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This Baked Chicken Fajita Quesadillas recipe is made with tender strips of chicken, onion, peppers and cheese, and they’re baked to a perfect crispiness. Top our oven baked chicken quesadilla with guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, or whatever else you like.

Baked Chicken Quesadillas

Our quick and easy oven baked chicken quesadillas come together in about 30 minutes and they’re a great dinner option to make any night of the week. Serve with Mexican rice, pinto beans or a simple salad to make a perfect meal.

Oven baked chicken quesadilla on a white plate.

This oven baked chicken quesadilla recipe has been a family favorite for years.  Baking quesadillas in the oven cuts down on your time hanging out over a skillet flipping one quesadilla after another.  Tender chicken strips are cooked with tomato and garlic and then tossed with onion and bell peppers. Then we lay the mixture on flour tortillas, top with some cheese, fold them in half and then bake them in the oven until they’re nice and crispy. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Quick and Easy. This oven baked chicken quesadilla recipe is quick and easy to make any night of the week. 
  • Great Tasting. These baked quesadillas have a great flavor that your whole family will love. 
  • Simple Ingredients.  There’s no fancy ingredients here. Just boneless chicken breasts, tomatoes, garlic, onion, peppers, cheese and flour tortillas.
  • Meal Prep. Make everything up the day before, so all you have to do is reheat it – portion it out on the flour tortillas with cheese, and then bake the quesadillas until the cheese melts and the tortillas are nice and crispy.

Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas Ingredients

  • Olive Oil. We use a little extra-virgin olive oil to cook the chicken, onion and peppers in, and to brush on the tortillas so they get perfectly crispy when they bake in the oven.
  • Chicken. We use chicken breasts for this recipe, but you can also use chicken thighs.
  • Tomato. We add sliced tomato to the chicken while it cooks. 
  • Garlic. We also add minced garlic to the chicken while it cooks.
  • Jalapeno. A little minced jalapeno is added to the chicken while it cooks. If you’re not a fan, just leave it out.
  • Onion. Sliced on is cooked with peppers for a classic fajita mix.
  • Bell Peppers. We use green, red and yellow bell peppers for this dish.
  • Tortillas. Use 8″ flour tortillas, or whatever tortilla you like best.
  • Cheese. Use half Jack cheese and cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend

Variations

Quesadillas make a great destination for leftovers. Switch things up and try different ingredients for baked quesadillas.

  • Shredded rotisserie chicken
  • Beans make a delicious quesadilla filling – you can omit chicken and add pinto, kidney or black beans for vegetarian quesadillas
  • Corn (fresh or frozen)
  • Diced green chilies
  • Roasted vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini) 
  • Spinach
  • Mushrooms

Cooked chicken and peppers for oven baked chicken quesadillas in a black skillet.

How To Make Quesadillas In The Oven

This oven baked chicken quesadilla recipe comes together in about 30 minutes.

  1. Preheat Oven. Preheat oven to 375° degrees.
  2. Prepare Baking Sheet. Brush baking sheet or oven-proof skillet with olive oil.
  3. Saute Chicken. Saute chicken with garlic, jalapeno and tomato. The juices from the tomato makes a stew-like sauce for the chicken to simmer in. I slice the chicken into thin slices so it cooks quickly and turns out tender every time.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  4. Cook Onion and Bell Pepper. Wipe pan clean and cook the onion and bell pepper in a bit of oil until the onions start to brown slightly.  
  5. Cilantro. Add chopped cilantro and cook just until it wilts.  (Optional)
  6. Tortillas. Lay the tortillas separately on the baking sheet or skillet.
  7. Fill Tortillas. Divide the chicken and onion/pepper filling on one side of the tortillas leaving the other side plain for folding over on top of the filling.
  8. Add Cheese. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the ingredients.
  9. Fold Tortillas. Fold the tortilla over the filling and brush the top of the tortilla lightly with olive oil.
  10. Bake. Bake the quesadillas for 8-10 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned and crispy, then flip and cook another 5 minutes or so on the other side. Don’t overcook. You want the tortillas just lightly crispy not brown and hard.
  11. Garnish. Garnish each quesadilla with pico de gallo and guacamole.

