Low-Carb Chicken Quesadillas
Crisp, golden low-carb tortillas folded around chili-spiced chicken, sautéed peppers and onions and plenty of melted pepper jack. A quick weeknight dinner kids will happily eat.
Nutrition per serving
1 quesadilla (4 wedges)- Net carbs
- 7.2g
- Calories
- 472kcal
- Protein
- 42g
- Fat
- 29g
- Total carbs
- 24 g
- Fiber
- 16 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Steak quesadillas: Spice-rubbed skirt steak, seared hard and sliced thin, with the same peppers and melted cheese.
- Rub the steak with the spices and sear it in a very hot skillet 3–4 minutes per side, until 145°F (63°C) in the center for medium. Rest 5 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain and chop before filling.
Tortilla-free (cheese shell): Shredded mozzarella melted into lacy, crisp rounds replaces the tortillas. Gluten-free, even lower in carbs, and fun to make.
- Sprinkle ½ cup mozzarella in a thin, even round in a dry nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 2–3 minutes, until the edges are golden and the cheese lifts easily with a spatula.
- Spoon a quarter of the filling and pepper jack over half the round, fold it over and cook 1 minute more. Repeat to make 4, and let them firm up for a minute before cutting.
Vegetarian (mushroom & spinach): Spiced, well-browned mushrooms and wilted spinach replace the chicken for a hearty meat-free quesadilla.
- Skip the chicken. Cook the mushrooms with the spice mix in 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat 6–8 minutes, until browned and dry, then wilt in the spinach for 1 minute. Cook the peppers and onion as written and fill the quesadillas with both.
- Chicken & peppers
- Quesadillas
- Nice to have (optional)
- Chicken & peppers
- Quesadillas
- Nice to have (optional)
- Chicken & peppers
- Quesadillas
-
1 tbsp butterleave out - Nice to have (optional)
- Chicken & peppers
- Quesadillas
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
Estimated cost $10.44 for 4 servings ($2.61 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
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Pound the thick end of the chicken to an even ¾ inch (2 cm). Mix the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and ½ tsp salt and rub it all over the chicken.
-
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken 5–6 minutes per side, until browned and 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part. Rest 5 minutes, then chop it into small pieces.
-
Add the remaining oil, the pepper, onion and remaining salt to the skillet and cook 5–6 minutes, until soft and charred in spots. Tip into the bowl with the chicken and wipe out the pan.
-
Over half of each tortilla, layer a little cheese, a quarter of the chicken and peppers, then more cheese (about ⅓ cup cheese per quesadilla in all). Fold the bare half over and press gently.
-
Melt a quarter of the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Cook 1–2 quesadillas at a time 2–3 minutes per side, until golden and crisp and the cheese has melted, adding more butter for each batch. Low-carb tortillas brown faster than flour ones, so keep the heat at medium.
-
Rest 1 minute, cut into wedges and serve with sour cream, salsa and cilantro. Guacamole is great too.
Tips for success
-
Low-carb tortillas vary a lot by brand, from about 3 to 8 g net carbs each, and most contain wheat. The nutrition here assumes about 4 g net per tortilla, so check your label. - Leftover or rotisserie chicken works: use about 2½ cups chopped and skip the first two steps.
- For a wheat-free version, use coconut flour tortillas or flaxseed wraps, or try the cheese-shell version below.
Nice to have, not needed
- A large cast-iron or nonstick skillet browns them evenly — a griddle lets you cook all four at once.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge
- Freezes up to 2 months
Reheat: Re-crisp in a dry skillet over medium-low heat 2–3 minutes per side, or in an air fryer at 350°F (175°C) for 4–5 minutes.
Prep tip: Cook a batch of the chicken and pepper filling ahead; assembling and toasting a quesadilla then takes about 5 minutes.
Refrigerate cooked quesadillas up to 3 days, or the chicken and pepper filling alone up to 4 days. Assembled, uncooked quesadillas freeze up to 2 months; cook them from frozen, covered, over medium-low heat 4–5 minutes per side.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosSteak quesadillas
ProteinSpice-rubbed skirt steak, seared hard and sliced thin, with the same peppers and melted cheese.
- boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs → skirt or flank steak
7.2 g net · 548 kcal · 39 g protein · 39 g fat · ≈$4.57 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
Tortilla-free (cheese shell)
SwapShredded mozzarella melted into lacy, crisp rounds replaces the tortillas. Gluten-free, even lower in carbs, and fun to make.
- low-carb tortillas (8 inch / 20 cm) → shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- no butter
4.5 g net · 555 kcal · 49 g protein · 37 g fat · ≈$2.71 per serving (−2.7 g net carbs vs the original)
Vegetarian (mushroom & spinach)
ProteinSpiced, well-browned mushrooms and wilted spinach replace the chicken for a hearty meat-free quesadilla.
- boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs → cremini mushrooms
- + 2 cups baby spinach
9.3 g net · 358 kcal · 19 g protein · 26 g fat · ≈$2.57 per serving (+2.1 g net carbs vs the original)
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