Pesto Quesadillas with White Beans and Tomato

These easy Pesto Quesadillas are filled with white beans and tomato, making them a healthy vegetarian dinner recipe that takes only 15 minutes to make.

I’m all about quick and easy meals this summer, and they’re even better when they have five just ingredients. My family loves cheese quesadillas, so I decided to make them a little more exciting by making pesto quesadillas with white beans and tomato. They’re perfect for summer and really easy to make!

These are like caprese quesadillas, but I added some white beans for extra protein. And I love beans, so I add them in whenever I can 🙂  

Why Your Body Will Love This Recipe

• Protein and Fatty Acids – Cheese, like mozzarella, provides the body with essential proteins. The body easily metabolizes medium-chain fatty acids, which are a great energy source.
• Vitamins and Minerals – Pesto is packed with vitamins A, C, and K, which benefit bone health, immune function, and protection against chronic diseases and blood clotting. It’s also a good source of minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium, which can further support various bodily functions. Basil contains essential oils like linalool, eugenol, and citronellol, which fight inflammation and help lower blood pressure.
• Digestive Health – Beans are high in insoluble fiber, which helps bulk up the digestive system and prevent constipation. The fiber in beans also acts as a prebiotic that feeds the good bacteria in the large intestine and carries out toxins in the system.

What You’ll Need To Make These Quesadillas

• Tortillas – You can use whatever size and kind of tortillas you like. I just used a medium-sized flour tortilla for mine, and it worked great!  
• Cheese – I used shredded mozzarella cheese because it went well with the pesto and tomato theme, but you can also use fresh mozzarella, cheddar, pepper jack, Monterey Jack, etc.
• Pesto – I’m not a big fan of store-bought pesto, so I made an easy homemade one. Even when not cooking a vegan meal, I still like to use my favorite vegan pesto recipe.
• Tomato – Fresh garden tomatoes would be great in this recipe! However, I didn’t have any, so I used a vine-ripe tomato from the grocery store. Cherry tomatoes would be great, too!
• White Beans – I recommend either Great Northern beans or cannelloni beans. If you can’t find the first two, you can use chickpeas or butter beans instead.

How To Make Pesto Quesadillas

Quesadillas are super easy to make! Basically, you heat a frying pan, layer your ingredients onto a tortilla, fold over, and cook until the cheese is melted and each side of the tortilla is browned.

Since these pesto quesadillas with white beans and tomato have more ingredients than just cheese, it’s important not to overfill them and put enough cheese in to ensure it melts enough to seal the quesadilla together.

1. Heat a large pan over low-medium heat.  Thinly slice the tomatoes and remove as much seeds and liquid as possible. Pat the tomato sliced dry and set aside.
2. Lay a tortilla flat on a cutting board. Spread one half with 1 heaping tablespoon pesto and then top with cheese, white beans, and tomato. Sprinkle the tomato with a little salt and pepper, and add a little extra cheese on top if you like.
3. Fold the tortilla over and place it in the pan. I like to place the cheese side down. Cook each side until browned and the cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Let the quesadilla cool for a minute or two before slicing and enjoying.

Recipe Frequently Asked Questions and Tips

• As I said above, don’t overfill your quesadilla. These are quesadillas, not burritos, so you still want the cheese to be a star.
• This recipe can be made gluten-free with GF tortillas and dairy-free with vegan cheese.
• How do I avoid soggy quesadillas? Tomatoes can have a lot of juice and make the quesadilla watery, so I like to remove the slimy seed part and pat the tomato slice down with a dishtowel to ensure they don’t add too much liquid. You also want to use thinly sliced tomatoes.
• I like to cook my quesadillas with a little butter because it adds a nice flavor and makes the tortilla really crispy. You could also use olive oil or cooking spray, but cooking spray will not make the outside quite as crispy.
• My quesadillas burned quickly. What can I do to avoid this? Be sure to cook your quesadilla on low-medium heat. If you start it out with too high of heat, the outside will brown really quickly, but the cheese won’t melt.
• Pre-shredded cheese in a bag usually contains some type of flour to prevent the cheese from sticking together, so it doesn’t always melt well. If you can, it’s best to buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself.

Have another question about this recipe? Ask me in the comments, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Looking For More Easy Quesadilla Recipes?

Easy Rice and Bean Quesadillas

Pumpkin Quesadillas with Black Beans and Green Chile

Avocado Pesto Quesadillas

Brie Cheese Quesadillas with Strawberry Salsa

Pesto Quesadillas with White Beans and Tomato

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5 from 4 reviews

• Author: She Likes Food
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

These Pesto Quesadillas are packed with white beans and tomato and only take about 15 minutes to make!

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Ingredients

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• 4 medium-large tortillas
• Heaping 1/4 cup pesto, homemade or store-bought
• 1 1/3 cup shredded cheese
• 1 1/3 cup white beans
• 2–3 ripe tomatoes
• Salt and black pepper
• Butter or olive oil

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Instructions

1. Heat a large pan over low-medium heat.  Thinly slice the tomatoes and remove as much of the seeds and liquid as you can.  Pat tomato sliced dry and set aside.
2. Lay a tortilla flat on a cutting board and spread one half with 1 heaping tablespoon pesto and then top with cheese, white beans and tomato.  Sprinkle tomato with a little salt and pepper and add a little extra sprinkle of cheese on top if you like.
3. Fold tortilla over and place in the pan, I like to place cheese side down.  Cook each side until browned and cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes each side.  Let quesadilla cool for a minute or two before slicing and enjoying.

Notes

Above measurements are just a guide for you to go off of.  You can most certainly use extra cheese or more or less of the other ingredients.   You don’t want to overfill but you also don’t want to under fill if you are using large tortillas than I did.

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Category: Dinner, Vegetarian
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American