Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas

These Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas cook on a sheet pan until they’re crispy and browned. Flour tortillas are filled with a creamy chicken mixture that includes sour cream, salsa, taco seasoning, and black beans. Baking quesadillas in the oven allows you to make several all at once!

For another delicious twist to the classic quesadilla try my Ground Beef Sheet Pan Quesadillas. Same idea but instead of individual quesadillas, it makes one giant quesadilla that gets cut into squares. 

Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas Recipe

You are going to love these oven baked chicken quesadillas because you can make a bunch at once on just one sheet pan! Cooking quesadillas in the oven makes them so crispy without the added oil or butter from a fry pan. 

Flour tortillas are folded in half and filled with a creamy salsa & chicken mixture with lots of cheese and added black beans. 

This kid-friendly dinner idea is always great served alongside some dipping sauces and rice. 

Ingredients Needed

• Shredded/Chunked Chicken : This recipe calls for already cooked chicken. It’s a great way to use up leftover chicken from taco night, a rotisserie chicken, or throw a few chicken breasts + a can of chicken broth into a slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. Shred with two forks. You can also cook chicken in a skillet pan, the grill, or bake it up in the oven. To make this really easy try using canned chicken. I promise, it’s better than you think. I love the Costco brand of canned chicken. 
• Shredded Cheese – Shred your own cheese from a block or keep it simple and buy a bag of pre-shredded cheese. There are lots more options if you buy a bag of shredded cheese like a quesadilla mix, Mexican cheese, etc. 
• Black Beans – Make sure these are drained & rinsed really well before adding them in. We don’t want any extra moisture/wetness inside our quesadillas. 
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Mild Taco Seasoning
• Flour Tortillas – The best size are the ‘soft taco’ size flour tortillas that are about 8-inches. Same ones that you typically use for an enchilada recipe. 

How To Make Chicken Quesadillas in the Oven

Learn how to make this easy dinner recipe with the steps below. Be sure and read to the bottom of the page where there is a detailed recipe card with all my tips, a printable option, and a pin it button so you can save this recipe for later. 

• Prep : Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. 
• Quesadilla Filling : In a mixing bowl, add the sour cream, salsa, and taco seasoning. Stir to combine. Add the black beans, chicken and shredded cheese and stir to combine well. 
• Quesadillas : Put 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto one half of a tortilla. Fold the other half over onto the top of it and gently press down. Repeat with remaining tortillas and bake 5 quesadillas per baking sheet. 
• Bake : Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and cook for 5-7 minutes. Flip over each quesadilla and spray the other side lightly with cooking spray. Cook for another 5-7 minutes. 

Oven Baked Quesadillas FAQ’s

• How To Store Leftovers

  • Store any leftover chicken quesadilla inside an airtight container, in the fridge, for 3-4 days.
  • You can also place them inside a Ziploc bag OR wrap each quesadilla tightly in plastic wrap or foil. 

• How To Reheat Leftover Quesadillas

  • To reheat leftovers from the fridge there are a few options. 
    • Oven : Place the quesadillas on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until it’s crispy and warmed through. 
    • Air Fryer : Place one (or two) quesadillas into the air fryer basket and cook for 3-5 minutes, at 400 degrees F, until heated through and it’s crispy and browned. 
    • Microwave : Heat up leftovers inside the microwave. Doing it this way will yield a softer tortilla but that is usually what my kids prefer anyways, so I always use the microwave. 

• Substitution & Variation Ideas

  • There are several ways to switch up this recipe for oven baked chicken quesadillas! Here are some ideas and options. 
    • Make It Spicy! : Use a packet of hot taco seasoning, add a can of diced green chilies (mild, medium, or hot), add some cayenne pepper or chili powder in with the other seasonings, use hot salsa, or for lots of spice add chopped up jalapeño peppers in with the chicken mixture. 
    • Beans : Use any bean you prefer. Pinto beans are another great option for this recipe. You can also omit the beans entirely or sub them for a can of corn (drained).
    • Meat : Instead of chicken try using 1 pound of ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey. Cook and crumble it, plus add some salt & pepper, before using it in the recipe. This is also a great recipe to use up leftover taco meat, shredded chicken for tacos, sweet pork, or shredded beef. 
    • Tortillas : Corn tortillas can be used instead of flour tortillas. Use gluten-free or carb balance tortillas for a healthier swap. You can also use any size of flour tortilla you want, just be sure to not overfill the tortillas, and reduce or increase the amount of filling as needed per the tortilla size. 
    • Salsa : Use any jarred or Homemade Salsa that you prefer! For a twist try using a black bean salsa, lime salsa, cilantro salsa, or a mango salsa. 
    • Cheese : Use any variety of cheese you want! Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, or a Mexican blend of shredded cheese are all great options. 

• Can I Make This Ahead of Time?

  • You can prepare the chicken filling mixture ahead and leave it in the fridge until ready to bake. 
  • I don’t recommend preparing the quesadillas ahead of time or else the flour tortilla will get really soggy and won’t crisp up once baked. 

• Serving Suggestions

  • Serve this with my Easy Mexican Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice.
  • You can also serve it with a more vegetable heavy side dish like this Avocado, Corn, Tomato Salad, Southwestern Corn, or Ranch Corn Salad. 
  • Serving quesadillas with dipping sauces is a must! Make this Salsa Verde Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, put some sour cream inside a small bowl, or my personal favorite is to make this Copycat Cafe Rio Dressing. Other options are this Cilantro Lime Salsa Verde Dressing or Queso Dip to dip the quesadillas into! It also makes a great drizzling sauce for rice or tortilla chips too. 

Recipe Tips

Here are a few of my helpful tips so that you can have success recreating this dinner recipe in your own kitchen ♥

• Don’t Overstuff The Quesadillas : It’s important to not add too much chicken filling into each tortilla. The quesadilla will not crisp up if there is too much filling inside it. The amount of filling you use will depend on how big or small the flour tortillas are that you are using. For the 8-inch soft taco size tortillas, 1/2 cup of filling is perfect. 
• Cooking Spray : Spraying each side of the quesadillas ensures a really crispy and browned exterior. Don’t soak the tortillas, but rather lightly spray them to help them brown and crisp during the bake time. A little bit is all it takes. 

More Mexican-Inspired Chicken Dinner Recipes Your Family Will Love

• Quick & Easy Chicken Flautas – Ready for the oven in less than 10 minutes!
• Chicken Burrito Skillet – One skillet pan is all you need for this filling dinner with rice, beans, tomatoes, and chicken. 
• Chicken Mexican Haystacks – Made in the crockpot! A variation to traditional ‘hawaiian haystacks’ but Mexican food inspired. 
• 7 Can Chicken Taco Soup – Yes, you literally open 7 cans and dump. Plus a packet of taco seasoning + dried seasonings. 
• Salsa Chicken Baked Flautas – Chicken and salsa get rolled up inside flour tortillas for this kid-friendly dinner idea. 
• Honey Lime Chicken Taquitos – Honey + lime are meant to be in these delicious oven-baked taquitos.