Grilled chicken, avocado and peach salsa quesadilla recipe

In the house where I grew up, we ate grilled cheese sandwiches all the time, but nary a quesadilla. Maybe it was a Northeast thing, but more likely, it was a my mother never heard of quesadillas thing. My own pantry always holds enough fixings for these simple Mexican grilled cheese sandwiches, a go-to meal on busy days. Most often I use Joseph's low-carb oat bran tortillas -- the gorgeous orange ones in these photos are habañero-lime tortillas from Trader Joe's -- and my friend Lucia keeps me supplied with her homemade peach salsa. Newman's Own peach salsa from the supermarket, or Trader Joe's peach salsa, will be fine substitutes that add a bit of fruity heat. Here's my secret to great quesadillas: tuck a few teaspoons of the salsa inside, and cook them on a dry griddle, to keep them from being greasy on the outside.

Chicken, avocado and peach salsa quesadillas

From the pantry, you'll need: tortillas, chicken breasts, salsa, grated cheese.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (or 1-1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken)
2 large (8- or 10-inch) tortillas
1/2 avocado, sliced
2 Tbsp salsa, store-bought or homemade
1/2 cup grated or shredded cheese

Directions

Cook the chicken breast by poaching, grilling, steaming, or sautéing, whatever you prefer. Let it cool, then shred. Or, prepare 1-1/2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken (or turkey).

Preheat a panini press or griddle over medium-high heat.

Set out two tortillas on the counter top. Sprinkle half of each tortilla with one-fourth of the cheese. Top the cheese with half of the chicken, half of the sliced avocado and half of the salsa. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the two tortillas. Fold each tortilla in half, to create a half-moon shape.

Place the two quesadillas on the panini press, and close the top (or, on a griddle, weight down the quesadilla). Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the bottom is starting to brown slightly and the cheese is melting. On a panini press, allow the quesadilla to cook for 30-60 seconds more; on a griddle, flip the quesadilla and cook for one minute or until the cheese is melted throughout.

Remove from the heat and let the quesadilla sit for 30-45 seconds, to allow the cheese to regroup. Slice into wedges, and serve warm, with additional salsa on the side.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Cubano quesadillas
Black bean and shrimp quesadillas
Banana or strawberry Nutella quesadillas
Slow cooker Cuban-style ropa vieja
Chicken, black bean, avocado and cheese quesadillas

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Chipotle chicken (no-flip!) quesadilla, from Panini Happy
Easy green chile quesadilla, from Gluten-free Goddess
Shrimp, kale and avocado quesadillas, from In Good Taste
Chicken, avocado and caramelized onion quesadillas with chipotle mustard dipping sauce, from Taste & Tell
Crab quesadillas with mango avocado salsa, from Mike's Table

Chicken, avocado and peach salsa quesadillas

From the pantry, you'll need: tortillas, chicken breasts, salsa, grated cheese.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (or 1-1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken)
2 large (8- or 10-inch) tortillas
1/2 avocado, sliced
2 Tbsp salsa, store-bought or homemade
1/2 cup grated or shredded cheese

Directions

Cook the chicken breast by poaching, grilling, steaming, or sautéing, whatever you prefer. Let it cool, then shred. Or, prepare 1-1/2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken (or turkey).

Preheat a panini press or griddle over medium-high heat.

Set out two tortillas on the counter top. Sprinkle half of each tortilla with one-fourth of the cheese. Top the cheese with half of the chicken, half of the sliced avocado and half of the salsa. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the two tortillas. Fold each tortilla in half, to create a half-moon shape.

Place the two quesadillas on the panini press, and close the top (or, on a griddle, weight down the quesadilla). Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the bottom is starting to brown slightly and the cheese is melting. On a panini press, allow the quesadilla to cook for 30-60 seconds more; on a griddle, flip the quesadilla and cook for one minute or until the cheese is melted throughout.

Remove from the heat and let the quesadilla sit for 30-45 seconds, to allow the cheese to regroup. Slice into wedges, and serve warm, with additional salsa on the side.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Cubano quesadillas
Black bean and shrimp quesadillas
Banana or strawberry Nutella quesadillas
Slow cooker Cuban-style ropa vieja
Chicken, black bean, avocado and cheese quesadillas

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Chipotle chicken (no-flip!) quesadilla, from Panini Happy
Easy green chile quesadilla, from Gluten-free Goddess
Shrimp, kale and avocado quesadillas, from In Good Taste
Chicken, avocado and caramelized onion quesadillas with chipotle mustard dipping sauce, from Taste & Tell
Crab quesadillas with mango avocado salsa, from Mike's Table

Comments

That did it. I'm off to Trader Joe's. One of the blessings of being back near Boston again! Thanks, Lydia.

Beautiful!
Thinking about mothers and cooking -- how much our world view has opened up, how even our local food sources have gone eclectic. A recent amazing discovery, real Indian dal in the supermarket in this small rural town. I have resigned myself to the limitations of ethnic cooking: I don't think, for instance, that my Indian cooking will ever be authentic, but it can be very good.
My father would bring home all manner of cookbooks from the library, and pick out food he would like my mother to make. We had a favorite UN Cookbook, which came out for our October 24th UN Day dinner. We were fortunate that my mother's cooking grew from her mother's, to Betty Crocker's, to taking in the rest of the world starting with Julia Child on TV.
See what a beautiful photo and family link can trigger!

lydia - when i come see you, you are so making these. LOL
haven't tried that peach salsa yet...

Jean, would you believe we're surviving with only one Trader Joe's in the entire state of Rhode Island?

Susan, how lucky you are that your father had such curiosity, and your mother was interested enough in cooking to expand her horizons. In our house, it was mostly Weight Watchers cuisine with some Eastern European traditional dishes on holidays. I've noticed the small market in our village has really expanded its offering of ethnic ingredients in the years that we've lived here (though by no means an expansive selection). And yes, we can make food that is very good, if not totally authentic.

Dawn, you are on. When are you coming??

I make quesadillas for my kids just about every week - even faster to make than PB & J (at least when I'm grappling with my natural peanut butter that hardens in the fridge, lol). I'd love to taste that peach salsa!

I'm always sad that we don't have Trader Joe's here in Texas. Everything always looks SO amazing. That being said I can definitely find some awesome tortillas AND salsa down here. Looks great - as always!!

Kathy, my grandkids really love quesadillas, too. Just like squished grilled cheese sandwiches!

Marisha, I hope TJ's makes it to Texas. We just one here in Rhode Island a couple of years ago. They do have some great products.

My kids like quesadillas - will have to try the peach salsa and like your tip about putting a little salsa inside the quesadilla. You're so lucky to have a friend supply you with fresh peach salsa!

Mmm, that looks really good!

Yum! and a good tip to cooking them!

Everything about this sounds delicious!

Jeanette, I can't imagine why I never put the salsa inside before, but it really works well and it warms the salsa up a bit!

Katrina, Carol, Kalyn: Thanks! This is really one of my go-to lunches, with the low-carb tortillas.

Yum! These look amazing. I could take the leftovers from my classic grilled chicken sandwich recipe and make these. I like the peach, too!