The quesadilla recipe you need in your life: chicken avocado caprese quesadillas! With creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and gooey mozzarella all finished up with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, they are ready in just 30 minutes.
When I need a meal on the table quickly, quesadillas are my go-to. We love making healthy chicken quesadillas, spinach feta breakfast quesadillas, and even sweet potato black bean quesadillas. But the one I crave the most are these avocado caprese chicken quesadillas!
The caprese flavor combination is classic and one I crave year round: juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette or reduction.
Pairing it with avocado and chicken and surrounding it in a crispy tortilla is just a good life choice, plain and simple!
Reasons you’ll ♡ avocado caprese chicken quesadillas
- classic caprese flavors paired with avocado is so incredibly tasty!
- they are ready in under 15 minutes for an easy dinner
- it's a great way to use up rotisserie or pre-cooked chicken
Ingredients you'll need
- Chicken- I used shredded rotisserie chicken for this recipe. To make your own at home, try cooking a whole chicken in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker and use it in multiple meals through the week.
- Tomatoes- use your favorite tomato. Pictured here are cherry tomatoes (halved), but roma tomatoes would also work well.
- Mozzarella- use your favorite mozzarella cheese. I'm using pizza mozzarella because it melts really well, but fresh mozzarella is more traditional in caprese salad and could also work for these quesadillas
- Basil- fresh basil brings the necessary sweet and herbacious flavors to the quesadilla. Dried basil won't work the same and I urge you to try to find fresh basil
- Avocado- go for a good, ripe avocado, and slice into thin slices. See How to Cut an Avocado
- Tortillas- I use a large flour tortilla; corn could potentially work well, too.
- Balsamic reduction- sometimes called balsamic glaze, you should be able to find it in the salad dressing aisle. If not, make your own 2-ingredient balsamic reduction!
Cooking the quesadillas
I like to cook two quesadillas at a time, but if you are new to cooking quesadillas, start with one. Add a large tortilla to a non stick pan, and scatter mozzarella, basil leaves, tomato halves, chicken and avocado slices over half of the tortilla. Season with salt and pepper. Press the other side of the tortilla over, and firmly press onto the fillings.
Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until lightly golden brown. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and enjoy!
My favorite quesadilla trick
While I haven't cooked them this way in the photos, I've started cooking all my quesadillas with a tasty trick: place a small amount of shredded mozzarella cheese in the pan before placing the tortilla in. This way, the quesadilla gets a crispy cheese crust on the outside!
This is my favorite way to take quesadillas from OK to ah-mazing! Let me know if you give this a try 🙂
Cooking quesadillas ahead
Quesadillas can be cooked ahead, but I do not recommend it for this recipe as the avocado and basil leaves will brown.
Here are a few tips if you do want to cook them ahead:
- leave out the avocado and basil
- cook, then cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store in a meal prep container for up to 4 days (best consumed within the first 2 days)
- heat in a frying pan or on a sandwich press to get them crispy again
Freezing quesadillas
- leave out the avocado and basil
- cook, cool, wrap in plastic, then store in a freezer bag or meal prep container for up to 3 months.
- thaw in the fridge or on the counter- I do not recommend the microwave as it can make them soggy
- heat in a frying pan or on a sandwich press to get them crispy again
More 30 minute meals
- 42 Healthy 30 Minute Dinners
- 30 Minute Dinners for Meal Prep Sunday
- Maple Ginger Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
- Teriyaki Salmon Glaze
- Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai
Recipe video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this avocado caprese chicken quesadillas. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.
Avocado Caprese Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
Quesadillas
- 4 large tortillas
- 16 slices mozzarella cheese
- 1 bunch fresh basil (approx 10 leaves per quesadilla)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved - approx 8-10 tomatoes per quesadilla)
- 1 ½ cups rotisserie chicken (shredded)
- salt and pepper
- 2 avocados (sliced - half avocado per quesadilla)
To serve
Instructions
- Spray a large non-stick frying pan with oil and heat over medium heat.
- While pan is heating, assemble quesadillas as shown in photos above, by scattering mozarella, basil leaves, tomato halves, chicken and avocado slices over half of the tortilla. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to frying pan, press the empty side firmly onto the filled side. Cook until golden brown, 2-4 minutes.
- Gently flip the quesadilla and cook until the other side is golden brown, another 2 or so minutes.
- Serve immediately, and don't forget to drizzle generously with the balsamic drizzle!
