Back in my college days, I had the finest food offerings at my disposal. Despite nine dining halls and countless entrees, I ate pretty much the same things day in and day out. Chicken quesadillas were one staple of my diet from the Cantina at Owens Dining Hall. So Mac and I have recreated them several times.
The Mexican Cantina in the dining hall had a bunch of ingredients you could pick for your filling. I preferred the corn and black bean salsa. It was chunky, not too tomato-ey, and full of flavor. Newman’s Own makes a good option. If you can’t find a salsa, just use canned corn and black beans. I like to put a pretty hefty helping on each of my chicken quesadillas, too. You also really should use diced chicken. I think it distributes better across the tortilla, and it also doesn’t get soggy like shredded chicken can.
Try my other Virginia Tech copycat recipes: Crispy chicken entrée | West End roasted garlic whipped potatoes | Au Bon Pain chicken Margherita sandwich | Turkey brioche deli sandwich | Au Bon Pain chicken Caesar wrap | West End Cajun pasta | Perfect yellow cupcakes | West End buffalo chicken wrap
And you can’t have quesadillas without good cheese. I love jack and cheddar blends. Jack cheese melt beautifully and give you lots of stringy goodness. If you can find it, Chihuahua cheese works well for quesadillas. I also love the tangy sharpness of cheddar with the creamy, melted Jack cheese. Kraft also makes a great cheddar and Asadero blend with loads of flavor (not sponsored, just a fan). I love dip these in the dining hall’s chipotle Ranch and sour cream. But really, pretty much any cheese will work.
So I emailed Dining Services to see what magical elixir is used to created their better-than-crack chipotle ranch. Apparently, Ken’s Dressing makes it. I substitute Hidden Valley’s new spicy buttermilk ranch when I have it handy. I like toast my cantina chicken quesadillas on my trusty Griddler. You can a regular griddle, a pan, or melt them in the oven.
PrintCantina chicken quesadillas
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 4 10-inch tortillas
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning
- 2 cups of shredded cheese (any flavor, a Mexican blend or yellow-white blend works well)
- 1/2 cup of canned corn
- 1/2 cup of black beans
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the taco seasoning evenly over the chicken breasts and cook to an internal temperature of 165 F (about 20-25 minutes). Cool and dice.
- Combine the corn and black beans. Microwave for about two minutes to warm through.
- Spread a half cup of the shredded cheese on each tortilla.
- Top the cheese with about half of the diced chicken.
- Layer half of the corn and black bean mixture on top of the chicken. Cover with another half cup of cheese. Top with a second tortilla.
- Transfer quesadilla to pre-heated griddle, panini maker, or non-stick pan. Heat through until cheese is melted (3-4 minutes).
- Slice and serve with chipotle ranch, sour cream, salsa, or guacamole.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 5
Enjoy!
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Oh I swear I have seen the best recipes on here lately!! I am going to have to try one of these one day:)
I love quesadillas! I order them at restaurants all the time but sometimes they are not great so its good to make them at home. I have made them before, not from a recipe but just kind of winged it. This looks delicious though, thanks for the recipe.
These sound yummy! I live not too far from you! Glad to found a local southerner! I would love to share recipes with you! Hope to hear from you soon!
I LOVE that you emailed them to find out the secret sauce!! haha That is great!