. As they finished cooking, I served them immediately with warmed up marinara for dipping!

The handy waffle iron marks made it easy to cut them into perfect quarters. Oh my goodness, these really hit the spot without feeling heavy. The filling was so flavorful all held together with that melty cheese. Hope you all enjoy this easy dinner fusing two favorites! xoxo

Italian Chicken Quesadillas
Italian Chicken Quesadillas
5 from 2 votes
Italian Chicken Quesadillas
Italian Chicken Quesadillas
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
 

These Italian chicken quesadillas are such a simple, flavorful and wonderful dinner. Cooking them in a waffle iron gives them great texture, too!

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Italian Chicken Quesadillas, Quesadillas
Servings: 6
Calories: 493 kcal
Author: Jeanie and Lulu’s Kitchen
Ingredients
  • 1 jar julienned sun-dried tomatoes drained, reserving two tablespoons of the oil for cooking
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 whole onion diced small
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 cup baby spinach packed
  • 12 whole soft taco shells
  • 8 ounces asiago cheese shredded
  • 4 ounces parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
  1. Get out a large skillet and heat the reserved sun-dried tomato oil in it over medium high heat. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and onions and let them get fragrant for a couple of minutes. Then add in the ground chicken and let it cook through thoroughly with the vegetables. While it cooks, season the mixture with generous pinches of salt and pepper, followed by the dried parsley and dried basil. When the chicken is done, take the pan off the heat and stir in the spinach so that it wilts in. Then get out a waffle iron and pre-heat it. While it heats up, assemble your first quesadilla.

  2. Take a soft taco shell and scoop a generous helping of the filling in the middle, spreading it out into an even layer. Add a big handful of the cheese on top and make sure it is evenly spread out too. Close it up with another taco shell and then grease the pre-heated waffle maker with cooking spray. Close the quesadilla in the waffle maker to cook for 5 minutes. It should get really golden on the outside and melty in the middle. While it is cooking, assemble the next one so that it is ready. When the first one is done, cut it into quarters and serve it immediately, with warmed up marinara if you wish! Repeat the process with the remaining 5 quesadillas. Enjoy!!

Nutrition Facts
Italian Chicken Quesadillas
Amount Per Serving (1 quesadilla)
Calories 493 Calories from Fat 230
% Daily Value*
Fat 25.5g39%
Saturated Fat 13.5g84%
Cholesterol 112mg37%
Sodium 1184mg51%
Potassium 763mg22%
Carbohydrates 33.6g11%
Fiber 2.8g12%
Sugar 5.2g6%
Protein 34.2g68%
Calcium 465mg47%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
These Italian chicken quesadillas are such a simple, flavorful and wonderful dinner. Cooking them in a waffle iron gives them great texture, too! #chickenquesadillas #chicken #cheese #dinners #jeanieandluluskitchen

12 thoughts on “Italian Chicken Quesadillas”

  1. These look terrific. I love the flavors, but I no longer have a waffle maker – trying not to eat waffles and pancakes. Perhaps I can modify and make without the waffle maker.

  2. I’m Italian but I’ve never seen anything like this before. Not sure if my husband would love to try this at breakfast ?

Comments are closed.

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)