Oven baked chicken quesadilla in a black skillet.

Quick Bake Method

If you’re in a hurry – leave the tortilla open and bake in the oven for a minute or two until the cheese starts to melt, then fold the tortilla over on top of the ingredients and place under the broiler for a minute or two on each side until both sides are nice and crispy. Watch closely so they don’t burn.

Baked chicken quesadilla in a black skillet.

I like to add a sprinkling of cheese to the top of each quesadilla while they bake in the oven – more for appearance than anything else.  Then garnish generously with pico de gallo and homemade guacamole.  Or you can drizzle some enchilada sauce over the top with a good sprinkling of  cojita cheese!

Oven baked quesadilla in a black skillet.

What To Serve With Quesadillas 

Toppings. Everyone has their favorite toppings for Mexican food. Here are some of ours: Easy Pico de Gallo, Homemade Guacamole,Restaurant Style Salsa, Avocado, Sour Cream, Cheese (Cheddar, Jack, Pepper Jack, Mexican blend), Shaved lettuce (Romaine or ice berg lettuce), Pickled Jalapenos, Pickled Onions and Pickled Radishes.

Sides. Make this meal complete and serve these baked quesadillas with any of these side dishes: Mexican Green Rice, Mexican White Rice, Homemade Spanish Rice, Spanish Brown Rice, Spanish Quinoa, Cilantro Lime Quinoa, Black Beans, Borracho Beans and Pinto Beans.

Salads: Serve these baked quesadillas with any one of these salads: Mexican Bean Salad, Summer Corn Salad, Spring Mix Salad, Mexican Watermelon Salad and Black Bean and Corn Salad.

A baked chicken quesadilla on a white plate.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

A baked chicken quesadilla on a white plate.
Yield: 4 Servings

Baked Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

This Baked Chicken Fajita Quesadillas recipe is made with tender strips of chicken, onion, peppers and cheese, and they're baked to a perfect crispiness. Top our oven baked chicken quesadilla with guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, or whatever else you like.

Ingredients

  • 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 large free-range chicken breasts, cut into short thin slices
  • 1 large tomato, remove most of the seeds and slice
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 1/2 - 1 teaspoon jalapeño, minced (optional)
  • Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 small yellow onion, cut in half then cut into slices
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeds and core removed and cut into slices
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeds and core removed and cut into slices
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeds and core removed and cut into slices
  • 4 8" flour tortillas
  • 1 cup grated Mexican cheese blend (or half and half of Monterey Jack and Cheddar)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° degrees.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Then stir to cook so the chicken strips are cooked through and no longer pink.
  3. Add the garlic, jalapeño (if using) and sliced tomato. Continue to cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until the tomato releases its juices and blends with the chicken into a stew-like mixture.
  4. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
  5. Remove from heat and transfer the chicken to a bowl and set aside.
  6. Wipe out the skillet. Heat 2 more tablespoons of the olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat.
  7. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the onions start to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
  8. Brush the cookie sheet or oven proof skillet or baking dish with olive oil.
  9. Assemble the tortillas on the cookie sheet or skillet.
  10. Divide the chicken and onion mixture one one half of each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Fold the tortilla over the filling and brush the top of the tortilla lightly with olive oil.
  11. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned and crispy, then flip and cook another 5 minutes or so on the other side. Don't overcook. You want the tortillas to be lightly crispy not brown and hard.
  12. Remove from oven and serve immediately. Cut in half if you like.
  13. Serve with your favorite toppings and sides.

Notes

Note: If you're in a hurry - leave the tortilla oven and bake in the oven for a minute until the cheese starts to melt, then fold the tortilla over and place under the broiler for a minute or two. Watch closely so they don't burn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 684Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 15gUnsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 489mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 39g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.

© Deborah Duncan
Cuisine: Mexican / Category: Dinner