Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

When I was in my early teens, one of my favourite things to do after my freeskate sessions at the Winnipeg Winter Club was to go upstairs with my friend Veronica and order chicken quesadillas and virgin lime margaritas, and watch her daughter Tara skate her session.

(Tara was a couple years older than me, and WAY more advanced, so we didn’t share ice time!)

That was back when I thought guacamole was disgusting, so I guess I was a weird kid? Anyway... enough of a walk down memory lane.

Grilled quesadillas has become one of our go-to meals for our camping trips!

They’re super tasty, easy to customize with our favourite fillings, and a really quick meal to throw on, even after a long drive day.

They’re especially great when we have access to a grocery store that carries our favourite Rotisserie chickens, as that flavourful chicken is SUCH a great addition to these quesdillas - as well as a great time-saver.

I’ve since gotten over my guacamole weirdness, we love to have some of that, salsa, and sour cream on hand. Quesadillas are a tasty vector for all THAT goodness.

(Btw, if you’re looking for some tasty salsa recipes to serve with your grilled chicken quesadillas, try my Roasted Corn Salsa Verde, Roasted Corn Salsa, or Roasted Salsa Verde!)

Here’s what Porter has to say about them:

“Quesadillas are such a classic dish, and I love how you were able to bring it to a campsite. Tons of flavour, and it’s a great comfort food while sitting next to the campfire.

Also, it came together really fast, so that prep work you did was great. These are WAY better than restaurant quesadillas, and you made it look super easy!”

Good stuff!

Anyway, let’s take a look at the ingredients you (may or may not!) need, for your own grilled quesadillas!

Ingredients

This chicken quesadilla recipe uses really simple ingredients - you won’t have any trouble finding what you need in pretty much any grocery store.

As always, I have a few ingredient notes for you.

Flour Tortillas

This recipe is based on using 10" Large Flour Tortillas. If you use smaller tortillas, you may need an extra one.

If you use larger tortillas, the filling and cheese will be spread thinner.

Flour tortillas are what’s most traditional for grilled chicken quesadillas, but you can still make a good quesadilla with corn tortillas.

Corn tortillas are prone to cracking and tearing, so I recommend using two and just making a sandwich of them, rather than folding the tortilla around the filling.

If you’re looking for other gluten free options, try my Gluten Free Tortillas, or my Gluten Free Hybrid Tortillas.

The hybrid ones are fun - they look and act like a regular flour tortilla, but taste like roasted corn!

Beyond that, I also have a recipe for Cassava Flour Tortillas, which is an excellent alternative for those seeking a grain-free tortilla.

Shredded Chicken

You need 2 cups of some form of cooked chicken.

Usually I’ll just throw a quick batch of my Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken on, over a campfire.

I usually use boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.

If I’m really feeling lazy, I’ll just buy a rotisserie chicken and shred that up.

This recipe isn’t an exact science, so do what makes the most sense for you. The world won’t end if you add a bit more chicken, etc!

Shredded Cheese

Much like with the chicken, you’ve got a lot of room to play with the choice of cheese.

I don’t like fussing with shredding cheese in the RV when I don’t have to, so I use pre-shredded cheese. At home, I shred my own, for better taste and texture.

In terms of flavour, I’ll usually go with whatever sounds good at whatever small town grocery store happens to be closest to the campsite, when the quesadilla craving hits.

Cheddar Cheese, Pepper Jack Cheese, Monterey Jack Cheese, any shredded Mexican cheese blend, even mozzarella cheese, in a pinch.

The key here is “melty cheese”, though. Use cheeses that melt down to that satisfying gooey texture, not the really old, dry cheeses that don’t.

If you like lots of cheese ... add some more!

As a food blogger, I try to keep things reasonable in ters of final nutrition and cost... but I definitely don’t feel married to the measurement, here.

