I’m not a huge chicken fan (meaning chicken is not my meat of choice), unless… it is 1) grilled, 2) paired with lots of dairy-free cheese, 3) served in bar-b-que form, or 4) made into a sandwich. These grain-free chicken quesadillas do all of that and more! The dairy-free cheesy goodness of these quesadillas is amazing and who can resist the flavor of smoky BBQ combined with grilled chicken!? I absolutely love how easy and simple these quesadillas are to make, and they will quickly become a meal that modern pioneers of all ages will love! Grilled chicken, melted cheese, smoky BBQ sauce, delicious tortillas, how could you go wrong?
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Modern Pioneer Recipe
These grain-free chicken quesadillas are a modern pioneer recipe with heritage pioneer roots. In the southwest, tortillas were a popular meal item served with a variety of other foods. While chicken may not have been a common meat for the early pioneers, it was definitely a home-grown staple once homesteaders started raising their own flocks of chickens for meat purposes.
While I have no doubt that the early pioneers may have made something similar to quesdaillas using homemade tortillas, homemade cheese, and home-harvested meat, I will still qualify this recipe as a modern pioneer recipe. With that being said, it is definitely a heritage modern pioneer recipe that is allergy-friendly!
I know some of you may be scratching your heads at dairy-free cheese, but if you are on a dairy-free diet than you will totally get where I’m coming from! As part of my anti-inflammatory diet I had to cut out most dairy, and definitely all generic, non-organic dairy. I do well with organic, grass-fed butter, but any other kind of dairy does cause minor inflammation.
Thus I discovered dairy-free (and nut free) cheese! I’m actually more of a fan of ‘fake cheese’ than I am of real cheese! Using dairy-free cheese in these quesadillas made them even more allergy-friendly and tastier in my opinion! These delicious quesadillas are….
- grain-free
- gluten-free
- egg free
- nut free
- dairy-free
- corn free
- sugar free
- anti-inflammatory
Quesadilla Flavoring Ideas
With quesadillas, there are endless flavor options! When I was trying to decide what kind of quesadillas I wanted to make and share with you all, I had soooo many ideas to choose from! I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken delicious and flavorful (since my mom prefers chicken over any other kind of meat, with the exception of fish), so I chose to use chicken as the meat in these quesadillas.
The good thing about making chicken quesadillas is that you have lots of flexibility as far as pairing different flavors goes! The main ingredients that this quesadilla recipe requires is grain-free tortillas, dairy-free cheese, and organic, non-GMO chicken. The rest is up to you!
My favorite flavoring happens to be BBQ sauce, so that’s what I chose to include in my quesadillas. However, you can easily swap out the BBQ sauce for any of your favorite flavorings. Here are a few ideas that I would love to try!
- chicken salsa quesadillas
- chicken & ranch quesadillas
- bacon chicken quesadillas
- chicken taco quesadillas
You can use grilled chicken or shredded chicken in these quesadillas. Either will work great!
Choosing the Right Tortilla
Grain-free tortillas come in all shapes, sizes, and varieties. Choosing the right grain-free tortilla for your quesadillas is important for making quesadillas that don’t break apart or crack when folded. You have two general options when choosing a grain-free tortillas: homemade grain-free tortillas or store-bought grain-free tortillas.
I used to loathe making homemade tortillas because of how long it took to flatten out each tortilla. I was also using a recipe that had the dough too dry, so the edges of the tortilla would crack and crumble when I went to flip it into the pan. Now I have perfected a grain-free tortilla recipe AND have found a super quick and easy way for flattening out each tortilla.
If you don’t have a tortilla press for making homemade grain-free tortillas, I highly recommend you invest in a good cast iron tortilla press! It saves a lot of time and mess! By using my cast iron tortilla press and this amazing grain-free tortilla recipe, I can make homemade tortillas for anything from tacos to breakfast wraps to these quesadillas! And yes, my grain-free tortilla recipe will work for making these quesadillas.
For store-bought options I have two favorites: Siete grain-free cassava flour tortillas and Mikey’s grain-free tortillas. The Siete tortillas are very thin, and if not heated properly, then can be very stiff. They also create more of a floppy quesadilla. Siete tortillas work fine for making quesadillas, they just won’t turn out like a traditional quesadilla.
