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Avocado makes this chipotle quesadilla recipe creamy without overloading on the cheese, and the chipotle tahini sauce sends it over the top.
This post is sponsored by the Hass Avocado Board. All opinions are our own.
I’m a strong believer in baby steps. You know, those small steps that when added together, propel you toward a major change? I’m impatient by nature, so it’s taken me a while to get on board with that theory. But when Alex and I set out to change our diet from fast and processed food to home cooking, there’s no way we could have gone cold turkey.
What inspired us was a book that said we didn’t have to change all at once: just start taking small steps in the right direction. It took a lot of the pressure off, and helped us to feel free to experiment and find what worked for us. Recipes like this avocado black bean chipotle quesadilla are exactly what helped us to eat more plants in a delicious way. Keep reading for how to make this quick weeknight dinner!
Related: What Should I Make for Dinner? | 12 Quick Dinner Recipes
Why make this chipotle quesadilla
This vegetarian chipotle quesadilla recipe is about small steps toward a major diet change. If you aren’t quite ready for one of those hippie style Buddha bowls of vegetables but want to start cleaning up your diet, this one’s for you. It’s a familiar recipe with mass appeal, but it’s homemade with natural whole foods and full of both nutrients.
Most importantly, this chipotle quesadilla is bursting with flavor — the kind where both Alex and I both mutter “Whoa” while still chewing the first bite. The star ingredient here is creamy avocado, which adds healthy fats and richness to the filling without the need for a massive amount of cheese. And the zesty chipotle lime tahini sauce is the showstopper. I may have licked the bowl clean (ok, I did).
Eating this chipotle quesadilla isn’t a health elixir, but research is beginning to show that eating well has a major effect on preventing conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Simply cooking whole foods at home can add up to making a huge impact on your health and those around you. Baby steps. But someday, those baby steps may add up into a giant step towards sustainable health.
Avocado nutrition facts
Given our passion about the link between diet and health, we created this vegetarian chipotle quesadilla recipe out of a partnership with the Hass Avocado Board. The Hass Avocado board has teamed up with the American Diabetes Association in a national Stop Diabetes movement to increase awareness about the role that good fats play in daily nutrition. Not that you need any more motivation to eat the avocado, but it’s full of healthy fats and nutrients! Here are some avocado nutrition facts:
- Avocados have naturally good monounsaturated fat and are cholesterol free. Research now shows naturally good fats are an important part of a healthy diet.
- Over 75% of the fat in avocados is unsaturated, making them a great substitute for foods high in saturated fat.
- Avocados are nutrient-dense and have 8% the daily value of fiber per serving. Diets rich in foods containing fiber have been found to potentially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Fiber also adds bulk to a sensible diet, which helps provide a feeling of fullness.
- Avocados have less than 1 gram sugar per 1-ounce, the least amount of sugar per serving of any other fresh fruit.
- Avocados have nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, making it a good choice to help meet nutrient needs. Although phytonutrients are not essential, they may promote human health.
- Avocados act as a “nutrient booster” by helping the body to better absorb fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein, from foods that are eaten with the fruit.
Step it up a notch! Make this quesadilla with Grilled Avocado.
What’s in this chipotle sauce?
The chipotle in this chipotle quesadilla comes from a bit of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilis. Chipotles in adobo sauce are sold in most mainstream grocery stores here in the US, available next to the Mexican products. The small can includes chipotle chiles, which are smoked and dried jalapeños that then are rehydrated and canned in adobo sauce, a purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and some other spices.
Most of our recipes call for a very small amount of adobo sauce, because it’s super potent! In this sauce, we’ve called for only 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce (which includes little bits of chipotle chilis). You can freeze the remainder of the chipotle chile in adobo sauce for future use.
Related: Try these quesadillas with homemade Mexican Crema or Cashew Cream drizzled on top!
More avocado recipes
Outside of this chipotle quesadilla with avocados, here are a few more healthy avocado recipes on A Couple Cooks and beyond:
- Simple Guacamole
- Avocado Mayo
- Simple Avocado Salad or Avocado Corn Salad
- Creamy Avocado Dressing
- Veggie & Avocado Pizza
- Vegetable Sushi Bowl
- Superfood Salad
- Vegetarian Cobb Salad
- Top Foods that Prevent Diabetes
- Avocado Recipes for a Diabetic Diet
This chipotle quesadilla recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten-free, use corn or gluten-free tortillas.
