Quesadillas can be kid and veggie friendly! A meal grown up and kid approved.
How? I am SO glad you asked. 😉
First trick is using a food processor or blender to blend your ingredients together. We like black beans, spinach, cheese, and salsa as our main ingredients. Second trick, not over stuffing and allowing quesadillas to cool for a few minutes before serving. These steps prevent the ingredients from spilling out of the sides. While kids are usually synonymous for mess, one reason they prefer snacks over real food is the propensity for every bite to be uniform. Another way to put it, they know what to expect. Generally, if an extra step in prep will help a home cooked meal have that similar feeling, then I say, it is worth the time. Plus these make great leftovers!
For this recipe I will use canned beans, and we love them, but if you want to try making your own you can find the recipe for “Betta Make Black Beans” here. Cooking dry beans is great on the budget and makes a ton of food!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 can (salt free) black beans
- 1/2 can (salt free) cannellini beans or black eyed peas
- 1 cup of spinach Or 3-4 leaves of kale
- 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (plus more if you wish)
- 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- If you do not have all of these spices then buy a taco seasoning packet and use 2-3 teaspoons in their place (minus the extra salt if you go this route)!
- Food processor or large blender
- Extra virgin olive oil & salt for greasing pan
- Optional* Pancake Griddle
- 12 medium sized whole wheat tortillas
DIRECTIONS:
- If using, heat pancake griddle to 350. I like this method because you can cook several quesadillas at once, but a traditional pan on the stove top works too!
- Using a colander, rinse canned beans, and add to the processor or blender.
- Add remaining ingredients of spinach, cheese, salsa, spices (or taco seasoning) to the food processor.
- Blend until the mixture is about the texture of hummus.
- I have found olive oil or olive oil spray and a little sprinkle of salt effectively greases the pan as well as creates a browned crispy tortilla while adding a good flavor but you could also use butter.
- Add one spoonful of the mixture to only one side of the tortillas.
- Fold them over, and cook on each side for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Move to a wire rack for cooling.
- Makes about 12 quesadillas depending on the size of the tortillas. I usually see medium tortillas come in packs of 6-8 but stores will vary.
- Let them cool for 3-5 minutes before serving to your hungry family.
- Serve as is or with chips, salsa and guacamole!
Cooking Tips:
Using a food processor or blender to blend your ingredients together makes these veggie packed quesadillas more kid friendly.
Not over stuffing and allowing quesadillas to cool for a few minutes before serving prevents the ingredients from spilling out of the sides. While kids are usually synonymous with mess, one reason they often prefer snacks over real food is the propensity for every bite to be uniform. Generally, if an extra step in prep will help a home cooked meal have that similar feeling, then I say, it is worth the time. Plus these make great leftovers!
You can always add more salt but you cannot take it away.
If the canned beans you are using contain salt, cut salt down from 1 to 1/2 a teaspoon. If using taco seasoning instead of making your own it will also have salt so add that first, blend and then taste to see if you need to add any additional salt.
Do not toss the second half of the can beans not called for in the recipe, store them in the fridge and use them as an easy protein over a salad. The texture of these beans are soft so they make great baby and toddler food just as they are.
For a quick dinner make the quesadillas in advance and heat up in the oven on a sheet pan.
And leftovers make for a great lunch.
Live well friends,
Christy