My favorite store-bought brand of tortillas for making quesadillas with is Mikey’s grain-free tortillas. They have a little more substance to them and make for a classic quesadilla.
For any tortilla, always make sure you let it get warm and pliable before folding it over to make quesadillas.
Serving & Storing
Quesadillas make a great menu item for summer dinners or using up leftovers! What I serve my quesadillas with depends on when I am serving them. When I’m making quesadillas for lunch or to use up leftovers, I generally just have other leftovers with the quesadillas or I make myself a side salad with fresh greens and carrots.
When I have grain-free chicken quesadillas on the dinner menu, I usually try to include a few more hearty sides to make for a well-rounded meal. Quesadillas are often served with a dipping sauce, but my family is not a heavy condiment user (with the exception of bar-b-que sauce), so I choose to serve other things with the quesadillas.
Here are some family favorites that go with these grain-free chicken quesadillas:
- chips and salsa
- cooked quinoa mixed with stir fry veggies
- steamed peas and carrots
- roasted sweet potato
- leafy green salad
I may lose some of you on this next statement, but bear with me. These grain-free chicken quesadillas are delicious both warm and cold as leftovers! All of you warm leftover-lovers out there, go ahead and heat up your quesadillas. But for those of us who don’t mind cold foods, these quesadillas are just as good cold as they are warm! Yes, you lack the gooeyness of the cheese, but the cold cheese is still melted and just as delicious!
So, if you end up having leftover quesadillas or if you make them up ahead of time, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They will last for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Recipe Tips
Quesadillas are meant to be quick and easy, so let’s keep this short and sweet! When dealing with grain-free foods, there is always a little bit of a learning curve involved. With a few tips and notes though, making these grain-free chicken quesadillas will go smoothly and successfully!
- Make sure you are working with warm tortillas. Either heat them up in the oven or let them set in the frying pan for a few minutes before adding the fillings and making the quesadillas.
- The tortillas should be soft and able to be bent without breaking in half, then you will know they are ready to be made into quesadillas.
- I love using Daiya dairy-free nut-free cheese shreds, but you can use whatever dairy-free cheese alternative that you like in these quesadillas.
- Daiya dairy-free cheese does melt very quickly, so I often let my tortillas warm up, add the other fillings, wait a minute, then add the cheese and fold the quesadilla up and finish frying it. That way all the other ingredients get warm too and the tortilla gets those nice fried spots.
- Don’t use hardly any bacon fat or coconut oil in the frying pan! You are basically just heating up the tortillas and melting the cheese. Too much fat or oil will make the tortillas turn too soft and moist.
These grain-free chicken quesadillas are the perfect summer menu option that is quick and easy to whip together! They can also help turn leftovers into a delicious, cheesy meal! The gooey, melted cheese combined with the chicken and BBQ flavors are amazing!
Grain-free Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 8 grain-free tortillas
- 1 lb. grilled chicken or chicken shreds
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups Daiya dairy-free cheese shreds I used the Mexican blend
- 4 T. BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over low heat. Put a tiny amount of bacon fat on the bottom of the pan and spread it around.
- In a medium mixing bowl, toss together the chicken, BBQ sauce, onion, and red bell pepper.
- Place one tortilla in the skillet and let it warm up. Place scoops of the chicken mixture on to half of the tortilla. Add a handful of cheese on top.
- Fold the tortilla in half and cook for 1 minute. Flip and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from the skillet and place the quesadilla on a serving plate.
- Repeat with the remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Enjoy warm!
Where to Find the Ingredients
- Mikey’s grain-free tortillas– look at your local health food store or Whole Foods Market
- Daiya cheese shreds
- Primal Kitchen bar-b-que sauce
- Woodstock BBQ sauce
- Supplies: 10″ cast iron skillet, stainless steel spatula
These grain-free chicken quesadillas are bursting with BBQ flavor and oozing with delicious melted cheese! You will not miss traditional quesadillas after trying one these grain-free and dairy-free quesadillas! Use up leftovers or serve as a main meal, these quesadillas are super easy to whip up and only take minutes to cook and prepare. They are also easily customizable so that modern pioneers of all ages are sure to love these quesadillas. For all I care, leave out everything but the cheese (which is the best part) and serve cheesy quesadillas to your pickiest eaters!
Don’t miss any other modern pioneer or heritage pioneer recipes when you join our wagon train on its way to living a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle!
by Alexa
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