Fresh Produce

I keep it pretty simple, just because we’re usually relying on fairly sparse selection in tiny, rural grocery stores. Hard to find things like fresh poblanos and Shishito peppers on the road!

So, this chicken grilled quesadillas recipe calls for a red bell pepper, yellow onion, and a jalapeno.

Again though... don’t feel like this is required. Use green bell peppers if you prefer, add some different green chilies if you have them. It’s all good!

(And really, feel free to add other vegetables or legumes if you like. Black beans, black olives - whatever floats your boat and is available!

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Chicken Broth (Or water)
Ground Black Pepper
Smoked Paprika
Garlic Powder
Ground Cumin
Pan Spray
Olive Oil
Salt

Beyond these last few ingredients - that I really don’t have any additional commentary on - consider condiments and garnish.

We like to have Guacamole, Salsa, and/or Sour Cream for serving, and either chopped green onions or cilantro to sprinkle over them, when we can!

How to Make Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:

Optional Prep

Chop the onions and peppers, place into a vacuum freezer baggie.

Vacuum seal the bag, label it and freeze until ready to use. You can cook them from frozen, or allow to thaw first.

Make your Quesadillas

Get a medium campfire going, or get your charcoal on the go. (If you’re making this on a stove, use medium high heat and a nonstick pan.)

Add the chopped peppers, onions, and olive oil to a large cast iron skillet, and set over the fire or hot coals.

Cook until the veggies are tender, 5 minutes or so.

Add the chicken, chicken broth (or water!), paprika, garlic powder, and cumin to the pan, stir well, the season with a little salt and pepper.

Allow mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes, until most of the water has cooked off. Remove from heat.

Divide half of the cheese among the tortillas, spreading it to cover half the surface of each tortilla.

Divide the chicken and pepper mixture among the tortillas, scattering it on top of the cheese layer only. Finally, divide the remaining cheese among the quesadillas, scattering it over the filling layer of each.

Fold the up-topped half of the tortilla over the fillings, and press down.

In a Pan:

Wipe the pan out well - or use a new one - and spray with nonstick spray.

Working with one serving at a time, set your quesadilla in the pan, and spray with more cooking spray.

Cover and cook for a few minutes, until the bottom side is nicely browned.

With the help of your spatula, carefully flip the quesadilla over, cover, and cook for another few minutes, until the cheese melts and the tortilla is golden brown and crispy.

Directly on the Grill

Turn your heat down, or close the vents on your grill to lower the heat/flame.

For each quesadilla, spray the entire surface area of the tortilla with nonstick spray, and arrange on the grill.

Grill for a couple of minutes, until bottom side is golden brown and starting to form grill marks.

Flip, continue grilling for a new minutes until the cheese is melted and the other side is golden brown.

Servings

Either way, cut each grilled chicken quesadilla into wedges.

Serve hot, with refried beans, pico de gallo, salsa, sour cream, and/or a small bowl of guacamole. Oh and plenty of paper towels, too!

Leftovers

Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftover chicken quesadillas can be wrapped in plastic wrap - or transferred to an airtight container - and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat before serving. .

We like to microwave it a little to reheat, then pan fry or stick it in the air fryer to re-crisp it up a bit. A toaster oven would also work.

More Grilling Recipes for Camping

Looking for some great meals to cook on a campfire or grill? Here's a few of my favourites!

Bacon Venison Burgers with Whiskey Onions
Bannock Burgers
Bison Burgers with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
Campfire Calzones
Campfire Pizza
Elk Burgers with Bacon & Sauteed Mushrooms
Fajita Chicken Kebabs
French Onion Soup Burgers
Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Lemon-Dill Fresh Salmon Burgers
Easy Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Grilled Tuna Tacos
Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs
Mediterranean Salmon Burgers
Pesto Chicken Skewers
Sesame Ginger Grilled Tuna Kebabs
Shrimp Boil Foil Packets
Thanksgiving Turkey Burgers

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes.

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!