Chorizo Quesadillas
With peppers, onions, and plenty of melty cheese, easy Chorizo Quesadillas are deliciously spicy and savory. Make them for dinner or as a snack. *Recipe updated Apr 2025.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 581kcal
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper (from 1 large or two small bell peppers)
- ½ cup diced onion (white or yellow)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 ounces spicy ground chorizo sausage
- 6 8-inch flour tortillas
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded Jack cheese
- Optional: fresh chopped cilantro, extra sour cream, salsa
Instructions
Cook the veggies and meat:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add in 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot and spread over the pan, add in the diced red pepper and onion.
- Stir and sauté the vegetables for about three minutes, until they've begun to soften.
- Then, crumble the ground chorizo into the pan. Cook the meat and vegetables, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large clumps, until the chorizo is cooked through—about 10 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir it in. Cook the mixture for another minute, and then remove the pan from the heat.
- A little bit of grease in the pan is okay; if there's excess grease, however, drain it off. Transfer the cooked mixture to a large bowl. Wipe out or wash the pan and hold it aside to cook the quesadillas.
Assemble the quesadillas:
- Lay the tortillas out on a work surface. Spread about 2 teaspoons of sour cream onto each tortilla.
- Sprinkle ⅓ cup of shredded Jack cheese evenly over three of the tortillas. Next, spread the cooked chorizo-vegetable mixture over the cheese, diving the mixture between the three tortillas.
- Top the chorizo with more shredded cheese, ⅓ cup over each one.
- Finally, lay the last three tortillas on top of each of the quesadillas, sour cream side down.
Cook the quesadillas:
- Place the large skillet back on the burner over medium heat. Have a plate or cutting board ready for the finished quesadillas.
- Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan and swirl the pan so that it coats the bottom. When the oil is hot, place one of the assembled quesadillas in the pan.
- Press down the top with a spatula as you cook it for about two minutes. When the bottom is lightly browned, carefully flip the quesadilla over. Cook it for another two minutes or so. It's done when both sides are lightly browned and the cheese inside is melty.
- Transfer the quesadilla to the plate or cutting board.
- Repeat these steps to cook the remaining two quesadillas, heating another tablespoon of oil in the pan for each one.
Slice and serve:
- Slice each quesadilla into fourths. Sprinkle optional chopped cilantro over the wedges. Serve the quesadillas while they're hot, along with sides of sour cream and salsa if you'd like.
- Makes about 4 servings.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 581kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 969mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2262IU | Vitamin C: 71mg | Calcium: 536mg | Iron: 4mg