PrintChipotle Quesadilla with Avocado
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Avocado makes this chipotle quesadilla recipe creamy without overloading on the cheese, and the chipotle tahini sauce sends it over the top.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Spicy Chipotle Sauce
- 15-ounce can black beans
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 avocados
- 1 ½ cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh
- 8 whole wheat tortillas (or gluten-free tortillas)
- Cilantro, for a garnish
Instructions
- Make the Spicy Chipotle Sauce.
- Drain and rinse the black beans. In a small bowl, stir them together with the cumin, olive oil, and kosher salt.
- Thinly slice the avocados (see the video instructions).
- For each quesadilla, place a tortilla on a plate and evenly spread with cheese, black beans, corn, avocado slices, chipotle sauce, then additional cheese.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet* over medium heat for a few minutes. Place the loaded tortilla on the griddle and add another tortilla on top. Cook until browned, then flip and cook until browned on the other side, a few minutes per side.
- Remove the tortilla and cut into wedges with a pizza cutter. If making several quesadillas at once, keep them warm in a 300°F oven until ready to serve. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro and additional chipotle sauce.
Notes
*Alternative method: If you’ve cooking for a crowd, you can bake quesadillas in the oven.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: Quesadilla, Veggie Quesadilla, Healthy Quesadilla, Quesadilla Recipe, Avocado, Black Beans, Avocado Quesadilla
More chipotle black bean recipes
Any chipotle black bean recipe is a hit in our house! Outside of this healthy chipotle quesadilla recipe, here are a few more chipotle black bean recipes we love:
- Chipotle Black Bean Tortilla Soup
- Chipotle Black Bean Stuffed Delicata Squash
- Chipotle Black Bean Lettuce Wraps
Last updated: March 2020
This looks great!! I especially love that you used tahini for the sauce. Totally delicious flavour combo!
Thanks Katrina — the tahini really ads a wonderful flavor :)
Every post of yours makes me want to come over for dinner. I’ll bring the cheese and wine!
You are welcome anytime!
Yaay for baby steps! I approve of your soap box. ;-) And I’m a huge fan of that tahini-based cream!
Me too! Tahini is my favorite for sauces — it’s creamy without being dairy-based. Now I want to try out some more uses — do you have a favorite tahini sauce?
This one with apple cider vinegar and tamari is one of my favorites. http://www.wholenourishment.net/blog/2015/3/16/lunch-power-part-2-kale-snacking-salad
I also love adding it to pesto to make it creamier. :)
http://www.wholenourishment.net/blog/2015/3/23/lunch-power-part-3-roasted-walnut-beet-sauce-2-ways
Looks wonderful and weeknight simple. Thanks for being an inspiration you guys!
I think as a a culture we have this delusion that healthy foods are weird and taste strange, and “normal” foods can’t be healthy. We need recipes like this, ones that are delicious and wholesome and can make someone think twice about what they put in their bodies. This sounds like the sort of quesadilla I’d happily make.
I couldn’t agree more, Allyson! That was a huge learning to us when we started trying to change to a healthier diet, and it’s a big reason behind why we do what we do. Thanks for helping to spread the word too! :)
This looks amazing as, despite being a vegetarian and fairly healthy, I’m not quite up to the bowl-of-quinoa level healthiness yet :)
Haha, perfect! We created this one just for people like you, which was us not so long ago! :) Let us know if you try it out.
I love homemade quesadillas! And I REALLY love all of those avocado facts. In case I needed any more reasons/justifications to eat them (I don’t) I now have them! :-)
Exactly my thought — who needs more motivation to eat these little guys?! :)
The flavor combo of these quesadillas are out of this world!
Oh that sauce sounds so so good! Quesadillas are on our regular rotation of quick meals and I’m pinning this for the next time I make them. :) Just out of curiosity, what is your favorite brand of whole wheat tortillas?
Good question! I can’t say we have a resident favorite whole wheat tortilla brand offhand! Now I’ll have to start comparing and get back to you :)
You could also substitute yogurt for the tahini.