June 1, 2015

Thai Vegetable Quesadillas

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Sweet & salty, these thai vegetable quesadillas are a fantastic weeknight dinner! Packed with red pepper, zucchini, cabbage and pineapple, they’re served with a dreamy homemade cilantro pesto. Vegetarian with dairy free / vegan option.

Several sliced Thai Vegetable Quesadillas stacked on parchment paper.

Meet our new favorite quesadilla. Packed with fresh veggies and pineapple, these thai quesadillas make an awesome weeknight meal.

Especially when served with homemade pesto! Yes yes.

So, let’s discuss:

The filling itself is fairly simple. We’ll saute up a ton of veggies – like red onion, red pepper, zucchini and napa cabbage, along with garlic, fresh ginger and a pinch of red pepper.

Some fresh diced pineapple is added to the mix, for that pop of sweetness. Because sweet and salty is my jam.

A touch of mozzarella is used just to sort of bind it all together, resulting in crispy and also sort of juicy quesadilla goodness.

Is juicy a weird way to describe quesadillas?

An open tortilla with Thai Quesadilla filling spread on half.

We’ll serve them up with a quick and easy cilantro pesto, because I really really like to dip my quesadillas in something. Makes me happy.

You can definitely play with the ratio of spinach to cilantro in the pesto. As written it’s just a nice hint of the cilantro since I didn’t want it to be super overpowering.

You may get more quesadillas if you stuff yours less than I do. But I like mine full.

I don’t do whimpy quesadillas. No sir.

Sliced Thai Quesadillas on a white plate and parchment paper.

Additional Quesadilla Recipes You Might Enjoy:

Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.

Recipe for weeknight sweet and salty thai vegetable quesadillas. Packed with red pepper, zucchini, cabbage and pineapple! Serve with a homemade cilantro pesto!

Thai Vegetable Quesadillas

Yield: 6 quesadillas
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Sweet & salty, these thai vegetable quesadillas are a fantastic weeknight dinner! Packed with red pepper, zucchini, cabbage and pineapple, they’re served with a dreamy homemade cilantro pesto. Vegetarian with dairy free / vegan option.

Ingredients

For the pesto:

  • 2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves
  • ½ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves)
  • ⅓ cup raw walnut halves
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • ⅓ cup olive oil

For the quesadillas:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • pinch of red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
  • 3 cups sliced napa cabbage
  • ½ cup diced fresh pineapple
  • 6 large whole wheat flour tortillas
  • about 1 ½ cups shredded regular or dairy free mozzarella cheese

Instructions

To make the pesto:

  1. Add the spinach, cilantro, walnuts, garlic and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
  2. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Set aside.

To make the quesadillas:

  1. Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the olive oil. When hot, add in the red onion and cook for about 2 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
  2. Add in the pepper, zucchini, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 5 minutes, until crisp tender. Add in the sliced cabbage and cook until the cabbage just starts to wilt down, about 1 minute or less. Turn off the heat and stir in the pineapple.
  3. Place a tortilla on a work surface. Spoon some of the veggie mixture on half of the tortilla, leaving a small border around the edge. Top with some of the mozzarella. Fold the empty half of the tortilla over the filling to form a semicircle. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
  4. Set a nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, place an assembled quesadilla in the pan and cook, flipping once halfway through, until both sides are browned and crispy and the cheese is melted. Repeat this process with the remaining quesadillas.
  5. Cut into triangles and serve with the pesto on the side for dipping (or even drizzled over the top!).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 443Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 663mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 12g

Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.

© Ashley / Cook Nourish Bliss
Cuisine: Asian / Category: Main Dish
Dairy Free, Main Dish, Meatless, Recipes (ALL), Vegan, Vegetarian, Weeknight
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