Sweet Potato Quesadilla with Black Beans

These Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Black Beans are crispy, cheesy, tasty and perfect for lunch or dinner. The best vegetarian quesadillas I’ve made so far, we can’t get enough of these!

I’m not joking these are the best vegetarian quesadillas I have made so far, and I’ve made a few believe me! My family loves them, well there’s a lot to love about quesadillas. Crispy tortillas filled with spiced veggies, beans and melted cheese, hey, that is my food heaven right there! These quesadillas are epic, they’re filled with mashed sweet potato, black beans, sweet corn, and all the spices. Add in some sharp red Leicester cheese that melts perfectly and you have something really special.

How to Make Sweet Potato Quesadillas:

1. Start by boiling your sweet potatoes. I have tried other ways of adding the sweet potatoes and this, in my opinion, this was the best. Especially if you want that gooey, smooth texture against the crisp tortilla. I like that!
2. In a frying pan cook up the red onion, I use red onion as it’s nice and strong but has a little sweetness too. Add the green pepper and garlic and cook until the onion is soft.
3. Then add your spices, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika with a little chilli and cinnamon to really lift the sweet potato, which can be a bit bland, so this I’ve found is the perfect storm of spices. Finally, add in the black beans and lime and give everything a good stir.
4. When the sweet potato is cooked, drain it then return the pan to the heat, give the pot a good shake, this will get rid of any water lingering in the pot. Then mash with a potato masher.
5. Now add the sweet potato to the bean mixture along with the sweet corn and give everything a stir so that it’s all combined.
6. Time to make your quesadilla! Lightly oil a skillet, place one tortilla on the pan. Add two heaped dessert spoons of the sweet potato mixture onto half the tortilla, don’t go too close to the edges.
7. Add some chopped scallions and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves. You can add in some pickled jalapeno here if you fancy a slightly spicier quesadilla.
8. Top with some grated cheese. The amount of cheese you use is up to you. I like to use a generous amount to get a really cheesy quesadilla, but that’s just me!
9. Flip the other half of the tortilla over the sweet potato mixture then press down with a turner. Cook for a few minutes, or until the tortilla is golden brown, then carefully flip the quesadilla to cook the other side. The quesadilla is done when the filling is hot, the tortilla is brown and crispy and the cheese is melted. Repeat!

Tips for Making the Perfect Quesadilla:

• Don’t overload your tortilla, two dessert spoons should be enough here unless you want to use a knife and fork and hey I’m ok with that!
• I find soft flour tortillas have worked the best when I’ve made these. However wholewheat and corn tortillas work well too.
• A strong or sharp cheese is essential! The sweet potato needs a strong cheese, I’ve tested these with a few different types of cheese and red Leicester wins hands down. Feta doesn’t do it for me, but a mature/sharp cheddar is a good alternative to red Leicester if you can’t find get it.
• Sides! I highly recommend serving these with guac and sour cream, it’s so worth it! But if you’re having this for lunch then I’ll allow you to skip them.
• Skillet, I use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet to cook the quesadilla, make sure your pan is non-stick.

What to Serve with Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Ok, so these are absolutely fine, as is, on their own. But if you want to make a meal out of these then I highly recommend adding guacamole and sour cream. We have had them with and without and with all the extras is hands down the winner every single time. So much so that we’ve swapped our Taco Tuesdays for Tuesday Quesadilla Night. If you are really hungry or have a really hungry teenager in the house then some skinny fries on the side are excellent too, my daughter can testify to that!

Similar Recipes You Might Like:

• Vegetarian Quesadilla
• Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole
• Taco Salad
• Loaded Veggie Breakfast Skillet
• Portobella Mushroom Sandwich

Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Black Beans

These Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Black Beans are crispy, cheesy, tasty and perfect for lunch or dinner. 

5 from 5 votes

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Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Fusion, Mexican

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 253kcal

Author: Michelle Alston

Ingredients

• 3 cups of sweet potato (430g) peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion finely chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper pith and seeds removed then chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 15 oz can black beans (400g can) drained and rinsed
• 7/8 of a cup of sweet corn (1 small can, 165g drained weight) drained and rinsed
• 1/4 tsp mild chilli powder
• 1 heaped tsp dried coriander leaf
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• The juice of one lime
• 8 7.5inch / 19cm soft flour regular tortillas or tortillas of your choice
• 1 cup red Leicester cheese (125g/4oz) grated. If you can't get red Leicester then a sharp cheddar works very well too.
• 4 large scallions (spring onions) sliced
• A handful of fresh coriander

For Serving

• pickled jalapenos optional
• soured cream
• guacamole
• lime wedges

Instructions

• Add the sweet potato to a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil.
• While the potatoes are cooking heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the red onion and cook for a low to medium heat for 10 minutes. The onion should be a little soft. Add the green pepper and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the spices and the dried coriander, cook for a minute or two then add the drained black beans and the juice of one lime. Season with salt and pepper. I add up to a teaspoon of salt and black pepper.

  Stir and cook until the black beans are hot and the peppers are soft.
• Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, drain them then mash them with a potato masher.
• Drop the mashed sweet potato into the bean mixture and add the sweetcorn, stir until everything is combined.
• Slightly oil a skillet pan, then heat it over medium heat.

  Place a tortilla on the pan, add two heaped dessert spoons of the sweet potato mixture onto one half of the tortilla. Add some chopped scallion/spring onions, some fresh coriander leaves and a generous amount of grated cheese.
• Fold the tortilla over the sweet potato mixture and press down gently with a turner.

  After 3 minutes use the turner to carefully flip the quesadilla.

  Cook the other side for 2 or 3 minutes until the tortilla is browned and the cheese is melted.
• Cut the quesadilla into 3 then serve with sour cream and guacamole.

Notes

• Nutrition information is calculated using an online nutrition too and is approximate. The information is based on one quesadilla and does not include guacamole and /or sour cream.
• Cheese, I recommend red Leicester for these sweet potato quesadillas, however, if you can't get that then a good sharp/mature cheddar works well too.
• Make it Vegan, swap the cheese for your favourite vegan cheese, if you can get a meltable vegan cheese then that would give you the best results.
• Make it Gluten Free, swap the flour tortilla for your favourite gluten-free tortillas.
• Storing, if you have sweet potato mixture leftover then leave it to cool and keep it, covered, in the fridge for 1 or 2 days. No need to reheat it in a pan, just add it to the tortilla and cook over low heat until the filling is piping hot.
• Freezing, I don't recommend you freeze the cooked quesadilla however you could freeze the sweet potato filling. Leave it to cool then pop it into a freezer friendly container. Defrost in the fridge overnight then add to the tortilla as above.

Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 41.9g | Protein: 11.2g | Fat: 5.6g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 259mg | Potassium: 700mg | Fiber: 8.2g | Sugar: 2.7g | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2.7mg

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